Jacob B. Lowenstern
Jake Lowenstern is a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Vancouver, WA. He serves as the Chief of the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, which is a partnership of the USGS and USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.
From 2002-2017, Jake served as Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Through his career, he has worked on a wide variety of topics related to magmas and their overlying hydrothermal systems.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Stanford University 1992
M.S. Stanford University 1991
A. B. Dartmouth College 1986
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America (GSA)
Mineralogical Society of America (MSA)
American Geophysical Union
Society of Economic Geologists (SEG)
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)
Honors and Awards
AGU College of Fellows Distinguished Lecturer, 2024-25
Member of VDAP Team for AGU International Award, 2024
Fellow, AGU 2023
Fellow, MSA 2021
Fellow, GSA 2010
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer, 2006
Lindgren Award (SEG) 2000
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 80
Vapor-bubble growth in olivine-hosted melt inclusions Vapor-bubble growth in olivine-hosted melt inclusions
Melt inclusions record the depth of magmatic processes, magma degassing paths, and volatile budgets of magmas. Extracting this information is a major challenge. It requires determining melt volatile contents at the time of entrapment when working with melt inclusions that have suffered post-entrapment modifications. Several processes decrease internal melt inclusion pressure, resulting...
Authors
Daniel J. Rasmussen, Terry Plank, Paul J. Wallace, Megan Newcombe, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Indonesia and the United States team up to reduce impacts from dangerous volcanoes Indonesia and the United States team up to reduce impacts from dangerous volcanoes
With 75 historically active volcanoes, Indonesia is the world’s most volcanically active nation. Its volcanoes are legendary throughout the world, with the notorious 19th-century eruptions at Mount Tambora (1815) and Krakatau (1883), and the eruption that created the giant Toba Caldera in Sumatra (75,000 years ago)—the Earth’s largest volcanic eruption in the past 100,000 years. Just in...
Authors
Jacob B. Lowenstern, Kasbani, John S. Pallister, David W. Ramsey
Magma intrusion and volatile ascent beneath Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park Magma intrusion and volatile ascent beneath Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Recent activity has provided new insights into the causes of surface deformation in and around the Yellowstone Caldera, a topic that has been debated since the discovery of caldera floor uplift more than four decades ago. An episode of unusually rapid uplift (>15 cm/yr) centered near Norris Geyser Basin along the north caldera rim began in late 2013 and continued until a Mw 4.9...
Authors
Charles Wicks, Daniel Dzurisin, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Jerry L. Svarc
An experimental investigation of interaction between andesite and hyperacidic volcanic lake water An experimental investigation of interaction between andesite and hyperacidic volcanic lake water
Alteration in magmatic-hydrothermal systems leads to distinct changes in rock texture and mineralogy, and a strong redistribution of elements between fluid and rock. Here, we experimentally interacted andesite scoria with hyperacidic, high-sulfidation style fluids from Kawah Ijen volcano (Indonesia) at 25 and 100˚C, seeking to reproduce the textures observed in natural samples from this...
Authors
Vincent van Hinsberg, Kim Berlo, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Evidence of cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra, Syria at the Younger Dryas Onset (~12.8 ka): High-temperature melting at >2200 °C Evidence of cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra, Syria at the Younger Dryas Onset (~12.8 ka): High-temperature melting at >2200 °C
At Abu Hureyra (AH), Syria, the 12,800-year-old Younger Dryas boundary layer (YDB) contains peak abundances in meltglass, nanodiamonds, microspherules, and charcoal. AH meltglass comprises 1.6 wt.% of bulk sediment, and crossed polarizers indicate that the meltglass is isotropic. High YDB concentrations of iridium, platinum, nickel, and cobalt suggest mixing of melted local sediment with...
Authors
Andrew M.T. Moore, James P. Kennett, Douglas J. Kennett, William M. Napier, Ted E. Bunch, James C. Weaver, Malcolm A. LeCompte, Victor Adedji, Paul C. Hackley, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Gunther K. Kletetschka, Brendan J. Culleton, Robert E. Hermes, James H. Wittke, Joshua J. Razink, Michael Gaultois, Allen West
The 2017-19 activity at Mount Agung in Bali (Indonesia): Intense unrest, monitoring, crisis response, evacuation, and eruption The 2017-19 activity at Mount Agung in Bali (Indonesia): Intense unrest, monitoring, crisis response, evacuation, and eruption
After 53 years of quiescence, Mount Agung awoke in August 2017, with intense seismicity, measurable ground deformation, and thermal anomalies in the summit crater. Although the seismic unrest peaked in late September and early October, the volcano did not start erupting until 21 November. The most intense explosive eruptions with accompanying rapid lava effusion occurred between 25 and...
