My research focuses on using infrasound and seismic data to study and improve monitoring of volcanic events in the Cascades. In particular, I focus on lahar/debris flow research and the development of detection, localization, and characterization algorithms for these types of events.
Professional Experience
2022 - present: Research Geophysicist, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory
2020 - 2022: NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Santa Barbara
2015 - 2020: Graduate Research Assistant, Geophysical Institute, Alaska Volcano Observatory, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Summer 2019: Graduate Research Assistant, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Summer 2014 & 2015: Physical Science Technician (180-day appointment), Volcano Science Center, Alaska Volcano Observatory
Winter 2014: Research Assistant (volunteer), Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory
2013 - 2015: Fluvial Studies Research Assistant, Connecticut College
Education and Certifications
2020 - Ph.D. in Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks
2015 - B.A. in Geophysics (self-designed) with minors in Mathematics and Physics, Connecticut College
Science and Products
2019 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
2018 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
UAS-Based Observations of Infrasound Directionality at Stromboli Volcano, Italy
Analog field-scale acoustic study of volcanic eruption directivity using a tiltable liquid nitrogen-charged water cannon
Atmospheric waves and global seismoacoustic observations of the January 2022 Hunga eruption, Tonga
Evidence for near-source nonlinear propagation of volcano infrasound from Strombolian explosions at Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu
High-rate very-long-period seismicity at Yasur volcano, Vanuatu: source mechanism and decoupling from surficial explosions and infrasound
Synthetic evaluation of infrasonic multipole waveform inversion
Local explosion detection and infrasound localization by reverse time migration using 3-D finite-difference wave propagation
2017 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
2016 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Evolving infrasound detections from Bogoslof volcano, Alaska: Insights from atmospheric propagation modeling
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 16
2019 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, increased seismicity, and other significant activity at 17 volcanic centers in Alaska in 2019. The most notable volcanic activity was an eruption of Shishaldin Volcano, featuring eruptive activity that produced lava flows, lahars, and ash. Weak explosive activity also took place at Great Sitkin Volcano andAuthorsTim R. Orr, Cheryl E. Cameron, Hannah R. Dietterich, James P. Dixon, Max L. Enders, Ronni Grapenthin, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Matthew W. Loewen, John A. Power, Cheryl Searcy, Gabrielle Tepp, Liam Toney, Christopher F. Waythomas, Aaron G. Wech2018 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, considerable and minor volcanic unrest, and seismic events at 15 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2018. The most notable volcanic activity came from Mount Cleveland, which had continuing intermittent dome growth and ash eruptions, and Mount Veniaminof, Great Sitkin Volcano, and Semisopochnoi Island, the three of which had minor eruptions. ThiAuthorsCheryl E. Cameron, Tim R. Orr, James P. Dixon, Hannah R. Dietterich, Christopher F. Waythomas, Alexandra M. Iezzi, John A. Power, Cheryl Searcy, Ronni Grapenthin, Gabrielle Tepp, Kristi L. Wallace, Taryn M. Lopez, Kimberly Degrandpre, John M. PerreaultUAS-Based Observations of Infrasound Directionality at Stromboli Volcano, Italy
Infrasound (low frequency sound waves) can be used to monitor and characterize volcanic eruptions. However, infrasound sensors are usually placed on the ground, thus providing a limited sampling of the acoustic radiation pattern that can bias source size estimates. We present observations of explosive eruptions from a novel uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-based infrasound sensor platform that was sAuthorsAlexandra M. Iezzi, Richard M. Buzard, David Fee, Robin S. Matoza, Julia E. Gestrich, Arthur Din Jolly, Markus Schmid, Valeria Cigala, Ulrich Kueppers, Caron E.J. Vossen, Corrado Cimarelli, Giorgio Lacanna, Maurizio RipepeAnalog field-scale acoustic study of volcanic eruption directivity using a tiltable liquid nitrogen-charged water cannon
