Publications

Chemical and isotope data accumulated by two USGS Projects (led by I. Barnes and R. Mariner) over a time period of about 40 years can now be found using a basic web search or through an image search (left). The data are primarily chemical and isotopic analyses of waters (thermal, mineral, or fresh) and associated gas (free and/or dissolved) collected from hot springs, mineral springs...

The 18 papers herein report on new geodetic data that offer valuable insights into eruptive activity and magma transport; they present new models and modeling strategies that have the potential to greatly increase understanding of magmatic, hydrothermal, and volcano-tectonic processes; and they describe innovative techniques for collecting geodetic measurements from remote, poorly...

At the very heart of volcanology lies the search for the 'plumbing systems' that form the inner workings of Earth’s active volcanoes. By their very nature, however, the magmatic reservoirs and conduits that underlie these active volcanic systems are elusive; mostly they are observable only through circumstantial evidence, using indirect, and often ambiguous, surficial measurements. Of...

This book recounts the life and achievements of Clarence King, widely recognized as one of America’s most gifted intellectuals of the nineteenth century, and a legendary figure in the American West. King’s genius, singular accomplishments, and near-death adventures unfold in a narrative centered on his personal relationship with his lifelong friend and colleague, James Gardner. The two...

The volume %, distribution, texture and composition of coexisting olivine, Cr-spinel and glass has been determined in quenched lava samples from Hawaii, Iceland and mid-oceanic ridges. The volume ratio of olivine to spinel varies from 60 to 2800 and samples with >0·02% spinel have a volume ratio of olivine to spinel of approximately 100. A plot of wt % MgO vs ppm Cr for natural and...

Physically based mathematical models and statistically based empirical equations each may provide useful means of forecasting runout of rock and debris avalanches. This paper compares the foundations, strengths, and limitations of a physically based model and a statistically based forecasting method, both of which were developed to predict runout across three-dimensional topography. The...

Rhyolite pumices and co-erupted granophyric (granite) xenoliths yield evidence for rapid magma generation and crystallization prior to their eruption at 15·2 ± 2·9 ka at the Alid volcanic center in the Danikil Depression, Eritrea. Whole-rock U and Th isotopic analyses show 230Th excesses up to 50% in basalts

The results of geodetic monitoring since 2002 at Sierra Negra volcano in the Galápagos Islands show that the filling and pressurization of an ∼2-km-deep sill eventually led to an eruption that began on 22 October 2005. Continuous global positioning system (CGPS) monitoring measured >2 m of accelerating inflation leading up to the eruption and contributed to nearly 5 m of total uplift...

A miniaturized, lightweight and low-cost UV correlation spectrometer, the FLYSPEC, has been developed as an alternative for the COSPEC, which has long been the mainstay for monitoring volcanic sulfur dioxide fluxes. Field experiments have been conducted with the FLYSPEC at diverse volcanic systems, including Masaya (Nicaragua), Poás (Costa Rica), Stromboli, Etna and Vulcano (Italy)...

The 10-km-wide caldera of the historically active Aniakchak volcano, Alaska, subsides ∼13 mm/yr, based on data from 19 European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1 and ERS-2) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images from 1992 through 2002. The pattern of subsidence does not reflect the distribution of pyroclastic deposits from the last eruption in 1931 and therefore is not...

Submarine alkalic and transitional basalts collected by submersible along Kilauea volcano's south flank represent early eruptive products from Earth's most active volcano. Strongly alkalic basalt fragments sampled from volcaniclastic deposits below the mid-slope Hilina Bench yield 40Ar/39Ar ages from 212 ± 38 to 280 ± 20 ka. These ages are similar to high-precision 234 ± 9 and 239 ± 10...

A survey of diffuse CO2 efflux, soil temperature and soil-gas chemistry over areas of localized vegetation-kill on and around the resurgent dome of Long Valley caldera California was performed to evaluate the premise that gaseous and thermal anomalies are related to renewed intrusion of magma. Some kill sites are long-lived features and others have developed in the past few years. Total...