By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 18, 2025.

On December 23, 2024, a unique eruption began in Kīlauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater, with a style of activity not seen for nearly 40 years. The eruption, characterized by high lava-fountaining episodes, has continued for nearly a year. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park visitors see remarkable views, but the latest episode reminds us how quickly hazards associated with this dynamic activity can change.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 18, 2025.

Beneath the surface of the ocean, vast layers of planktonic life are constantly on the move—rising, sinking, spreading, and regrouping in response to light, predators, currents, and storms. This epic choreography is sometimes called the largest mass migration on earth, and it happens every day, out of our view.

By srodriguez@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 18, 2025.

Mapping in your hands with the topoBuilder application

By ajonesi@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 18, 2025.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released the list of selected projects under the 2025 3D National Topography Model Data Collaboration Announcement, aimed at advancing data acquisition efforts for the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) and the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP).

By samgott@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 17, 2025.

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of potential for undiscovered gas and oil in the Haynesville Formation underlying the onshore Gulf of America and adjoining state waters, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 47.9 trillion cubic feet of gas and 152 million barrels of oil.  

By jlawson@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 17, 2025.

When we think of growth across the United States, we tend to think of medium or large cities with suburbs that expand into the surrounding area, such as cropland or forest or even desert. But growth happens in small towns, too—sometimes quite quickly for very specific reasons.

By ssoileau@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 17, 2025.

Friday’s Findings is a public webinar series hosted by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. Each 30-minute session provides an overview of a current science topic and includes an opportunity for attendees to engage directly with USGS scientists through a question-and-answer segment.  Webinars are held from 2:00-2:30 PM Eastern/11:00 -11:30 AM Pacific, unless otherwise noted.

By mbouchard@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 17, 2025.

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with NASA, has named the new Landsat Science Team that will support the world’s longest-running Earth observation mission for a planned 2026-2030 term. 

By sernst@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 16, 2025.

AGU25 is the world’s largest annual Earth science meeting, bringing together more than 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries to share innovative research and foster global collaboration. If you’re at the meeting this year, attend presentations representing USGS research to learn more about our work and how we benefit the Nation.

By krossos@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 15, 2025.

A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey demonstrates that measuring nitrogen in stream reaches can identify areas where decreasing nitrogen inputs may improve the water quality of downstream receiving waters.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 15, 2025.

Beneath Yellowstone's steaming geysers and fumaroles lies a chemical mystery: where did all the sulfur dioxide go?

By lsheng@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 12, 2025.

The U.S. Antarctic Resource Collection is located at the USGS Library in Reston, VA.

By sernst@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 12, 2025.

In a recently published study, USGS scientists assess the accuracy of the Coastal Change Likelihood assessment. Results demonstrate the assessment provides accurate estimates of coastal landscape change in the next decade, consistent with recent observed change. 

By tgross@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 12, 2025.

StreamStats version 4.30.0, released on December 12, 2025, uses all new services that were built with open-source software components. These services perform the work behind the StreamStats application to delineate basins and compute basin characteristics, which are used to estimate streamflow statistics.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 12, 2025.

A new USGS study compares nearly 40 years of satellite-derived shorelines with traditional shoreline measurements, finding that despite greater uncertainty in any single satellite snapshot, long-term shoreline trends detected from space closely match those captured by more labor-intensive field surveys. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 11, 2025.

January 2026 is the 17th annual Volcano Awareness Month on the Island of Hawai‘i! Throughout the month, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), along with close partners, promotes the importance of understanding and respecting the volcanoes on which we live. Join us at one of the community events.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 11, 2025.

Point Barrow, Alaska, or Nuvuk, is the northernmost point in the United States. Since 2021, USGS has maintained two video cameras here to study sediment movement and wave dynamics along this dynamic coastline. Rapid erosion destabilized the cameras in Fall 2025, and they were taken down.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 11, 2025.

As the year 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on the historic past year of volcanic activity on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Thirty-eight episodes of lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea remind us that we live on a volcanic landscape and should be aware of the volcanic processes and hazards that can affect us. 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 11, 2025.

A new study from Texas A&M University, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, and USGS offers fresh insight into how Hawai‘i’s corals are coping with the double threat of turbid water and rising ocean temperatures—stressors that are threatening reef health, especially along densely populated coasts.

By nschmer@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 10, 2025.

USGS groundwater and surface water monitoring data contributed to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PaDEP) December 4, 2025, expansion of drought watches to eight additional counties. A total of 37 counties are now under drought watch.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 10, 2025.

USGS scientists determine the extent of deposits from episode 38 of lava fountaining at Kīlauea summit, which occurred on December 6, 2025. 

By krossos@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 10, 2025.

While most USGS surface water monitoring stations are situated alongside riverbanks, some are located on the shores of much larger water bodies, like lakes, reservoirs, and bays. 

By ssobie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 10, 2025.

If a geomagnetic storm as large as the famed “Carrington Event” of 1859 were to occur today, it could adversely affect telecommunications and electric power transmission systems across the U.S., especially in the Midwest and the East Coast.

By blopezhetland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 09, 2025.

The U.S. Geological Survey National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Best Student Geologic Map Competition, which took place at the annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Connects meeting in San Antonio, TX this past October.

By cduzet@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 09, 2025.

The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) partnered with the USGS Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PICASC) to organize a six-day tour across Hawaii Island and Oahu to engage with local communities about planned deep-sea research during the USGS Hawaii Abyssal Nodules and Associated Ecosystems Expedition. 

By smieszek@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 09, 2025.

Kristina Masterson (New York WSC), Monica Langhorst and Cassi Crow (both of Oklahoma-Texas WSC) met with UzHydromet Hydrometeorological Research Institute (HMRI) under Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Ecology to launch a joint USGS-HMRI study of the seasonal variability of surface water sources using oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes.

By krossos@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 08, 2025.

Check out the most popular USGS New England Water Science Center social media posts from 2025.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 08, 2025.

GPS stations in Yellowstone can clearly show how the ground moves, but this simple measurement requires the data to go on a complex journey.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 06, 2025.

Kīlauea summit eruption lava fountaining episode 38 took place on December 6, 2025, in Halema‘uma‘u crater on the Island of Hawai‘i. Fountains from the south vent reached over 1000 feet (300 meters) in height and inclined to the south, destroying and covering the V3 livestreaming camera. 

By sshukla@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Dec 05, 2025.

Tucked into an industrial stretch of Ramco Street, the West Sacramento CAWSC facility is one of the California Water Science Center’s most capable, and lesser known, scientific assets. Step inside, and it becomes immediately clear why so many teams rely on this space to launch field campaigns, build new tools, and train the next generation of hydro technicians.