Images

"Stevens and Party at Kīlauea" - U.S. Minister Stevens is second from the right. Demosthenes Lycurgus and Alex Lancaster are first and second from the left, respectively.

 Westco discrete nutrient analyzer measures low-levels of nutrients in water samples

The ocean entry (at center of image) near Kupapa`u remains active, with a weak and wispy plume. The light colored area on the coastal plain shows the recently active flows.

This thermal image shows the scattered breakouts on the coastal plain and the ocean entry near Kupapa`u. In addition to these coastal plain flows, several breakouts were active near the top of the pali, around the northern boundary of Royal Gardens subdivision.

A closer view of the ocean entry, with weak plumes originating from several spots along the coast.

A small collapse this morning of the spatter cone that had built up around the northeast lava pond in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō resulted in a brief gush of lava onto the crater floor.

Thomas Jaggar and his wife, Isabel, hiking on Mauna Loa during the September 1919 Southwest Rift Zone eruption.

Manahawkin Bay at Rt. 72 bridge near Ship Bottom, NJ; Andrew Watson and Patrick Bowen inspecting gage after reinstallation following Hurricane Sandy.

A highlight of HVO's 100th anniversary in 2012 was the Centennial Poster Contest for Hawai‘i Island 4th grade students. The poster shown here was created by Jyron Young, who was awarded the Grand Prize for his artistic depiction of 100 years of volcano watching in Hawai‘i. Image courtesy of USGS.

Crater Lake partially fills the caldera that formed approximately 7,700 years ago during the eruption of a 12,000-ft-high volcano known as Mount Mazama.

Logs float in Spirit Lake near the Spirit Lake gaging station and outflow tunnel. View is to the south with Mount St. Helens in the background.

The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens had a dramatic impact on the North Fork Toutle River. The debris avalanche, lateral blast and ashfall produced a substantial amount of sediment, which continues to be washed into the river and transported downstream.

Thermal images of the small lava lake at the northeastern edge of the crater floor in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. The view in the top image is to the northeast; the view in the bottom image is to southeast. The lava lake is about 20 m (65 ft) across.

Thermal images of the Peace Day flow (episode 61) on the coastal plain. The bright areas show active flows, while the darker purple areas show the warm but inactive part of the flow. The top image looks northwest; the bottom image looks north. The terminus of the flow was about 175 m (575 ft) from the ocean at mid-day.

Thermal image panorama showing the Peace Day flow (episode 61) on the coastal plain. The view is to the southwest. The bright areas are active lava, while the less bright areas are warm but inactive flows.

Aerial view of spattering at the southwest edge of the lava lake below the inner ledge (within the fume) on November 1, 2012. The lake sits inside a smaller crater at the east edge of the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

The active flow front today was about 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the shoreline, and still running along the eastern boundary of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In this photo, the lava flow passes by another Park boundary marker.

The summit of Mauna Loa (left) rises above the vog layer on the leeward side of the Island of Hawai‘i in November 2012. The flank of Hualālai is visible at right.

The active flow front was about 780 m (0.5 miles) from the shoreline today, with a portion of the flow front following along the margin of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. In this photo, the recently active flow margin (lighter color flows) stalled just a meter or so from one of the Park boundary signs.

Overwash processes caused by storms, like the one seen here following Hurricane Sandy on a barrier island in Virginia, push sand landward over dunes to create low-elevation, minimally vegetated sandy habitats used by a variety of species, like piping plovers.

Extreme storms can drastically increase water levels and wave energy causing a breach, or complete erosion of the island itself. Hurricane Sandy created a breach in the Otis Pike High Dunes Wilderness Area at Fire Island National Seashore in NY.