Laterally directed explosive eruptions are responsible for multiple fatalities over the past decade and are an increasingly important volcanology problem. To understand the energy dynamics for these events, we collected field-scale explosion data from nine acoustic sensors surrounding a tiltable cannon as part of an exploratory experimental design. For each cannon discharge, the blast direction waAuthorsArthur Din Jolly, Benjamin Kennedy, Robin S. Matoza, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Bruce W. Christensen, Richard Johnson, Amilea Sork, David FeeAtmospheric waves and global seismoacoustic observations of the January 2022 Hunga eruption, Tonga
The 15 January 2022 climactic eruption of Hunga volcano, Tonga, produced an explosion in the atmosphere of a size that has not been documented in the modern geophysical record. The event generated a broad range of atmospheric waves observed globally by various ground-based and spaceborne instrumentation networks. Most prominent was the surface-guided Lamb wave (≲0.01 hertz), which we observed propAuthorsRobin S. Matoza, David Fee, Jelle D. Assink, Alexandra M. Iezzi, David N. Green, Keehoon Kim, Liam Toney, Thomas Lecocq, Siddharth Krishnamoorthy, Jean-Marie Lalande, Kiwamu Nishida, Kent L. Gee, Matthew M. Haney, Hugo D. Ortiz, Quentin Brissaud, Léo Martire, Lucie Rolland, Panagiotis Vergados, Alexandra Nippress, Junghyun Park, Shahar Shani-Kadmiel, Alex Witsil, Stephen Arrowsmith, Corentin Caudron, Shingo Watada, Anna Perttu, Benoit Taisne, Pierrick Mialle, Alexis Le Pichon, Julien Vergoz, Patrick Hupe, Philip S. Blom, Roger M. Waxler, Silvio De Angelis, Jonathan Snively, Adam T. Ringler, Robert E. Anthony, Arthur Din Jolly, Geoff Kilgour, Gil Averbuch, Maurizio Ripepe, Mie Ichihara, Alejandra Arciniega-Ceballos, Elvira Astafyeva, Lars Ceranna, Sandrine Cevuard, Il-Young Che, Rodrigo de Negri Leiva, Carl W. Ebeling, Läslo G. Evers, Luis E. Franco-Marin, Tom Gabrielson, Katrin Hafner, R. Giles Harrison, Attila Komjathy, Giorgio Lacanna, John J. Lyons, Kenneth A. Macpherson, Emanuele Marchetti, Kathleen McKee, Rob Mellors, Gerardo Mendo-Pérez, T. Dylan Mikesell, Edhah Munaibari, Mayra Oyola-Merced, Iseul Park, Christoph Pilger, Cristina Ramos, Mario Ruiz, Roberto Sabatini, Hans Schwaiger, Dorianne Tailpied, Carrick Talmadge, Jérôme Vidot, Jeremy Webster, David C. WilsonEvidence for near-source nonlinear propagation of volcano infrasound from Strombolian explosions at Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu
Volcanic eruption source parameters may be estimated from acoustic pressure recordings dominant at infrasonic frequencies (< 20 Hz), yet uncertainties may be high due in part to poorly understood propagation dynamics. Linear acoustic propagation of volcano infrasound is commonly assumed, but nonlinear processes such as wave steepening may distort waveforms and obscure the sourcing process in recorAuthorsSean P Maher, Robin S Matoza, Arthur Din Jolly, Catherine de Groot-Hedlin, Kent L. Gee, David Fee, Alexandra M. IezziHigh-rate very-long-period seismicity at Yasur volcano, Vanuatu: source mechanism and decoupling from surficial explosions and infrasound
Yasur volcano, Vanuatu is a continuously active open-vent basaltic-andesite stratocone with persistent and long-lived eruptive activity. We present results from a seismo-acoustic field experiment at Yasur, providing locally dense broad-band seismic and infrasonic network coverage from 2016 July 27 to August 3. We corroborate our seismo-acoustic observations with coincident video data from camerasAuthorsRobin S Matoza, Bernard A Chouet, Arthur Din Jolly, Phillip B. Dawson, Rebecca H Fitzgerald, Ben M. Kennedy, David Fee, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Geoff N Kilgour, E. Garaebiti, Sandrine CevuardSynthetic evaluation of infrasonic multipole waveform inversion
Acoustic source inversions estimate the mass flow rate of volcanic explosions or yield of chemical explosions and provide insight into potential source directionality. However, the limitations of applying these methods to complex sources and their ability to resolve a stable solution have not been investigated in detail. We perform synthetic infrasound waveform inversions that use 3-D Green’s funcAuthorsAlexandra M. Iezzi, Robin S Matoza, David Fee, Keehoon Kim, Arthur Din JollyLocal explosion detection and infrasound localization by reverse time migration using 3-D finite-difference wave propagation
