Publications

In order to evaluate and further constrain models for volatile movement and vapor enrichment of magma stored at shallow levels, amphibole phenocrysts from 2004–2005 Mount St. Helens dacite were analyzed for major and selected trace elements (Li, Cu, Zn, Mn, and REE) and Li isotopes. Several recent studies have examined fluid-mobile trace element abundances in phencryst phases and melt...

Debris flows, also known as mudslides, are composed gravity-driven mixtures of sediment and water that travel through steep channels, over open hillslopes, and the like. Addressing this issue, US Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA have established a debris-flow warning system that has the ability to monitor and forecast precipitation and issue timely weather hazard warning. In 2005, this...

Scoria-cone eruptions are typically low in volume and explosivity compared with eruptions from stratovolcanoes, but they can affect local populations profoundly. Scoria-cone eruption effects vary dramatically due to eruption style, tephra blanket extent, climate, types of land use, the culture and complexity of the affected group, and resulting governmental action. A comparison of a...

A remote sensing approach permits for the first time the derivation of a map of the carbon dioxide concentration in a volcanic plume. The airborne imaging remote sensing overcomes the typical difficulties associated with the ground measurements and permits rapid and large views of the volcanic processes together with the measurements of volatile components exolving from craters...

This contribution reports radiocarbon ages obtained from charcoal, wood and other samples collected between 1979 and 2001 in Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity and a few samples from other nearby localities. Most of the samples are from the Chaos Crags and Cinder Cone eruptive sequences. Brief summaries are given of the Chaos Crags and Cinder Cone eruptive sequences.

Airborne surveillance of gas emissions from Augustine for SO2, CO2 and H2S showed no evidence of anomalous degassing from 1990 through May 2005. By December 20, 2005, Augustine was degassing 660 td−1 of SO2, and ten times that by January 4, 2006. The highest SO2 emission rate measured during the 2006 eruption was 8650 td−1 (March 1); for CO2, 13000 td−1 (March 9), and H2S, 8 td−1...

Mid‐2007 was a time of intense activity at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii (see Figure 1). In June, the long‐lived Pu'u 'Ō'ō—Kupaianaha eruption, a dual‐vent system along the east rift zone (ERZ) that has been erupting since 1983 [Heliker et al., 2003], paused due to the outbreak of a new vent farther up the rift (see Figure 2). The Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent collapsed following that activity, and the...

We characterize and quantify volatile emissions at Hot Spring Basin (HSB), a large acid-sulfate region that lies just outside the northeastern edge of the 640 ka Yellowstone Caldera. Relative to other thermal areas in Yellowstone, HSB gases are rich in He and H2, and mildly enriched in CH4 and H2S. Gas compositions are consistent with boiling directly off a deep geothermal liquid at...

The geysers of Yellowstone National Park, United States, attract millions of visitors each year, and their eruption dynamics have been the subject of extensive research for more than a century. Although many of the fundamental aspects associated with the dynamics of geyser eruptions have been elucidated, the relationship between external forcing (Earth tides, barometric pressure, and...

Good stewardship of our Nation's natural resources demands that the extraction of exploitable, minable ore deposits be conducted in harmony with the protection of the environment, a dilemma faced by many land and water management agencies in the Nation's mining areas. As ore is mined, milled, and sent to the smelter, it leaves footprints where it has been in the form of residual trace...

Modeling of very long period seismic data recorded during explosive activity at Stromboli in 1997 provides an image of the uppermost 1 km of its volcanic plumbing system. Two distinct dike-like conduit structures are identified, each representative of explosive eruptions from two different vents located near the northern and southern perimeters of the summit crater. Inferred volumetric...

On 25 September 2008, seismo meters operated by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) registered strong ground shaking. On the basis of previous experience with such large seismic signals, AVO personnel were able to rapidly identify the seismic event as an avalanche. Two days later, an AVO overflight of Iliamna volcano, near Alaska's Cook Inlet, confirmed that a massive chunk of glacial...