Hannah works on eruption dynamics, remote sensing, and quantitative volcanic hazard assessment at the USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, AK.
Hannah Dietterich is a Research Geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory. Her work focuses on the physics of volcanic processes, remote sensing of volcanic activity, numerical modeling of volcanic hazards, and probabilistic volcanic hazard assessment. She integrates geologic mapping, physical volcanology, remote sensing, and numerical modeling with observations of ongoing eruptions to advance our understanding of volcanic hazards.
Professional Experience
2018–present, Research Geophysicist, USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory, Anchorage, AK
2015–2018, Research Geologist (postdoc), USGS Volcano Science Center, Menlo Park, CA
2014–2014, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR and University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
2013–2014, Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
2010–2013, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
2009–2010, Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Education and Certifications
University of Oregon: Ph.D. (2014), Geological Sciences
Pomona College: B.A. (2009), Geology
Science and Products
Digital elevation models and orthoimagery from the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof, Alaska
Aerial photography surveys during and after the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof Volcano, Alaska were conducted to track the evolution of the lava flow field, active volcanic vent, and glacial ice loss from the eruption. Imagery from two surveys was processed with structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric methods to derive the digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthophotos in this data release. The
Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) video of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of K'lauea Volcano, Hawaii
This dataset contains Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) footage from the 2018 eruption of K'lauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), Island of Hawai'i. The four-month-long eruption, from May 3 to September 5, produced lava flows that destroyed 723 structures, inundated 35.5 km2 of land, and added 3.5 km2 of new land to the Island of Hawai'i. There are 1178 UAS videos in this publication, recor
Database for the Geologic Map of the Northern Harrat Rahat Volcanic Field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Harrat Rahat volcanic field, located in the west-central part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest of 15 harrats (Arabic for 'volcanic field') hosted within the Arabian plate. Harrat Rahat is 50 to 75 km wide (east-west) and 300 km long (north-south), covering an area of approximately 20,000 square kilometers and encompassing more than 900 observable vents. The overall map area and i
Geologic map of the northern Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Harrat Rahat, in the west-central part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest of 15 Cenozoic harrats (Arabic for “volcanic field”) distributed on the Arabian plate. It extends more than 300 km north-south and 50 to 75 km east-west, and it covers an area of approximately 20,000 km2, has a volume of approximately 2,000 km3, and encompasses more than 900 observable vents. Volcanism commenced
Filter Total Items: 16
Evolution in eruptive style of the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof volcano, Alaska, reflected in groundmass textures and remote sensing
Variable eruptive style and explosivity is common in basaltic to basaltic andesite volcanoes but can have uncertain origins. Veniaminof volcano in the Alaska-Aleutian arc is a frequently active open-vent center, regularly producing Strombolian eruptions and small lava flows from an intracaldera cone within an intracaldera ice cap. The September–December 2018 eruption of Veniaminof evolved in explo
Evaluating lava flow propagation models with a case study from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i
The 2018 lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption of Kīlauea, Hawai’i, provides an excellent natural laboratory with which to test models of lava flow propagation. During early stages of eruption crises, the most useful lava flow propagation equations utilize readily determined parameters and require fewer a priori assumptions about future behavior of the flow. Here, we leverage the numerous observati
High-speed lava flow infrasound from Kīlauea’s fissure 8 and its utility in monitoring effusion rate
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano produced large and destructive lava flows from the fissure 8 (Ahu ‘aila ‘au) vent with flow velocities up to 17 m s−1, highly variable effusion rates over both short (minutes) and long (hours) time scales, and a proximal channel or spillway that displayed flow features similar to open channel flow in river systems. Monitoring such dynamic vent and lava flow sys
Lava effusion rate evolution and erupted volume during the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption
The 2018 eruption on the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano produced one of the largest and most destructive lava flows in Hawai’i during the past 200 years. Over the course of more than 3 months, twenty-four fissures erupted, and the rate of lava effusion varied by two orders of magnitude, with significant implications for evolving flow behavior and hazards. Syn-eruptive data were collected
Volcanological applications of unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS): Developments, strategies, and future challenges
Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) are developing into fundamental tools for tackling the grand challenges in volcanology; here, we review the systems used and their diverse applications. UAS can typically provide image and topographic data at two orders of magnitude better spatial resolution than space-based remote sensing, and close-range observations at temporal resolutions down to those of vide
Analog experiments of lava flow emplacement
Laboratory experiments that simulate lava flows have been in use by volcanologists for many years. The behavior of flows in the lab, where “eruption” parameters, material properties, and environmental settings are tightly controlled, provides insight into the influence of various factors on flow evolution. A second benefit of laboratory lava flows is to provide a set of observations with which num
Cyclic lava effusion during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano
Lava flows present a recurring threat to communities on active volcanoes, and volumetric eruption rate is one of the primary factors controlling flow behavior and hazard. The timescales and driving forces of eruption rate variability, however, remain poorly understood. In 2018, a highly destructive eruption occurred on the lower flank of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, where the primary vent exhibited d
Topographic changes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption from Single-pass Airborne InSAR
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i, was its most effusive in over 200 years. We apply the airborne Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN‐A) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) instrument to measure topographic change associated with the eruption. The GLISTIN‐A radar flew in response to the eruption, acquiring observations of Kīlauea on seven days betwee
Lava flow morphology at an erupting andesitic stratovolcano: A satellite perspective on El Reventador, Ecuador
Lava flows pose a significant hazard to infrastructure and property located close to volcanoes, and understanding how flows advance is necessary to manage volcanic hazard during eruptions. Compared to low-silica basaltic flows, flows of andesitic composition are infrequently erupted and so relatively few studies of their characteristics and behaviour exist. We use El Reventador, Ecuador as a targe
The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano
In 2018, Kīlauea Volcano experienced its largest lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption and caldera collapse in at least 200 years. After collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent on 30 April, magma propagated downrift. Eruptive fissures opened in the LERZ on 3 May, eventually extending ~6.8 km. A 4 May earthquake (M6.9) produced ~5 m of fault slip. Lava erupted at rates exceeding 100 m3/s, eventually coveri
Reconstructing lava flow emplacement histories with rheological and morphological analyses: the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mafic volcanic fields are widespread, but few have erupted in historic times, providing limited observations of the magnitudes, dynamics, and timescales of lava flow emplacement in these settings. To expand our knowledge of effusive mafic eruptions, we must evaluate solidified flows to discern syn-eruptive conditions. The Harrat Rahat volcanic field in western Saudi Arabia offers a good opportunit
Timescales of magmatic differentiation from alkali basalt to trachyte within the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A fundamental goal of igneous petrology is to quantify the duration of time required to produce evolved magmas following influx of basalt into the crust. However, in many cases, complex field relations and/or the presence of a long-lived magmatic system make it difficult to assess how basaltic inputs relate to more evolved magmas, therefore, precluding calculation of meaningful timescales. Here, w
Pre-USGS Publications
Dietterich, H. R., Soule, S. A., Cashman, K. V. and Mackey, B. H. (2015) Lava Flows in 3D, in Hawaiian Volcanoes: From Source to Surface (eds R. Carey, V. Cayol, M. Poland and D. Weis), John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ. doi: 10.1002/9781118872079.ch22
Dietterich, H. R., and K. V. Cashman (2014), Channel networks within lava flows: Formation, evolution, and implications for flow behavior, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf., 119, 1704–1724, doi:10.1002/2014JF003103.
Cashman, K. V., S. A. Soule, B. H. Mackey, N. I. Deligne, N. Deardorff, and H. R. Dietterich, (2013), How lava flows: New insights from applications of lidar technologies to lava flow studies, Geosphere, 9, 1664-1680, doi:10.1130/GES00706.1.
Dietterich, H.R., and S. L. de Silva (2010), Sulfur yield of the 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina determined by apatite compositions, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 197, 303-312, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2010.01.003.
Science and Products
- Data
Digital elevation models and orthoimagery from the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof, Alaska
Aerial photography surveys during and after the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof Volcano, Alaska were conducted to track the evolution of the lava flow field, active volcanic vent, and glacial ice loss from the eruption. Imagery from two surveys was processed with structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric methods to derive the digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthophotos in this data release. TheUnoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) video of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of K'lauea Volcano, Hawaii
This dataset contains Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) footage from the 2018 eruption of K'lauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), Island of Hawai'i. The four-month-long eruption, from May 3 to September 5, produced lava flows that destroyed 723 structures, inundated 35.5 km2 of land, and added 3.5 km2 of new land to the Island of Hawai'i. There are 1178 UAS videos in this publication, recorDatabase for the Geologic Map of the Northern Harrat Rahat Volcanic Field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Harrat Rahat volcanic field, located in the west-central part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest of 15 harrats (Arabic for 'volcanic field') hosted within the Arabian plate. Harrat Rahat is 50 to 75 km wide (east-west) and 300 km long (north-south), covering an area of approximately 20,000 square kilometers and encompassing more than 900 observable vents. The overall map area and i - Maps
Geologic map of the northern Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Harrat Rahat, in the west-central part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the largest of 15 Cenozoic harrats (Arabic for “volcanic field”) distributed on the Arabian plate. It extends more than 300 km north-south and 50 to 75 km east-west, and it covers an area of approximately 20,000 km2, has a volume of approximately 2,000 km3, and encompasses more than 900 observable vents. Volcanism commenced - Publications
Filter Total Items: 16
Evolution in eruptive style of the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof volcano, Alaska, reflected in groundmass textures and remote sensing
Variable eruptive style and explosivity is common in basaltic to basaltic andesite volcanoes but can have uncertain origins. Veniaminof volcano in the Alaska-Aleutian arc is a frequently active open-vent center, regularly producing Strombolian eruptions and small lava flows from an intracaldera cone within an intracaldera ice cap. The September–December 2018 eruption of Veniaminof evolved in exploEvaluating lava flow propagation models with a case study from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i
