By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 25, 2026.

Today, we say a hui hou to one of volcanology’s true giants. Professor Bruce Houghton retired last year from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa after 25 years as the Gordon A. Macdonald Chair of Volcanology—a position held by only two people in the past fifty years. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 25, 2026.

In 2025, Professor Bruce Houghton retired from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa after 25 years as the Gordon A. Macdonald Chair of Volcanology. He was only the second person to hold the position in the past half century. With his retirement, let's reflect on a career that helped shape how scientists understand explosive eruptions, volcanic hazards, and how communities live with active volcanoes.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 25, 2026.

A magnitude-3.2 earthquake occurred 8 miles (12 km) south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of 13 miles (21 km) below sea level at 8:34 a.m. HST on June 25, 2026.

By smieszek@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 25, 2026.

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

By jolene_gittens@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 25, 2026.

The USGS will run a dye‑tracing study in Lake Fork Creek, west of Leadville, Colorado, June 25–26, 2026, releasing a non‑toxic dye between 7–9 a.m. and monitoring it downstream.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 24, 2026.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted a misty monitoring overflight of Halemaʻumaʻu at Kīlauea summit on June 24, 2026. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 24, 2026.

On Wednesday, June 24, 8:29 a.m. HST, a magnitude-3.6 earthquake occurred 9 mi (14 km) south of the village of Volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of 5 mi (7 km) below sea level. The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes. 

By jolene_gittens@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 24, 2026.

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of undiscovered gas and oil in the Buda Limestone formation near the Texas Gulf Coast, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 184 billion cubic feet of gas and 12 million barrels of oil.

By cduzet@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 24, 2026.

Researchers propose a practical approach to help scientists better understand and serve natural resource managers. 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 23, 2026.

USGS Research Geologist Curt Storlazzi is among more than 650 international scientists contributing to the United Nations' third World Ocean Assessment, now available in a dynamic, easy-to-navigate web format.

By jmbaker@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 23, 2026.

Learn about 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) lidar data for North Dakota in the new fact sheet -
The 3D Elevation Program -  Supporting North Dakota's Economy

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 22, 2026.

A magnitude-3.8 earthquake occurred 13 miles (21 km) south of Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of 3 mi (6 km) below sea level at 6:20 a.m. HST on June 22, 2026.
 

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 21, 2026.

Early on the morning of Saturday, June 13, 2026, a small hydrothermal explosion occurred at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park. Although smaller than the explosion that occurred in the same area in 2024, it emphasizes the dynamic and hazardous nature of hydrothermal activity in the region.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 19, 2026.

Over the last year and a half, the historic episodic eruption at the summit of Kīlauea has had 49 episodes of lava fountaining, with episode 50 in the forecast for next week. But why are these individual fountaining events considered episodes instead of separate eruptions, and what’s the difference?

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 18, 2026.

Over the last year and a half, Kīlauea’s summit has produced an impressive 49 episodes of lava fountaining—and episode 50 may be just around the corner. Why are these considered episodes instead of separate eruptions?

By jolene_gittens@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 18, 2026.

RESTON, Va. — The southern Appalachian region of the eastern United States contains an estimated 1.43 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium oxide, enough to replace 201 years of U.S. imports at last year’s level, according to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey. 

By jolene_gittens@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 18, 2026.

RESTON, Va. – The U.S. Geological Survey plans low-level helicopter flights over southern Colorado to image geology using airborne geophysical technology. The survey will begin in June and continue for two months, weather and other flight restrictions permitting.

By sernst@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 18, 2026.

Around the world, scientists are using the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Waves-Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System to better understand and forecast short-term changes in coastal conditions. To showcase the breadth of this work, the USGS developed the COAWST Applications Catalog—a collection of published COAWST-based studies spanning multiple countries, coastlines, and scientific questions.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

On leg three of the American Samoa Mapping Project, an interagency-supported hydrograph survey project led by NOAA and in partnership with BOEM, USGS collected box cores and interdisciplinary datasets to inform prospectivity analyses throughout the region.

By shipra_shukla@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

Two scientists from the California Water Science Center will share their work at the 2026 Esri User Conference, highlighting innovative applications of Geographic Information System (GIS) and water science. Their presentations showcase how geospatial tools help advance scientific understanding and support informed resource management.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

On Wednesday, June 17, 2:14 a.m. HST, a magnitude-4.5 earthquake occurred 11 mi (17 km) southeast of Pāhala on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of 21 mi (33 km) below sea level. The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes. 

By cdow@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

June 2026 issue of the KSWSC Quarterly Newsletter from the USGS Central Plains Water Science Center.

By cknapp@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

USGS research shows that Osprey reproduction declined when nests were located in areas with higher‑salinity water, a trend observed across multiple areas of the Chesapeake Bay.

By cdow@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

Topic: Pesticides in Streams and Other Environmental Matrices in Areas Impacted by Pesticide Coated Seeds.

By tara_gross@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

Texas StreamStats with new LiDAR-derived data provides an opportunity for improved accuracy of watershed delineations and streamlines.

By kknotts@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 17, 2026.

June is National Ocean Month! Explore USGS ocean science and learn how environmental DNA (eDNA) helps Eastern Ecological Science Center study marine ecosystems. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 15, 2026.

Episode 49 of lava fountaining during the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea took place for 7.5 hours on June 14. The eruption is currently paused.
 

By sally_house@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 15, 2026.

NOAA has declared an El Niño in June 2026, with a "Super El Niño" expected to peak this winter. USGS researchers are tracking how warming waters threaten Alaska's ecosystems, from seabird die-offs and harmful algal blooms to heat-stressed salmon. USGS science helps reveal the connections between these climate events and the fish and wildlife that Alaskans and ecosystems depend on.

By sally_house@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Jun 15, 2026.

Join us for a Pollinator Week edition of Friday's Findings that highlights methods the USGS is developing to find undiscovered populations of the endangered rusty patched bumble bee.

Date:  Friday, June 26, 2026
Time:  2:00-2:30 PM Eastern/11:00 -11:30 AM Pacific
Speaker:  Clint Otto, Research Ecologist, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jun 14, 2026.

In the far southwest corner of Lower Geyser Basin is Imperial Geyser—a colorful pool that is also a perpetual spouter.  The feature seems to have formed in 1927 and for a time was the most spectacular geyser in Yellowstone National Park!