Current Events

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

USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program Announces 2026 EDMAP Funding Opportunity

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. 

Published: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:35:39 EDT

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

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.

Published: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:45:00 EDT

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

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.

Published: Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:07:38 EDT

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

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.

Published: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:44:15 EDT

USGS Scientists to Lead Decision Science Session at North American Conference

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.

Published: Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:19:34 EDT

The curious case of Kelseyville’s Gas Hill

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

Published: Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:00:00 EDT

Hot Spring Cleaning!

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?

Published: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:30:00 EDT

San Luis Obispo Field Office Grand Opening

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.

Published: Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:54:43 EDT

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

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.

Published: Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:22:55 EDT

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

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. 

Published: Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:55:33 EDT

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

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. 

Published: Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:48:25 EDT