The 2018 lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption of Kīlauea, Hawai’i, provides an excellent natural laboratory with which to test models of lava flow propagation. During early stages of eruption crises, the most useful lava flow propagation equations utilize readily determined parameters and require fewer a priori assumptions about future behavior of the flow. Here, we leverage the numerous observatiHigh-speed lava flow infrasound from Kīlauea’s fissure 8 and its utility in monitoring effusion rate
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano produced large and destructive lava flows from the fissure 8 (Ahu ‘aila ‘au) vent with flow velocities up to 17 m s−1, highly variable effusion rates over both short (minutes) and long (hours) time scales, and a proximal channel or spillway that displayed flow features similar to open channel flow in river systems. Monitoring such dynamic vent and lava flow sysLava effusion rate evolution and erupted volume during the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption
The 2018 eruption on the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano produced one of the largest and most destructive lava flows in Hawai’i during the past 200 years. Over the course of more than 3 months, twenty-four fissures erupted, and the rate of lava effusion varied by two orders of magnitude, with significant implications for evolving flow behavior and hazards. Syn-eruptive data were collectedVolcanological applications of unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS): Developments, strategies, and future challenges
Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) are developing into fundamental tools for tackling the grand challenges in volcanology; here, we review the systems used and their diverse applications. UAS can typically provide image and topographic data at two orders of magnitude better spatial resolution than space-based remote sensing, and close-range observations at temporal resolutions down to those of videAnalog experiments of lava flow emplacement
Laboratory experiments that simulate lava flows have been in use by volcanologists for many years. The behavior of flows in the lab, where “eruption” parameters, material properties, and environmental settings are tightly controlled, provides insight into the influence of various factors on flow evolution. A second benefit of laboratory lava flows is to provide a set of observations with which numCyclic lava effusion during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano
Lava flows present a recurring threat to communities on active volcanoes, and volumetric eruption rate is one of the primary factors controlling flow behavior and hazard. The timescales and driving forces of eruption rate variability, however, remain poorly understood. In 2018, a highly destructive eruption occurred on the lower flank of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, where the primary vent exhibited dTopographic changes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption from Single-pass Airborne InSAR
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i, was its most effusive in over 200 years. We apply the airborne Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN‐A) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) instrument to measure topographic change associated with the eruption. The GLISTIN‐A radar flew in response to the eruption, acquiring observations of Kīlauea on seven days betweeLava flow morphology at an erupting andesitic stratovolcano: A satellite perspective on El Reventador, Ecuador
Lava flows pose a significant hazard to infrastructure and property located close to volcanoes, and understanding how flows advance is necessary to manage volcanic hazard during eruptions. Compared to low-silica basaltic flows, flows of andesitic composition are infrequently erupted and so relatively few studies of their characteristics and behaviour exist. We use El Reventador, Ecuador as a targeThe 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano
In 2018, Kīlauea Volcano experienced its largest lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption and caldera collapse in at least 200 years. After collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent on 30 April, magma propagated downrift. Eruptive fissures opened in the LERZ on 3 May, eventually extending ~6.8 km. A 4 May earthquake (M6.9) produced ~5 m of fault slip. Lava erupted at rates exceeding 100 m3/s, eventually coveriReconstructing lava flow emplacement histories with rheological and morphological analyses: the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mafic volcanic fields are widespread, but few have erupted in historic times, providing limited observations of the magnitudes, dynamics, and timescales of lava flow emplacement in these settings. To expand our knowledge of effusive mafic eruptions, we must evaluate solidified flows to discern syn-eruptive conditions. The Harrat Rahat volcanic field in western Saudi Arabia offers a good opportunitTimescales of magmatic differentiation from alkali basalt to trachyte within the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A fundamental goal of igneous petrology is to quantify the duration of time required to produce evolved magmas following influx of basalt into the crust. However, in many cases, complex field relations and/or the presence of a long-lived magmatic system make it difficult to assess how basaltic inputs relate to more evolved magmas, therefore, precluding calculation of meaningful timescales. Here, wPre-USGS Publications
Dietterich, H. R., Soule, S. A., Cashman, K. V. and Mackey, B. H. (2015) Lava Flows in 3D, in Hawaiian Volcanoes: From Source to Surface (eds R. Carey, V. Cayol, M. Poland and D. Weis), John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ. doi: 10.1002/9781118872079.ch22Dietterich, H. R., and K. V. Cashman (2014), Channel networks within lava flows: Formation, evolution, and implications for flow behavior, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf., 119, 1704–1724, doi:10.1002/2014JF003103.Cashman, K. V., S. A. Soule, B. H. Mackey, N. I. Deligne, N. Deardorff, and H. R. Dietterich, (2013), How lava flows: New insights from applications of lidar technologies to lava flow studies, Geosphere, 9, 1664-1680, doi:10.1130/GES00706.1.Dietterich, H.R., and S. L. de Silva (2010), Sulfur yield of the 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina determined by apatite compositions, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 197, 303-312, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2010.01.003.