Infrasound data are routinely used to detect and locate volcanic and other explosions, using both arrays and single sensor networks. However, at local distances (<15 km) topography often complicates acoustic propagation, resulting in inaccurate acoustic travel times leading to biased source locations when assuming straight-line propagation. Here we present a new method, termed Reverse Time MigratiAuthorsDavid Fee, Liam Toney, Keehoon Kim, Richard Sanderson, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Robin S Matoza, Silvio DeAngelis, Art Jolly, John J. Lyons, Matthew M. Haney2017 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, significant and minor volcanic unrest, and seismic events at 16 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2017. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of a major eruption at Bogoslof Island, continuing intermittent dome growth and ash eruptions from Mount Cleveland, the end of the Pavlof Volcano eruption, volcanic unrest at Shishaldin Volcano, aAuthorsJames P. Dixon, Cheryl E. Cameron, Alexandra M. Iezzi, John A. Power, Kristi L. Wallace, Christopher F. Waythomas2016 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, and seismic events at 15 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2016. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of eruptions at Pavlof and Bogoslof volcanoes. Both eruptions produced significant ash clouds that affected regional air travel. Mount Cleveland continued a pattern of dome growth followed by explosAuthorsCheryl E. Cameron, James P. Dixon, Christopher F. Waythomas, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Kristi L. Wallace, Robert G. McGimsey, Katharine F. BullEvolving infrasound detections from Bogoslof volcano, Alaska: Insights from atmospheric propagation modeling
Bogoslof volcano, a back-arc volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian arc, began an eruptive sequence in mid-December 2016 that ended in late August 2017, with 70 individual eruptive episodes. Because there were no local seismic or infrasound stations on the island, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) relied on distant geophysical networks and remote sensing techniques to assess activity during the eruption.AuthorsHans Schwaiger, John J. Lyons, Alexandra M. Iezzi, David Fee, Matthew M. HaneyNon-USGS Publications**
Iezzi, A.M., Matoza R.S., Bishop, J.W., Bhetanabhotla, S., and Fee, D. (2022), Narrow-Band Least-Squares Infrasound Array Processing, Seismological Research Letters: Electronic Seismologist, 93, 5, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220220042Watson, L.M., Iezzi, A.M., Toney, L., Maher, S.P., Fee, D., McKee, K., Ortiz, H.D., Matoza, R.S., Anderson, J.F., Witsil, A.J.C., Gestrich, J.E., Bishop, J.W., and Johnson, J.B. (2022), Volcano Infrasound: Progress and Future Directions, Bulletin of Volcanology, 84, 44, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-022-01544-wBlom, P.S., Iezzi, A.M., and Euler, G. (2020), Seismoacoustic analysis of underground explosions using the Rayleigh integral, Geophysical Journal International, 223, 1069–1085. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggaa363Iezzi, A.M., Fee, D., Kim, K., Jolly, A.D., and Matoza, R.S. (2019), Three-Dimensional Acoustic Multipole Waveform Inversion at Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124, 8679-8703. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB017073Diaz-Moreno, A., Iezzi, A.M., Lamb, O.D., Fee, D., Kim, K., Zuccarello, L., and De Angelis, S. (2019), Volume Flow Rate Estimation for Small Explosions at Mt. Etna, Italy, From Acoustic Waveform Inversion, Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 11071-11079. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084598Jolly, A.D., Matoza, R.S., Fee, D., Kennedy, B.M., Iezzi, A.M., Fitzgerald, R.H., Austin, A.C., and Johnson, R. (2017), Capturing the Acoustic Radiation Pattern of Strombolian Eruptions using Infrasound Sensors Aboard a Tethered Aerostat, Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (19), 9672-9680. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074971Iezzi, A.M. (2020). Exploring Infrasound Wavefields to Characterize Volcanic Eruptions, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Geosciences, 1-192.Iezzi, A.M. (2015), Lahar Inundation Modeling with the Aid of Historic Flow Deposits at Redoubt Volcano, Cook Inlet, Alaska. Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Connecticut College, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics, 1-160.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.