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Volcano Watch

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates. 

Filter Total Items: 1680
Volcano Watch — How the lava viewing got to be so great

Volcano Watch — How the lava viewing got to be so great

The past two weeks have been exceptional for viewers of Kilauea's lava flows. Both colorful and convenient, the flows have drawn visitors to the...

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Volcano Watch — Kīlauea lava meets the sea again: will you be assaulted by a salty (and stinging) plume?

Volcano Watch — Kīlauea lava meets the sea again: will you be assaulted by a salty (and stinging) plume?

"The only constant is change" is an adage that certainly applies to Kīlauea Volcano. Over the past weeks volcano watchers have been treated to views...

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Volcano Watch — The strong, silent type

Volcano Watch — The strong, silent type

In early November 2000, the largest earthquake to strike the Big Island in more than a decade occurred, yet no one, not even seismologists, noticed it...

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Volcano Watch — A reminder that we live in earthquake country..

Volcano Watch — A reminder that we live in earthquake country..

For years, scientists have tried to understand what causes earthquakes. They have recorded, catalogued, and analyzed them.

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Volcano Watch — The golden pumice of Kīlauea

Volcano Watch — The golden pumice of Kīlauea

Hawaiian volcanoes are rich in excitement, beauty, and challenge, but they're not awash in mineral resources. How is it, then, that Kīlauea has a...

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Volcano Watch — Hawaiians` view of Hawai`i Geologic History

Volcano Watch — Hawaiians` view of Hawai`i Geologic History

Many of us look at a landscape and wonder how it got that way and others wonder how they can make money off it even if they don't use Arthur Anderson...

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Volcano Watch — What's cooking at Kīlauea?

Volcano Watch — What's cooking at Kīlauea?

Pele has been restless lately-she has changed her mood twice since late last year.

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Volcano Watch — Forecasting lava flows and eruption clouds

Volcano Watch — Forecasting lava flows and eruption clouds

When lava flows from an erupting vent or from an active lava tube, scientists face the challenge of determining, or forecasting, which areas are...

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Volcano Watch — Eruptions and fires

Volcano Watch — Eruptions and fires

Lava is not fire. People sometimes talk about lava as fire, as in "fire fountain," "curtain of fire," and "river of fire." Most realize that these and...

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Volcano Watch — Monitoring volcanic activity with electronc tiltmeters

Volcano Watch — Monitoring volcanic activity with electronc tiltmeters

Volcanic activity often results in various forms of ground motion. The scale of this motion, or deformation, to use the scientific term, ranges from...

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Volcano Watch — The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory: Monitoring a restless volcanic giant

Volcano Watch — The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory: Monitoring a restless volcanic giant

In 1912, when Thomas Jaggar dug a cellar to house a seismograph on the north rim of Kilauea's caldera, there was only one other volcano observatory on...

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Volcano Watch — Mauna Loa's eruption of 1916: Great expectations?

Volcano Watch — Mauna Loa's eruption of 1916: Great expectations?

On May 19, 1916, at 7:15 a.m., Mauna Loa began to erupt at about the 3,355 m (11,000 ft) elevation on the southwest rift zone. A mushroom-shaped cloud...

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