Images

USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample. The poster in the background is a scientific rendering by Véronique Robigou (then at University of Washington) of a hydrothermal vent deposit with the submersible Alvin drawn to scale.

USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens. Sulfide-silicate minerals precipitate from 330°C mineral laden water venting along volcanically active spreading ridges.

On September 8, at 6:06 p.m. HST, much of the large ledge that had built up on the south side of the summit vent within Halema‘uma‘u collapsed. The top two images, captured by HVO's K2 and HT web cameras, show the summit vent before the collapse. A yellow arrow points to the ledge, which was formed by layers of lava stacking up during repeated high lake levels.

HVO K2cam image at the time of the 6:06 p.m. collapse on Sept. 8. Interestingly, this collapse did not generate a large explosion—only a small, brownish plume was observed during and immediately after the rocky ledge fell into the lava lake.

Mark, Nicole, Rich, Ryan, Dean taking out the "trash" from the base of the trench.

A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam captured this image of spattering on Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake on September 6, 2017. In concert with summit inflation, the lake level had risen to 16.5 m (54 ft) below the vent rim, bringing it into view from the Jaggar Museum Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

USGS campus in Menlo Park, California - office location of the California Volcano Observatory

Location 4. Sand dunes along this stretch of coast in Sargent, Texas, were overwashed by large waves during the storm. Sand from the beach and dunes is covering the roadway behind the dunes and which may be impassable. The predicted probability of overwash in this area was 94%.

Belle Philibosian next to a trench investigating the West Napa Fault near St. Helena, California, September 2017.

Lava continues to enter the ocean at the Kamokuna ocean entry with many small lava streams near the front of the delta. On August 19, there was a breakout approximately 120 m (394 ft) away from the edge of the sea cliff that lasted for approximately 9.5 hours.

Today, two recent breakouts (lighter in color) were visible on the steeper portion of the pali. The western breakout (left of the kipuka) started on August 27 from the 61g tube, and has started to advance onto the coastal plain. To the east (right) of the kipuka is a smaller surface flow that is a part of the larger June 26 breakout.

Telephoto view of some of the pāhoehoe lava channels from the surface activity of the June 26 breakout.

This map shows recent changes to Kīlauea's East Rift Zone lava flow field. The area of the active flow field as of August 9 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the active flow as of September 1 is shown in red. Older Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō lava flows (1983-2016) are shown in gray. The yellow line is the trace of the active lava tube.

This map is similar to the map above but shows a thermal map over the Episode 61g lava flow. Cooler colors (blue and green) show cooled, inactive portions of the flow surface. Hot colors (red and orange) show areas of active surface breakouts.

USGS scientists Lisa Ashmore and Lee Bodkin collect water-quality samples on Lake Houston in response to the high flow conditions that resulted from Harvey. 

USGS scientist Lisa Ashmore services a water-quality monitor on Lake Houston. These instruments stayed afloat and collected data throughout Harvey. 

The east side of Mount Rainier, as viewed from Panhandle Gap.

USGS geologist Don Swanson (right) explains Keanakāko‘i Tephra stratigraphy exposed near the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory to scientists who visited Kīlauea during a Geological Society of America field trip in May 2017. USGS photo by T. Neal.

Example of the Keanakāko‘i Tephra sequence exposed on the southeast side of Kīlauea Volcano's summit caldera showing some of the identified units labeled with the revised nomenclature scheme. USGS photo by D. Swanson.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineers begin the process of lowering a tiltmeter into a deep borehole on the west flank of Mauna Loa. The installation is guided by a custom-built apparatus that includes a 3-D printed jig. This tiltmeter will help monitor the currently elevated activity of Mauna Loa Volcano. USGS photo.

Page Valentine and Dann Blackwood on the fantail of the NOAA R/V Auk.  Dann is photographing a sediment sample collected on the seabed.