All News

Volcano Watch — Adapting to an evolving eruption: revising Kīlauea’s Alert Level and Aviation Color Code Notifications

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 22:56:54 EDT

The USGS Volcano Alert Level (ground-based hazards) and Aviation Color Code (airborne hazards) communicate Kīlauea status and activity. After episode 44, which is forecast to begin between April 6–14, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will change how it applies the Alert Level and Aviation Color Code to better convey hazards between and during eruptive episodes at Kīlauea summit.

New England WSC Products in the First Quarter of 2026

smieszek@usgs.gov — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 10:43:24 EDT

List of products from the New England Water Science Center released in the first quarter of 2026.

Land Treatment Exploration Tool 3.0 Launch

lisa_hoaks@ios.doi.gov — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 19:00:09 EDT

The U.S. Geological Survey launched an updated version of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool that includes many new features for a better user experience.

Land Treatment Digital Library Version 2.0 Launch

lisa_hoaks@ios.doi.gov — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 18:28:52 EDT

The U.S. Geological Survey launched an updated version (2.0) of the Land Treatment Digital Library to improve user experience, include additional data, and enhance Bureau of Land Management access.

Photo & Video Chronology — March 31, 2026 — Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:40:08 EDT

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists completed a helicopter overflight of the Kīlauea summit on March 31, 2026, during which they captured photos of the eruptive vents in Halemaʻumaʻu, along with the tephra deposit from the ongoing episodic lava fountaining eruption.

Predicting Harmful Algal Blooms and Toxicity in the San Francisco Estuary

harry_ackley@ios.doi.gov — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:37:36 EDT

In fall 2023, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a five‑year, $3 million Monitoring and Event Response Research Program (MERHAB) grant to improve Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) detection in the San Francisco Estuary.

New AI Tool Forecasts Drought 90 Days Ahead Nationwide

jlavista@usgs.gov — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:00 EDT

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey released a new machine learning tool that forecasts droughts up to 90 days ahead nationwide. The tool may provide communities extra time to prepare for water shortages that could impact agriculture, municipal supplies, recreation and ecosystems.

Powell Center Seminar: Beyond waves and shifting sand: considering ecosystem processes in forecasts of coastal landscape change

lhsu@usgs.gov — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:17:32 EDT

Join us for a Powell Center seminar on Monday, April 13 from 1-2 pm MT / 3-4 pm ET.

Landsat Bulk Metadata Now Accessible in New Format

lowen@contractor.usgs.gov — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:36:02 EDT

Landsat product metadata are now available in the Apache Parquet file format, in addition to existing CSV and XML files. Parquet files help users access metadata information more efficiently and provide faster, customized results.

USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center at the 2026 Northeast Fish & Wildlife Conference

kknotts@usgs.gov — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:25:00 EDT

USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) researchers are presenting findings of scientific studies at the 81st Annual Northeast Fish & Wildlife Conference in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia from April 7-10, 2026.

Volcanism on the other side of the world from the Yellowstone Caldera

mpoland@usgs.gov — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

The location on the other side of the world from the Yellowstone Caldera is in the southern Indian Ocean—a site near the Kerguelen Plateau, which formed about 130 million years ago and still hosts a few very remote and active volcanoes.

Volcano Watch — Taking Kīlauea’s Temperature

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:40:03 EDT

Geochemical analysis of erupted tephra samples over the past decade help scientists understand the temperature of Kīlauea’s shallow magma system under the summit—and things have been “heating up!”

Which bees need help? Assessing Southeast species before the buzz fades

sally_house@ios.doi.gov — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:17:37 EDT

Discover which Southeast bee species may be at risk and how USGS research is helping protect them. Join our April 10th Friday’s Findings webinar exploring conservation status and climate vulnerability insights for overlooked native bees.

Art of Inquiry: Celebrating a semester of Art & Science at the Flagstaff Stemmy Awards

ametcalfe@usgs.gov — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:09:36 EDT

USGS celebrates the designation of Jessina Clasen and John Compton from Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (FALA) as finalists for "Teacher of the Year" at the 2026 Flagstaff STEMMY Awards for their collaboration with the Flagstaff Science Campus.

Photo & Video Chronology — March 25, 2026 — Kīlauea summit monitoring overflight

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:55:06 EDT

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted a monitoring, surveying, and sampling overflight of Kīlauea summit region on March 25, 2026, following episode 43 of the ongoing episodic lava fountaining eruption on March 10, 2026.

