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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: 1710
Volcano Watch — What’s shaking? Earthquake alerts explained

Volcano Watch — What’s shaking? Earthquake alerts explained

Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Hawaii. If you subscribe to emergency, earthquake, or volcano notifications, the shaking you feel might be...

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Volcano Watch — An assembly of volcano scientists to gather in Hilo

Volcano Watch — An assembly of volcano scientists to gather in Hilo

What is the collective noun for a group of volcano scientists? While some tongue-in-cheek responses might be “an eruption of volcanologists” or “a...

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Volcano Watch — Announcing 2025 Volcano Awareness Month Art & Poetry Contest Winners

Volcano Watch — Announcing 2025 Volcano Awareness Month Art & Poetry Contest Winners

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) spearheads Volcano Awareness Month each January on the Island of Hawaiʻi. This year, in addition to in...

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Volcano Watch — Recent lava fountains highlight Pele’s Hair hazards

Volcano Watch — Recent lava fountains highlight Pele’s Hair hazards

Residents and visitors alike have been watching episodic lava fountains in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea since late December 2024. While...

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Volcano Watch — Peering into a crystal ball: What tiny crystals can tell us about their trip through the magma chamber

Volcano Watch — Peering into a crystal ball: What tiny crystals can tell us about their trip through the magma chamber

Like fortune tellers who peer into a crystal ball for insight, volcanologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) peer into the tiny...

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Volcano Watch — The pressure is on, within Kīlauea and for volcanologists to foretell what's next

Volcano Watch — The pressure is on, within Kīlauea and for volcanologists to foretell what's next

The recent eruption of Kīlauea within Halemaʻumaʻu brought back an eruptive style not seen for many years.  The eruption included 3 episodes of lava...

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Volcano Watch — Happy New Year, Hawaiian Style

Volcano Watch — Happy New Year, Hawaiian Style

People around the world greet the New Year with fireworks and other celebrations. This year, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park visitors greeted the New...

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Volcano Watch — Kīlauea summit erupts again

Volcano Watch — Kīlauea summit erupts again

Kīlauea began erupting again on December 23, 2024. This is the eighth eruption of Kīlauea, and the sixth within Kaluapele, since 2020. These previous...

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Volcano Watch — The U.S. Geological Survey’s review process: checking and verifying our information

Volcano Watch — The U.S. Geological Survey’s review process: checking and verifying our information

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the science agency of the U.S. Department of Interior. Our job is...

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Volcano Watch — It’s All About Perspective: How to Interpret an Interferogram

Volcano Watch — It’s All About Perspective: How to Interpret an Interferogram

Interferograms are images created by radar satellites that show how the ground has changed shape, or deformed, over time. Today, we’ll dive into one...

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Volcano Watch — How have eruptions shaped Hawaii? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist

Volcano Watch — How have eruptions shaped Hawaii? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitors the six currently active volcanoes in Hawaii, but past eruptions have shaped all of the Hawaiian...

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Volcano Watch — What sounds the (automated) alarms at HVO?

Volcano Watch — What sounds the (automated) alarms at HVO?

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) keeps its eyes on active volcanoes in many ways.  While old fashioned eyes and a notebook are used when...

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Volcano Watch — Quantifying corrosion downwind of Kīlauea

Volcano Watch — Quantifying corrosion downwind of Kīlauea

In December 2022, a team of scientists from Aotearoa New Zealand teamed up with scientists from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) to carry...

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Volcano Watch — ʻAilāʻau or Kualoloa? Hawaiian chants suggest lava flow name change

Volcano Watch — ʻAilāʻau or Kualoloa? Hawaiian chants suggest lava flow name change

Native Hawaiian oral traditions record a rich history of the changing volcanic landscape in Hawaiʻi. Interweaving cultural knowledge with scientific...

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Volcano Watch — The Art and Science of Geologic Mapping

Volcano Watch — The Art and Science of Geologic Mapping

Geologic mapping has been one of the most fundamental mandates of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since its establishment in 1879. Congress created...

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Volcano Watch — Tilting towards lava: How tiltmeters monitor volcano activity

Volcano Watch — Tilting towards lava: How tiltmeters monitor volcano activity

Over the past century, technological advancements have vastly improved volcano monitoring. One key innovation was the introduction of modern borehole...

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Volcano Watch — The East Rift Zone of Kilauea was a busy place in the 1960s

Volcano Watch — The East Rift Zone of Kilauea was a busy place in the 1960s

The recent eruption at Nāpau Crater was the first on Kīlauea’s middle East Rift Zone (ERZ) in six years. We often remember the Pu‘u‘ō‘ō and Maunaulu...

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Volcano Watch — Potential long-term outcomes of recent intrusions in Kīlauea East Rift Zone

Volcano Watch — Potential long-term outcomes of recent intrusions in Kīlauea East Rift Zone

The intense seismicity and ground deformation along the East Rift Zone of Kīlauea in the past couple of months is interpreted to indicate intrusion of...

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Volcano Watch — The 2024 Great Hawaii ShakeOut

Volcano Watch — The 2024 Great Hawaii ShakeOut

In Hawaii, earthquakes are a common occurrence, and we should always practice earthquake preparedness. Millions of people around the world practice...

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Volcano Watch — First light (and flight) for HVO’s new airborne lidar system

Volcano Watch — First light (and flight) for HVO’s new airborne lidar system

Topographic mapping has been a key component of volcano monitoring for decades, helping scientists to study morphologic changes and predict the paths...

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Volcano Watch — Understanding magma storage and migration in Kīlauea’s active East Rift Zone

Volcano Watch — Understanding magma storage and migration in Kīlauea’s active East Rift Zone

Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with eruptions common both at its summit caldera and within its two rift zones. Frequent...

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