Authors
D.K. Syahbana, K. Kasbani, G. Suantika, O. Prambada, A. Andreas, U. Saing, S. Kunrat, S.L. Andreastuti, S. Martanto, E. Kriswati, Y. Suparman, H. Humaida, Sarah E. Ogburn, Peter J. Kelly, John Wellik, Heather Wright, Jeremy D. Pesicek, Rick Wessels, Christoph Kern, Michael Lisowski, Angela K. Diefenbach, Michael P. Poland, Francois Beauducel, R. Greg Vaughan, John S. Pallister, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 80
Vapor-bubble growth in olivine-hosted melt inclusions Vapor-bubble growth in olivine-hosted melt inclusions
Melt inclusions record the depth of magmatic processes, magma degassing paths, and volatile budgets of magmas. Extracting this information is a major challenge. It requires determining melt volatile contents at the time of entrapment when working with melt inclusions that have suffered post-entrapment modifications. Several processes decrease internal melt inclusion pressure, resulting...
Authors
Daniel J. Rasmussen, Terry Plank, Paul J. Wallace, Megan Newcombe, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Indonesia and the United States team up to reduce impacts from dangerous volcanoes Indonesia and the United States team up to reduce impacts from dangerous volcanoes
With 75 historically active volcanoes, Indonesia is the world’s most volcanically active nation. Its volcanoes are legendary throughout the world, with the notorious 19th-century eruptions at Mount Tambora (1815) and Krakatau (1883), and the eruption that created the giant Toba Caldera in Sumatra (75,000 years ago)—the Earth’s largest volcanic eruption in the past 100,000 years. Just in...
Authors
Jacob B. Lowenstern, Kasbani, John S. Pallister, David W. Ramsey
Magma intrusion and volatile ascent beneath Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park Magma intrusion and volatile ascent beneath Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Recent activity has provided new insights into the causes of surface deformation in and around the Yellowstone Caldera, a topic that has been debated since the discovery of caldera floor uplift more than four decades ago. An episode of unusually rapid uplift (>15 cm/yr) centered near Norris Geyser Basin along the north caldera rim began in late 2013 and continued until a Mw 4.9...
Authors
Charles Wicks, Daniel Dzurisin, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Jerry L. Svarc
An experimental investigation of interaction between andesite and hyperacidic volcanic lake water An experimental investigation of interaction between andesite and hyperacidic volcanic lake water
Alteration in magmatic-hydrothermal systems leads to distinct changes in rock texture and mineralogy, and a strong redistribution of elements between fluid and rock. Here, we experimentally interacted andesite scoria with hyperacidic, high-sulfidation style fluids from Kawah Ijen volcano (Indonesia) at 25 and 100˚C, seeking to reproduce the textures observed in natural samples from this...
Authors
Vincent van Hinsberg, Kim Berlo, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Evidence of cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra, Syria at the Younger Dryas Onset (~12.8 ka): High-temperature melting at >2200 °C Evidence of cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra, Syria at the Younger Dryas Onset (~12.8 ka): High-temperature melting at >2200 °C
At Abu Hureyra (AH), Syria, the 12,800-year-old Younger Dryas boundary layer (YDB) contains peak abundances in meltglass, nanodiamonds, microspherules, and charcoal. AH meltglass comprises 1.6 wt.% of bulk sediment, and crossed polarizers indicate that the meltglass is isotropic. High YDB concentrations of iridium, platinum, nickel, and cobalt suggest mixing of melted local sediment with...
Authors
Andrew M.T. Moore, James P. Kennett, Douglas J. Kennett, William M. Napier, Ted E. Bunch, James C. Weaver, Malcolm A. LeCompte, Victor Adedji, Paul C. Hackley, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Gunther K. Kletetschka, Brendan J. Culleton, Robert E. Hermes, James H. Wittke, Joshua J. Razink, Michael Gaultois, Allen West
The 2017-19 activity at Mount Agung in Bali (Indonesia): Intense unrest, monitoring, crisis response, evacuation, and eruption The 2017-19 activity at Mount Agung in Bali (Indonesia): Intense unrest, monitoring, crisis response, evacuation, and eruption
After 53 years of quiescence, Mount Agung awoke in August 2017, with intense seismicity, measurable ground deformation, and thermal anomalies in the summit crater. Although the seismic unrest peaked in late September and early October, the volcano did not start erupting until 21 November. The most intense explosive eruptions with accompanying rapid lava effusion occurred between 25 and...
Authors
D.K. Syahbana, K. Kasbani, G. Suantika, O. Prambada, A. Andreas, U. Saing, S. Kunrat, S.L. Andreastuti, S. Martanto, E. Kriswati, Y. Suparman, H. Humaida, Sarah E. Ogburn, Peter J. Kelly, John Wellik, Heather Wright, Jeremy D. Pesicek, Rick Wessels, Christoph Kern, Michael Lisowski, Angela K. Diefenbach, Michael P. Poland, Francois Beauducel, R. Greg Vaughan, John S. Pallister, Jacob B. Lowenstern
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government