Volcanic Eruptions

USGS documents 2023 Kilauea fountain eruptions with dense sensor network

Researchers at the US Geological Survey report detailed observations of lava fountaining episodes at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, gathered using 35 monitoring stations tracking seismic activity, gas emissions, and thermal imagery. The study notes that since a 2018 eruption drained a reservoir, inflation rates accelerated from 22 cm a year starting in 2019 to 57 cm a year by 2023, spreading to a nearby caldera.

arstechnica.com · 2026-10-09

Volcanology advances since Pinatubo 1991 push toward true eruption forecasting

The article revisits the 1991 Pinatubo eruption, when scientists deployed instruments that detected volcanic unrest and issued an evacuation order shortly before a massive explosion killed over 800 people, saving hundreds of thousands more. It notes that despite this success, the forecast was largely an educated guess rather than a precise prediction, and that volcanology has since improved through better instrumentation and machine learning.

wired.com · 2026-09-13