When it comes to analyzing rocks, only the freshest samples will do!

jlball@usgs.gov — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:00:00 EDT

Why are geologists so picky about rock samples? If you've ever watched one at work, you might notice that some rocks pass inspection, but others get discarded. Obviously a rock can't spoil like a piece a fruit, so what's going on?

Mapping snow- and ice-free zones to monitor thermal activity in Yellowstone using high-resolution commercial satellite imagery

mpoland@usgs.gov — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

Yellowstone’s thermal areas can have subtle regions of heated ground. High-resolution commercial satellite images provide a new way of accurately mapping these details.

New Kīlauea and Mauna Loa USGS Data Releases

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 22:45:36 EDT

The USGS has recently published several Data Release products associated with eruptions of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. If you have questions about these data sets, please contact askHVO@usgs.gov.

USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program Announces 2026 EDMAP Funding Opportunity

blopezhetland@usgs.gov — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:35:39 EDT

Calling all U.S. geoscience faculty interested in geologic mapping! The USGS EDMAP program is now accepting proposals to support graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in mentor-guided geologic mapping projects.

Spring 2026 Highlights from EESC’s Disease Decision Analysis and Research Group

kknotts@usgs.gov — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:45:00 EDT

The Disease Decision Analysis and Research (DDAR) group is a multi-disciplinary team based out of the Eastern Ecological Science Center whose strengths are in ecology, decision science, quantitative modeling, social science, and informing natural resource management. Learn more about the recent activities of this team below.

EESC in the News: From Alewives to Bass: Discovering the Viruses Lurking in North America’s Fish

meganevans@usgs.gov — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:07:38 EDT

By Clay Raines

SciPod

March 20, 2026

A summary of several of Dr. Raines’ and colleagues’ fascinating findings and their implications for fish management, conservation, and the health of freshwater species.

Volcano Watch — Pele, Lono, and Hiʻiaka remind us of Nature’s power

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:44:15 EDT

The summit region of Kīlauea experienced tephra fallout and a Kona low storm this past week. Cleanup, recovery, and regrowth is ongoing. These processes are natural and have been recognized and embodied in Native Hawaiian oral traditions about Pele, Lono, and Hiʻiaka.

USGS Scientists to Lead Decision Science Session at North American Conference

dchilds@usgs.gov — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:19:34 EDT

USGS scientists from the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (CRU) program are leading a special session at the 91st North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on April 2, 2026. The session focuses on how decision science may be applied to common natural resource management problems faced by state fish and wildlife agencies around the country.

The curious case of Kelseyville’s Gas Hill

jlball@usgs.gov — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:00:00 EDT

Before Kelseyville, CA had electric lights, it had something even more unusual: a hill that made its own natural gas.

Hot Spring Cleaning!

mpoland@usgs.gov — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

You may have heard that throwing rocks, sticks, or other items in hot springs in Yellowstone is a bad idea (and also illegal), but have you ever wondered what it takes to remove them?

San Luis Obispo Field Office Grand Opening

harry_ackley@ios.doi.gov — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:54:43 EDT

On the morning of February 5th, the Cal Poly Tech Park II facility on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus, in which the new USGS California Water Science Center Field Office is housed, had its grand opening.

Media Alert: Low-level airplane and helicopter flights to scan geology over southern, central New Mexico

jburton@usgs.gov — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:22:55 EDT

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey plans low-level flights by airplane and helicopter over southern and central New Mexico to image geology using airborne geophysical technology. The survey will begin this month and will continue through the fall, weather and wildfire restrictions permitting.

USGS Powell Center Releases New Guidance for Managing Ecosystems Amid Rising Climatic Novelty

mrwilson@usgs.gov — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:55:33 EDT

The USGS Powell Center has released new guidance to help land and natural-resource managers navigate a future where climate-driven environmental conditions increasingly diverge from historical norms.

Volcano Watch — Episode 43, new fountain height record and tephra fallout on communities

kmulliken@usgs.gov — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:48:25 EDT

Episode 43 at the summit of Kīlauea began at 9:17 a.m. HST on March 10, 2026, and continued for 9 hours. Both the north and south vents erupted lava fountains, with the south vent fountain reaching 1770 feet (540 meters) high — a new record for this eruption. Southwesterly winds carried tephra traveled toward visitor overlooks and nearby communities, both near and far.

Updates to the Upper Klamath and Harney Basin interactive data mappers

lisa_hoaks@ios.doi.gov — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:34:11 EDT

The Upper Klamath Basin and Harney Basin interactive web maps have been updated with additional well sites and recent groundwater level field measurements collected during 2025-26 site visits.