Volcano Hazards Program Features Archive


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2008 Jack Kleinman Internship for Volcano Research

08 January 2008

The U.S. Geological Survey, through its Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, invites applications for the 2008 Jack Kleinman Volcano Research Grants Program. Stipends of $500 to $2,000 are available to senior undergraduates and graduate students who are conducting research in volcanology, preferably in the Cascade Range, Aleutian volcanic arc, Hawaii, Yellowstone, or Long Valley caldera. The application deadline is March 1, 2008. [Added May 2008] To see this year's winners, please see the Jack Kleinman Internship page.

Recent Scientific Summary of Cascade Volcanoes by Wes Hildreth

17 December 2007
Distributed arc volcanoes in the Cascades of central Oregon. At least 23 separate vents are discernible in this southwestward view from low on the southern slope of South Sister.

The Cascade magmatic arc is a belt of Quaternary volcanoes that extends 1,250 km from Lassen Peak in northern California to Meager Mountain in Canada, above the subduction zone where the Juan de Fuca Plate plunges beneath the North American Plate. Newly published Professional Paper 1744, Quaternary Magmatism in the Cascades—Geologic Perspectives by Wes Hildreth, presents a synthesis of the entire volcanic arc, addressing all 2,300 known Quaternary volcanoes. Wes Hildreth’s insightful understanding of volcanic processes and his uncompromising scientific integrity make him uniquely qualified to present this synthesis. During more than three decades of volcanological studies, he has carried out comprehensive investigations of Mount Adams, Mount Baker, the Three Sisters, and the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field. He also brings a broad experience in other volcanic arcs, having conducted integrated field and laboratory investigations at several major volcanic centers in the Andes and the Aleutian arcs. His expertise and perspective have been further enhanced by in-depth petrologic studies of caldera environments, primarily in Long Valley, California, and Yellowstone. This scientific volume will influence and guide the course of Cascade investigations for decades to come. [excerpted from Foreword]

New Fact Sheet Explains Recent Geysering and other Thermal Instabilities in Hot Creek, CA

2 July 2007

USGS scientists along with our colleagues at the U.S. Forest Service have published a new Fact Sheet, Boiling Water at Hot Creek - The Dangerous and Dynamic Thermal Springs in California's Long Valley Caldera. The Fact Sheet was written in response to safety concerns regarding recent hot spring activity and geysering in Hot Creek Gorge. Due to the unpredictability of the hazardous spring activity, the U.S. Forest Service has closed parts of the Hot Creek Geologic Site. Fact Sheet 2007-3045 explains why the previously popular swimming area is thermally unstable.

Series of Earthquakes in Sierra Nevada near Long Valley Caldera

21 June 2007

For more information please see the summary of the June 12th earthquake sequence south of Long Valley caldera.

New Lava outbreak in Upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano

19 June 2007

For more information please see the Kīlauea update page (http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/hvostatus.php). For the most recent images, please see the current images page (http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html).

USGS Scientists Publish Design Document for the Database of Worldwide Volcanic Unrest

14 June 2007

The ability to forecast near future activity during periods of volcanic unrest has been a primary concern for human populations living near volcanoes. Our ability to forecast future activity and mitigate hazards is based on knowledge of previous activity at the volcano exhibiting unrest and knowledge of previous activity at similar volcanoes. A small set of experts with past experience are often involved in forecasting. To both preserve the knowledge the experts use and continue to investigate volcanic data to make better forecasts, the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) has designed a database called WOVOdat. The Design Document, written by USGS scientists Dina Venezky and Chris Newhall, covers the first phase of the project and explains the schema for version 1.0. For more information, please seeWOVOdat Design Document: The Schema, Table Descriptions, and Create Table Statements for the Database of Worldwide Volcanic Unrest (WOVOdat Version 1.0).

