Images

Mount Fuji, or Fuji-san as the Japanese address the mountain, is 3,776 m (12,389 ft) tall and towers above the surrounding communities. USGS photo.

USGS geophysicist Jared Kluesner points at a three-dimensional cross-section of seismic data about 40 kilometers across and several kilometers deep located in the Santa Barbara Channel. This imaging deep below the seafloor allows scientists to visualize and map faults better.

Jared Kluesner displays a 3D view of seismic data collected off Santa Barbara. This visualization helps him analyze the Earth’s layers from the seafloor (rainbow-colored surface) to several kilometers below (slices extending down from the colored surface).

Scanning Electron Microscope image of resuspended volcanic ash from the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai deposits in the Katmai region, picked up during high winds on November 1, 2015 and carried to Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island, AK. Sample collected by Sherry Harmes of Larsen Bay.

A young ‘ōhi‘a tree with its red lehua blossoms grows near a steam vent on the solidified crust of the 1959 Kīlauea Iki lava lake in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. ‘Ōhi‘a trees thrive on volcanic landscapes ranging from sea level to 2440 m (8,000 ft) elevation and are among the first plants to grow on new lava flows.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the flow on October 23 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on November 12 is shown in red. Not all changes at the northern edge of the flow in the forest were mapped due to poor weather and visibility.

This small-scale map shows Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i. The area of the flow on October 23 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on November 12 is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system.

Breakouts remain active northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Though heavy rains prevented a detailed survey today, there was little change in activity observed on today's overflight. As with previous weeks, most breakouts are active within the existing boundaries of the June 27th lava flow, with no major expansion of the flow margins.

Volcanic threat is defined as the qualitative risk of a volcano to people and property that might be impacted by specific volcanic hazards.

On October 30, 2014, the front of Kīlauea Volcano's active lava flow stalled only about 155 m (170 yards) from Pāhoa Village Road (lower right corner).

C1 and C3 are granitic crystal-melt mush (partially crystallized magma) columns that fed the most recent Mono Craters eruptions. The connection from C1 to South Coulée (SC) is older and colder than the connection from C3 to North Coulée (NC) and Panum Crater (PC), which carries hydrothermal fluid to the surface.

USGS scientists Kevin Denton (left), Katherine “Kyeti” Morgan, and David Ponce set up a magnetic base station during fieldwork along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault zone in wheat fields north of San Pablo Bay.

USGS scientist David Ponce measuring gravity using a gravimeter along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault zone just north of San Pablo Bay, California.

In September 2014, during one of many community meetings held in Pāhoa to address concerns about Kīlauea Volcano's June 27th lava flow, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Kevan Kamibayashi points out the flow's advance as of that week.

A time-lapse camera located in HVO's observation tower captured these interesting images of Halema‘uma‘u during an intense lightning storm at Kīlauea's summit on October 16. Image captured at 11:36 PM.

Image captured at 11:43 PM.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 (based on satellite imagery and ground mapping) is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system.

This small-scale map shows Kīlauea's active East Rift Zone lava flow in relation to the eastern part of the Island of Hawai‘i. The area of the flow on September 30 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of October 23 is shown in red. The yellow lines show the active lava tube system.

This photo looks west towards the upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. The fume-filled crater at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is in the foreground, and the vent for the June 27th lava flow is just out of view of the lower right corner of the photo. Mauna Loa is visible in the upper right.

A hornito was active in the upper portion of the June 27th flow, with hissing and jetting sounds coming from a small opening at the top. The hornito here was about 2.5 m (8 feet) tall. A hornito is formed by gas and lava forced through a small opening in the roof of a lava tube.

An HVO geologist collects a sample of active lava for chemical analysis. The lava is quenched with water in the metal bucket.