Dawnika L. Blatter, PhD

Dawnika works on understanding magmas, including their melt, crystal, and volatile components as they form, undergo evolution, and ultimately erupt (or not).  She uses experimental petrology, coupled with microbeam analyses, FTIR, and petrographic data, to determine magmatic conditions including: temperature, pressure, oxygen fugacity, and compositions and proportions of all phases (including volatiles).  She combines this information with field observations on distribution, timing, and volumes of eruptive products to connect eruptive processes to fundamental source conditions.  Field-based projects include extensive mapping and sampling across the Mexican Volcanic Belt, work on Cascade arc volcanoes, Aleutian arc volcanoes, and most recently in the Clear Lake Volcanic Field and Mount Shasta region of northern California.