Images

University of Utah seismologists install a nodal geophone on Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone in June 2018. This instrument was part of a network of 82 seismometers deployed temporarily this summer to help scientists study the magma transport system beneath the volcano's eruption sites. USGS photo by B. Shiro.

GPS receiver for ground deformation monitoring (left) co-located with a seismome

The GeoGirls examined tephra (ash and pumice) deposits from Mount St. Helens’ eruptive past and learned how to create a stratigraphic column.

Woods Hole Costal and Marine Science Center staff offered a presentation and handouts on Natural Hazards and Coastal Hazards in Wetlands and Estuaries  Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers (SSEATs)

Woods Hole Costal and Marine Science Center staff offered a presentation and handouts on Natural Hazards and Coastal Hazards in Wetlands and Estuaries  at the Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers (SSEATs)

From September 4-7, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems flew several missions documenting changes within the fissure 8 cinder cone. On September 4, lava erupted from an opening on the surface of the flow, to build a small cone. Lava flowed onto the floor but did not flow outside the walls of the cone.

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) team completed its mission at Kīlauea Volcano's summit, mapping changes within the caldera. Since August 4, 2018, the number of earthquakes at the summit have decreased and the rate of subsidence has stabilized.

GPS monitoring station P709 is located on The Promontory between the South Arm and Southeast Arm of Yellowstone Lake. It was installed in 2005 as part of the Yellowstone component of the National Science Foundation's Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) under permit YELL-SCI-5546. Photo from UNAVCO station overview page.

An Unmanned Aircraft Systems overflight yesterday (September 4, 2018) showed a small cone on the floor of the crater within fissure 8. The cone formed as lava erupted from an opening in the surface of the flow that covers the crater floor.

A closer view of the small cone forming on the floor of crater within fissure 8 today (Sept. 5). By this morning, bits of molten lava emitted from the cone every few seconds had built it up to an estimated height of around 3-4 m (about 10-13 ft).

A black sand beach blocks the boat ramp at Isaac Hale Beach Park. The beach consists of fragmented lava rock that is slowly migrating west at Pohoiki Bay.

Lower Yellowstone Falls and the trail to Red Rock Point as seen from Lookout Point. Photo by Neal Herbert, Yellowstone National Park. Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowstonenps/21136673039/.

Southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake. Photo by Neal Herbert, Yellowstone National Park. Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowstonenps/15005709247/

An Unmanned Aircraft Systems overflight of fissure 8 on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 1, 2018) showed incandescence within the cinder cone, with reports that lava had covered the 65x15 m (210x45 ft) crater floor by evening.

An Unmanned Aircraft Systems overflight on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 2, 2018) showed that lava remained active within the fissure 8 cone.

This UAS oblique image of fissure 8 shows that the new lava is mostly confined to the crater floor within the cone, although a small amount extended a short distance into the spillway. HVO geologists noted that the lava activity was at a low level, with the area of incandescence decreasing to almost zero over the course of the afternoon.

Early this morning, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems team was able to conduct a brief overflight of fissure 8 between passing rain showers, which resulted in abundant steaming on the flow field.

Geologic field-trip guide of volcaniclastic sediments from snow- and ice-capped volcanoes—Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5022–F, 97 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175022F.

Another aerial view of the summit crater from this morning's overflight. Zoom in to see HVO and the Park's Jaggar Museum on the caldera rim (right side of photo).

An Unmanned Aircraft Systems overflight of fissure 8 on August 21, 2018, showed no incandescence within the cinder cone. Minor amounts of gases, primarily steam, rose from the north wall of the cinder cone and from areas along the lower East Rift Zone. The interior walls of the fissure 8 cone and lava channel are slumping downward and inward.

HVO field crews carefully traverse the uneven surface of the channel levee (left of image) to make measurements of the fissure 8 lava channel. The lava is slowly cooling and contracting but the area remains warm (note the steam rising). The view is to the east, with Puu Honuaula in the distance (right of image).