Volcano Watch

Words matter in volcanology just as in the rest of society. Words matter among volcanologists themselves, of course, but they particularly matter in...

Every rock on Earth is made of up a unique combination of chemical elements, and lavas/tephra formed during Hawaiian eruptions are no exception. What...

Volcanic gases are an important part of eruptions—they help magma to rise within the earth and erupt, they can tell us how much lava is being erupted...

In addition to a new year and a new eruption, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is ushering in a new era for processing and studying...

It has been an exciting week at Kīlauea Volcano as the summit eruption that began on the evening of December 20th continues. The eruption remains...

‘Twas the Sunday before Christmas, the eve of the winter solstice, and festive holiday lights blinked of bright red and green. And then, shortly after...

The 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit caldera collapse marked the end of the 35-year-long Puʻu ʻŌʻō and 10-year-long summit lava lake...

Though there hasn’t been an eruption in Hawai‘i in 2020, the year has hardly been quiet—earthquake swarms, an elevated alert-level on Mauna Loa, and a...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel from the depths of Kīlauea and be hurled into the air as a tiny grain of volcanic ash? How high...

Recall this lava flow crisis from years ago: lava breaks out of the normal confines of the long-lived Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption, with flows advancing...