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Volcano Hazards Program

Find U.S. Volcano

There are about 170 potentially active volcanoes in the U.S. The mission of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program is to enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from volcanic unrest and eruption through our National Volcano Early Warning System. We deliver forecasts, warnings, and information about volcano hazards based on a scientific understanding of volcanic behavior.

News

Volcano Watch — The 1969 Maunaulu eruption: 12 lava fountaining episodes

Volcano Watch — The 1969 Maunaulu eruption: 12 lava fountaining episodes

Photo & Video Chronology — January 12, 2026 — Kīlauea episode 40

Photo & Video Chronology — January 12, 2026 — Kīlauea episode 40

Volcano Watch — Hau’oli Makahiki Hou: a round-up of fireworks from Kīlauea’s fountains

Volcano Watch — Hau’oli Makahiki Hou: a round-up of fireworks from Kīlauea’s fountains

Publications

The magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Three Sisters volcanic cluster, Oregon, imaged from field gravity measurements The magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Three Sisters volcanic cluster, Oregon, imaged from field gravity measurements

From 2019 to 2024, gravity surveys were conducted at the Three Sisters volcanic cluster (TSVC), measuring 246 gravity sites using a spring relative gravimeter. We calculated the residual Bouguer anomaly and identified three main zones with negative anomalies, ranging from −4 to −8 mGal, located southwest and west of South Sister, within an area that has been uplifting for the past two...
Authors
Helene Le Mevel, Nathan Lee Andersen, Annika E. Dechert, Josef Dufek

The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province

Emplacement of the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP) around 252 Ma coincided with the most profound environmental disruption of the past 500 million years. The enormous volume of the Siberian Traps, its ability to generate greenhouse gases and other volatiles, and a temporal coincidence with extinction all suggest a causal link. Patterns of marine and terrestrial extinction...
Authors
Seth D. Burgess, Benjamin A. Black

Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting

Modern operational eruption forecasting methods rely heavily on human judgment in the face of uncertainty and are thus susceptible to myriad cognitive biases and errors by the scientist-forecasters. Recent developments in the behavioral sciences have elucidated cognitive biases across a wide spectrum of human behaviors and found ways to mitigate them. These insights have led to...
Authors
Heather M. Wright, J. D. Pesicek, Stephen A. Spiller
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Melt Inclusion Page

Reprints of two review articles on melt inclusions

Lowenstern, J.B., 2003, Melt inclusions come of age: Volatiles, Volcanoes, and Sorby's Legacy, In: B. De Vivo and R.J. Bodnar (eds). Melt Inclusions in Volcanic Systems: Methods, Applications and Problems. Developments in Volcanology 5, Elsevier Press, Amsterdam, pp. 1-22.

A 6 Megabyte pdf version of this website (the original review article) is available here.

The Melt Inclusion Page

About Melt Inclusions

Formation of Silicate-Melt Inclusions

  • Types of Inclusions,
  • Entrapment Mechanisms,
  • Leaked or "Hourglass Inclusions"
  • Does the Melt Inclusion Trap Representative Liquid?
  • Changes in Melt Inclusions After Entrapment

  • Volumetric Behavior
  • Other Origins of Bubbles
  • Crystallization
  • Diffusional Reequilibration
  • Techniques for Study

  • Sample Preparation
  • Electron Microprobe Analysis,
  • Ion Microprobe
  • Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
  • Other Analytical Techniques
  • Heating Stage
  • Concentrations of Dissolved Volatiles in MI

    Evidence for Fluid Saturation and Degassing

  • Mass-Balance Contraints
  • Fluid Solubility and Buffering Paths,
  • Trapped Vapors and Hypersaline Liquids
  • Petrologic and Stratigraphic Studies

  • Magma Mixing and Crystal Fractionation
  • Experimental Petrology
  • Stratigraphic Correlations
  • Melt Inclusions in Granites and Xenolithic Ejecta

    Summary

    Acknowledgements

    References

    Adapted from: Lowenstern, J.B.(1995) Applications of silicate melt inclusions to the study of magmatic volatiles. In: Thompson, J.F.H. (ed.) Magmas, Fluid and Ore Deposits. Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course 23, 71-99.

    This article is adapted from Chapter 4 of Volume 23 of the Geological Association of Canada/ Mineralogical Association of Canada (GAC/MAC) Short Course Series. For more information, please refer to: Lowenstern (1995)

    Table 1: Data obtainable and not obtainable from silicate-melt inclusions.

    Table 2: Volatile concentrations in a variety of recently studied silicic magmas, as determined by analysis of silicate MI.

    Table 3. Summary of recent studies of volatile concentrations and saturation pressures in unleaked MI from high-silica rhyolites.

    Figure 1. Melt inclusions in quartz.

    Figure 2. Growth forms of crystals that trap MI.

    Figure 3. Hourglass inclusions.

    Figure 4. PT behavior of MI.

    Figure 5. Homogenization of an MI.

    Figure 6. Decrepitation of an MI.

    Figure 7. Crystallization of an MI.

    Figure 8. H2O vs. CO2 for a group of MI from the Pine Grove system, UT.

    Figure 9. Features within a vapor bubble.

    Other Photos of Melt Inclusions. Cool Pics!

    Volcano Hazards Program | U.S. Geological Survey Skip to main content
    U.S. flag

    An official website of the United States government

    Volcano Hazards Program

    Find U.S. Volcano

    There are about 170 potentially active volcanoes in the U.S. The mission of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program is to enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from volcanic unrest and eruption through our National Volcano Early Warning System. We deliver forecasts, warnings, and information about volcano hazards based on a scientific understanding of volcanic behavior.

    News

    Volcano Watch — The 1969 Maunaulu eruption: 12 lava fountaining episodes

    Volcano Watch — The 1969 Maunaulu eruption: 12 lava fountaining episodes

    Photo & Video Chronology — January 12, 2026 — Kīlauea episode 40

    Photo & Video Chronology — January 12, 2026 — Kīlauea episode 40

    Volcano Watch — Hau’oli Makahiki Hou: a round-up of fireworks from Kīlauea’s fountains

    Volcano Watch — Hau’oli Makahiki Hou: a round-up of fireworks from Kīlauea’s fountains

    Publications

    The magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Three Sisters volcanic cluster, Oregon, imaged from field gravity measurements The magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Three Sisters volcanic cluster, Oregon, imaged from field gravity measurements

    From 2019 to 2024, gravity surveys were conducted at the Three Sisters volcanic cluster (TSVC), measuring 246 gravity sites using a spring relative gravimeter. We calculated the residual Bouguer anomaly and identified three main zones with negative anomalies, ranging from −4 to −8 mGal, located southwest and west of South Sister, within an area that has been uplifting for the past two...
    Authors
    Helene Le Mevel, Nathan Lee Andersen, Annika E. Dechert, Josef Dufek

    The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province

    Emplacement of the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP) around 252 Ma coincided with the most profound environmental disruption of the past 500 million years. The enormous volume of the Siberian Traps, its ability to generate greenhouse gases and other volatiles, and a temporal coincidence with extinction all suggest a causal link. Patterns of marine and terrestrial extinction...
    Authors
    Seth D. Burgess, Benjamin A. Black

    Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting

    Modern operational eruption forecasting methods rely heavily on human judgment in the face of uncertainty and are thus susceptible to myriad cognitive biases and errors by the scientist-forecasters. Recent developments in the behavioral sciences have elucidated cognitive biases across a wide spectrum of human behaviors and found ways to mitigate them. These insights have led to...
    Authors
    Heather M. Wright, J. D. Pesicek, Stephen A. Spiller
    Was this page helpful?