What kind of school training do you need to become a volcanologist?
There are many paths to becoming a volcanologist. Most include a college or graduate school education in a scientific or technical field, but the range of specialties is very large. Training in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, biology, biochemistry, mathematics, statistics, engineering, atmospheric science, remote sensing, and related fields can be applied to the study of volcanoes and the interactions between volcanoes and the environment. The key ingredients are a strong fascination and boundless curiosity about volcanoes and how they work. From there, the possibilities are almost endless!
Learn more: Information About Volcanologists
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Where can I find information on employment with the USGS?
Why is it important to monitor volcanoes?
Lava sampling: Why do we do it?
Is it dangerous to work on volcanoes? What precautions do scientists take?
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How can we tell when a volcano will erupt?
I am not a citizen of the United States. Can I apply for jobs in the USGS?
Living with volcano hazards
Volcanic eruptions are among Earth’s most dramatic and powerful agents of change. Ash, mudflows, and lava flows can devastate communities near volcanoes and cause havoc in areas far downwind, downstream, and downslope. Even when a volcano is quiet, steep volcanic slopes can collapse to become landslides, and large rocks can be hurled by powerful...
Stovall, Wendy K.; Driedger, Carolyn L.; Westby, Elizabeth G.; Faust, Lisa M.
Student and recent graduate employment opportunities
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Opportunities for undergraduate and...
U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program—Assess, forecast, prepare, engage
At least 170 volcanoes in 12 States and 2 territories have erupted in the past 12,000 years and have the potential to erupt again. Consequences of eruptions from U.S. volcanoes can extend far beyond the volcano’s immediate area. Many aspects of our daily life are vulnerable to volcano hazards, ...
Stovall, Wendy K.; Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Mandeville, Charles W.; Driedger, Carolyn L.
Volcano hazards— A national threat
When the violent energy of a volcano is unleashed, the results are often catastrophic. The risks to life, property, and infrastructure from volcanoes are escalating as more and more people live, work, play, and travel in volcanic regions. Since 1980, 45 eruptions and 15 cases of notable volcanic unrest have occurred at 33 U.S. volcanoes. Lava...
Ever Vigilant: USGS Marks the 37th Anniversary of Mount St. Helen's Eruption and the 35th Anniversary of the Cascades Volcano Observatory
Today, in 1980, Mount St. Helens unleashed the most devastating eruption in U.S. history. Two years later, USGS founded the Cascades Volcano Observatory to monitor Mount St. Helens and all the Cascades Volcanoes.
30 Years Saving Lives from Volcanoes
There are approximately 1,550 potentially active volcanoes around the world. VDAP works to reduce loss of life and property, limit economic impact and prevent volcanic crises from becoming disasters.
25 Years Monitoring Alaska Volcanoes
Twenty-five years of monitoring and studying Alaska's volcanoes by the Alaska Volcano Observatory have improved global understanding of how volcanoes work and how to live safely with volcanic eruptions. Timely warnings from AVO throughout its 25-year history have helped reduce the impact of erupting volcanoes, protecting lives, property, and economic well-being.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Marks a Century of Research and Monitoring
HAWAI`I ISLAND, Hawaii — In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory celebrates its 100th anniversary of studying the volcanoes’ workings and disseminating cutting-edge volcano science throughout the world. Many public events are planned to celebrate the centennial of HVO, the first volcano observatory in the United States.
Training in Volcanic Gas Monitoring
VDAP staff and colleagues at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Washington, training Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geologic Hazard Mitigation colleagues to use instrumentation for volcanic gas monitoring. Photograph credit: John Pallister, USGS/VDAP
Cascades Volcano Observatory Electronics Lab
At the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory Electronics Lab, technicians build, test, and prepare scientific instruments to be deployed for monitoring volcanoes worldwide.
USGS HVO geochemist measuring gases released from Kīlauea Volcano
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geochemist measuring gases released from Kïlauea with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light. The data obtained from FTIR measurements have been useful in identifying the many components of volcanic-gas emissions, which provide information on the
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Taking Lava Temps
In this photo, a USGS researcher is taking a temperature measurement on a sluggish channel eddy on Kīlauea Volcano in 1984. The research in Hawaiʻi is just one of many projects overseen by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program, which monitors active and potentially active volcanoes, assesses their hazards, responds to volcanic crises, and
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A USGS geologist collects a molten lava sample during a December 2015 lava flow from Puʻu ʻŌʻō.
A USGS geologist collects a molten lava sample during a December 2015 lava flow from Puʻu ʻŌʻō. As the lava cools on the surface, its viscosity increases and the flow slows down. Credit: USGS.
Collecting Gas Sample at a Fumarole
USGS geologist Deborah Bergfeld collects a gas sample from a superheated (hotter than the boiling point) fumarole in Little Hot Springs Valley at Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Installing Solar Panels on Alaskan Volcano Monitoring Equipment
USGS\AVO seismologist John Lyons replacing a broken solar panel at Tanaga Volcano, Alaska. Tanaga is very remote volcano in the Western Aleutian Islands. Tanaga last erupted in 1914.
Hawaiʻi Hot Lava
After slowly moving downslope from Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone since June 27, 2014, this active lava flow in Hawaiʻi reached the town of Pāhoa just before Halloween, destroying roads, a cemetery, and private property in this community. Amazingly, the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent began erupting in 1983 and has continued erupting essentially nonstop for more than 31
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Sampling fumarole
USGS scientist Deborah Bergfeld collects a gas sample from a fumarole on the flank of Akutan Volcano, Akutan Island, Alaska.
Scientists Check for Volcanic Activity
Four scientists are busy reviewing seismic data, checking maps, and uploading activity updates in the USGS Volcano Hazards Program's Volcano Observatory operations room from the Menlo Park, California USGS campus.
Volcanic Gas Sampling
Christoph Kern acquires ultraviolet images of volcanic gas over the dome and crater of Mount St. Helens. Although practically invisible to the human eye, sulfur dioxide absorbs ultraviolet light and appears dark in images captured by the equipment. Sulfur dioxide is typically emitted from magma as it approaches the surface, so surveys are conducted on a regular basis at
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Geologist examining a lava flow up close.
USGS geologist Seth Burgess examining a Siberian Traps lava flow up close. The vertical cracks formed during cooling of the lava flow, dividing the original basaltic lava into hexagonally shaped columns of rock. The many horizontal cracks across the columns are likely also related to cooling of the flow. The orange patches on the rocks are lichens.