YVO Releases a Preliminary Hazards Assessment of Yellowstone National Park and Vicinity

04 April 2007

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) just released a Preliminary Assessment of Volcanic and Hydrothermal Hazards in Yellowstone National Park and Vicinity. The assessment, four years in the making, is authored by Robert Christiansen, a leading expert on the Yellowstone volcanic system, along with eight colleagues. The preliminary assessment has been published as an Open-File Report. Over the next 2 years, the assessment will be enlarged to include a seismic hazards analysis and other additional enhancements. At that point, the hazards assessment will be released as a more formal USGS Scientific Investigations Report that will replace this preliminary report.

2007 Jack Kleinman Internship for Volcano Research

26 January 2007

The U.S. Geological Survey, through its Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, invites applications for the 2007 Jack Kleinman Volcano Research Grants Program. Stipends of $500 to $2,000 are available to senior undergraduates and graduate students who are conducting research in volcanology, preferably in the Cascade Range, Aleutian volcanic arc, Hawaii, Yellowstone, or Long Valley caldera. The application deadline is March 1, 2007. For more information please see the Jack Kleinman Internship page.

Farewell to our Colleague and Friend, Jim Luhr

3 January 2007

It is with deep sadness we inform you that our colleague, Jim Luhr, Curator in the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution, passed away unexpectedly on January 1, 2007, at the age of 53. He died peacefully in his sleep. He directed the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program since 1995, and is well-known for elegantly written descriptions of insightful, multi-pronged studies of his beloved Mexican volcanoes. For more information please see the Smithsonian's page on James Luhr.

This Dynamic Planet Map Third Edition

21 December 2006

The long awaited third edition of the popular This Dynamic Planet map has been released. The map is designed to show Earth's most prominent features when viewed from a distance, and more detailed features upon closer inspection. The back of the map zooms in further, highlighting examples of fundamental processes, while providing text, timelines, references, and other resources to enhance understanding of this dynamic planet. The map was published by the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. More information about the map can be found on the USGS publications site. For an interactive online version, please see The Smithsonian's This Dynamic Map page.

USGS has Adopted a Common Alert-Level System to Inform Public of Volcanic Activity at U.S. Volcanoes

3 October 2006

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has adopted a common system nationwide for characterizing the level of unrest and eruptive activity at volcanoes. See USGS Volcano-Warning Scheme for the United States for a description of the new alert-level system.

Satellite Technologies Detect Uplift in the Yellowstone Caldera

22 March 2006

This March 2006, the journal Nature published a paper by YVO scientist Charles Wicks and colleagues about a period of uplift in the northern part of the Yellowstone caldera. For more information about the recent findings, please see Satellite Technologies Detect Uplift in the Yellowstone Caldera. See also the InSAR research Group Section.

Volcano Information Statements now Released using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)

29 March 2006

The Volcano Hazards Program is now using a standard format called CAP for all volcano information statements. CAP was created to meet the recommendation of the National Science and Technology Council's report on "Effective Disaster Warnings" (2000) that:

"A standard method should be developed to collect and relay instantaneously and automatically all types of hazard warnings and reports locally, regionally and nationally for input into a wide variety of dissemination systems."

The volcano information statements on our websites will look similar to how they have looked in the past. The underlying format, however, is now in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and includes additional information describing the type of alert for emergency managers. The full CAP messages are available as an RSS feed from the following url http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/rss_feeds.asp#volcanoes. For more information about CAP please see the OASIS website.

U.S. Geological Survey launches new website styles

29 March 2006

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided new header and footer templates to give our web pages a unified look and to increase accessibility. The Volcano Hazards Program will slowly roll out the templates starting with new pages. You will notice that changes have been made to this page including easier access to information about erupting volcanoes in the 'Worldwide and U.S. Volcano Updates' and news stories with dates of publication. We will also be adding new features, such as RSS feeds, and revising the navigation. Stay tuned for more information about our exciting web changes.

Five-Year Volcano Hazards Plan Released

The Five-Year Volcano Hazards Plan, Understanding Volcano Hazards and Preventing Volcanic Disasters, A Science Strategy for the Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. Geological Survey, 2004-2008 is now available in pdf format.