Current Events

Media Advisory: USGS Announces Low-Level Flights to Image Geology and Aquifers in Southwest Michigan

In the public interest and in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the U.S. Geological Survey is announcing the start of a low-level airborne project in Southwest Michigan. Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.

Published: Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:34:45 EDT

Upcoming CDI Monthly Meetings

CDI Monthly Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month, from 11-12:30 pm Eastern Time. 

Published: Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:01:00 EDT

Photo & Video Chronology — April 9, 2026 — Kīlauea summit episode 44

Episode 44 of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea took place on April 9, 2026. Southerly/southwesterly winds resulted in the plume being transported in the north/northeast direction, resulting in tephra falling in areas of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, on Highway 11 nearby, and on communities near the summit of Kīlauea. 

Published: Thu, 9 Apr 2026 22:19:28 EDT

Volcano Watch — Caldera clues: tephra deposits from Kīlauea’s past

Past “Volcano Watch” articles have summarized the episodic lava fountaining eruptions in Kīlauea’s recent history—within the past couple hundred years. A look further back in the geologic record reveals that several lava fountaining eruptions similar to the ongoing one in Halemaʻumaʻu occurred within Kīlauea caldera within the past 500 years. 

Published: Thu, 9 Apr 2026 16:01:13 EDT

New open access articles on Mauna Loa 2022 eruption

Recent publications in a special Bulletin of Volcanology volume, titled, "Mauna Loa 2022 – Unrest, Eruption, and Outreach at the World’s Largest Volcano," present multidisciplinary studies of Mauna Loa investigating magma storage and ascent, summit and rift zone dynamics, and fissure and lava flow processes and hazard assessments. Several of these papers are open access and available online.

Published: Wed, 8 Apr 2026 17:58:23 EDT

Alaska Park Science: USGS and National Park Service Partners in Research

The latest issue of Alaska Park Science features articles on collaborative research between USGS and NPS scientists in park units across Alaska, building a body of science that informs a variety of disciplines as well as park management.

Published: Wed, 8 Apr 2026 11:42:33 EDT

USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day: Implications of highly pathogenic avian influenza to ecosystem health

We are proud to celebrate the 2nd Annual USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day on Friday, April 24, 2026. As the lead federal agency for wildlife disease research and surveillance, USGS connects the dots between animal health, human health, and the outdoor traditions that communities across the country hold dear. Join us on Friday, April 24th for a wildlife health-focused Friday's Findings webinar!

 

Published: Tue, 7 Apr 2026 10:50:54 EDT

Can't make it to the Moon? Try California's volcanoes!

If you listened to astronauts describing the surface of the Moon during the NASA Artemis II flyby yesterday, you might be interested to learn about the roles California's volcanoes - and the USGS - have played in the history of lunar exploration!

Published: Tue, 7 Apr 2026 09:00:00 EDT

Western Fisheries Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Meeting - April 20, 2026

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is responsible for oversight of the animal care and use program and the components as described in the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

Published: Mon, 6 Apr 2026 14:53:51 EDT

SAWSC Scientists Share Latest Research Results at North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute (NC WRRI) Conference

Scientists Will Hamilton, Charlie Stillwell, and Rosemary Fanelli presented their latest research at the 2026 annual North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute (NC WRRI) conference.

Published: Mon, 6 Apr 2026 11:07:52 EDT

Landsat 9 Products Impacted by 2025 Safehold Now Available

Landsat 9 data acquired following an October 2025 safehold event were recently processed into Landsat Level-1 and Level-2 products for the first time and are now available for download.

Additionally, a small number of Landsat products processed just prior and just after the safehold were also reprocessed.

Published: Mon, 6 Apr 2026 10:10:05 EDT

The path of least resistance: Investigating hot spring plumbing systems in Yellowstone using electrical measurements

Have you ever wondered what it looks like underneath a Yellowstone hot spring? Clues about those hot water plumbing systems can be learned by using electricity to probe the subsurface!

Published: Mon, 6 Apr 2026 00:30:00 EDT

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

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.

Published: Thu, 2 Apr 2026 22:56:54 EDT

New England WSC Products in the First Quarter of 2026

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

Published: Thu, 2 Apr 2026 10:43:24 EDT

Land Treatment Exploration Tool 3.0 Launch

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. 

Published: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 19:00:09 EDT

Land Treatment Digital Library Version 2.0 Launch

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. 

Published: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 18:28:52 EDT

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

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. 

Published: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:40:08 EDT

Predicting Harmful Algal Blooms and Toxicity in the San Francisco Estuary

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.

Published: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:37:36 EDT

New AI Tool Forecasts Drought 90 Days Ahead Nationwide

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. 

Published: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:00:00 EDT

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

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

Published: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:17:32 EDT

Landsat Bulk Metadata Now Accessible in New Format

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.

Published: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:36:02 EDT

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

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. 

Published: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:25:00 EDT

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

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.

Published: Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

Volcano Watch — Taking Kīlauea’s Temperature

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!”

Published: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:40:03 EDT

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

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.

Published: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:17:37 EDT

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

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.

Published: Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:09:36 EDT

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

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. 

Published: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 21:55:06 EDT

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

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?

Published: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:00:00 EDT

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

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.

Published: Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

New Kīlauea and Mauna Loa USGS Data Releases

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. 

Published: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 22:45:36 EDT