Kyle R. Anderson, Ph.D.
I use monitoring data to better understand and forecast volcanic processes and hazards.
I work to understand volcanic systems by developing mathematical models which relate magma physics with monitoring data such as ground deformations and eruption rates. Model predictions can be compared with real-world observations using probabilistic statistical approaches, making it possible to constrain properties of volcanic systems such as the composition and volume of stored magma. These techniques can also be used in some cases to forecast future eruptive activity. I've worked most extensively at Mount St. Helens and Kīlauea volcanoes, but I'm interested in volcanoes and eruptions around the world.
I have a particular interest in volcanic caldera collapses and in episodic/cyclic eruptive behavior. Other interests include the physics governing magma ascent; the role of magmatic volatiles on eruptive processes; uncertainty quantification in volcanological inverse problems; quantifying rates of magma supply, storage, and eruption; ground deformation caused by magmatic processes; the application of machine learning to volcanology problems; and volcanic hazards assessments.
See the “Publications” tab below for more information.
Professional Experience
Research Geophysicist, USGS Volcano Science Center (California Volcano Observatory) (2015-present)
Visiting Research Fellow, University of Tokyo (January – March 2016)
USGS Exchange Scientist, Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (February 2015)
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellow, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (2012-2015)
Education and Certifications
Stanford University: PhD in geophysics (2012)
Stanford University: MS in geophysics
Whitman College: BA in geology-physics
Affiliations and Memberships*
USGS-CONVERSE Hawai‘i Science Advisory Committee (2021–present)
Modeling Collaboratory for Subduction Research Coordination Network steering committee (2017-2022)
Phi Beta Kappa (academic honor society)
Sigma Xi (scientific research honor society)
Honors and Awards
Indiana University Daniel S. Tudor Commemorative Lecture
Stanford – USGS Fellowship
Stanford University Centennial Teaching Assistant Award
Stanford University ARCS Foundation Scholar
National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes
Whitman College graduation with honors
Whitman College Leeds Prize in Geology
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University undergraduate summer internship
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting
The 2018 summit and flank eruption of Kīlauea Volcano was one of the largest volcanic events in Hawaiʻi in 200 years. Data suggest that a backup in the magma plumbing system at the long-lived Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption site caused widespread pressurization in the volcano, driving magma into the lower flank. The eruption evolved, and its impact expanded, as a sequence of cascading events...
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, Bruce F. Houghton, Kyle R. Anderson, Michael P. Poland, Emily K. Montgomery-Brown, Ingrid A. Johanson, Weston Thelen, Tamar Elias
Very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic artifacts during the 2018 caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii Very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic artifacts during the 2018 caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii
Throughout the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano (Hawai‘i), episodic collapses of a portion of the volcano’s summit caldera produced repeated Mw 4.9–5.3 earthquakes. Each of these 62 events was characterized by a very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic signal (>40 s). Although collapses in the later stage of the eruption produced earthquakes with significant amplitude clipping on near‐summit...
Authors
Ashton F. Flinders, Ingrid A. Johanson, Phillip B. Dawson, Kyle R. Anderson, Matthew M. Haney, Brian Shiro
Caldera collapse geometry revealed by near‐field GPS displacements at Kilauea Volcano in 2018 Caldera collapse geometry revealed by near‐field GPS displacements at Kilauea Volcano in 2018
We employ near‐field GPS data to determine the subsurface geometry of a collapsing caldera during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. Collapse occurred in 62 discrete events, with “inflationary” deformation external to the collapse, similar to previous basaltic collapses. We take advantage of GPS data from the collapsing block and independent constraints on the magma chamber geometry from...
Authors
Paul Segall, Kyle R. Anderson, Fabio Pulvirenti, Taiyi Wang, Ingrid A. Johanson
The prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes The prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes
Determining the spatial relations between volcanic edifices and their underlying magma storage zones is fundamental for characterizing long-term evolution and short-term unrest. We compile centroid locations of upper crustal magma reservoirs at 56 arc volcanoes inferred from seismic, magnetotelluric, and geodetic studies. We show that magma reservoirs are often horizontally offset from...
Authors
Allan H. Lerner, Daniel O'Hara, Leif Karlstrom, Susanna K. Ebmeier, Kyle R. Anderson, Shaul Hurwitz
Preliminary analyses of volcanic hazards at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, 2017–2018 Preliminary analyses of volcanic hazards at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, 2017–2018
From 2017 to 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) responded to ongoing and changing eruptions at Kīlauea Volcano as part of its mission to monitor volcanic processes, issue warnings of dangerous activity, and assess volcanic hazards. To formalize short-term hazards assessments—and, in some cases, issue prognoses for future activity—and make results
Authors
Christina A. Neal, Kyle R. Anderson
Temporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i Temporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Measurements of gas compositions and emission rates play a major role in monitoring restless volcanoes. However, thermodynamic calculations imply that scrubbing by groundwater will prevent most HCl and significant SO2 emissions until dry pathways are established, thus leading to underestimates of gas released from magma and magma volumes. Despite the significance, direct evidence for...
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Kyle R. Anderson
Cyclic lava effusion during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano 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...
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, Hannah R. Dietterich, John J. Lyons, Angela K. Diefenbach, Carolyn Parcheta, Kyle R. Anderson, Atsuko Namiki, Ikuro Sumita, Brian Shiro, James P. Kauahikaua
Magma reservoir failure and the onset of caldera collapse at Kīlauea volcano in 2018 Magma reservoir failure and the onset of caldera collapse at Kīlauea volcano in 2018
Caldera-forming eruptions are among Earths most hazardous natural phenomena, yet the architecture of subcaldera magma reservoirs and the conditions that trigger collapse are poorly understood. Observations from the formation of a 0.8cubic kilometer basaltic caldera at Klauea Volcano in 2018 included the draining of an active lava lake, which provided a window into pressure decrease in...
Authors
Kyle R. Anderson, Ingrid A. Johanson, Matthew R. Patrick, Mengyang Gu, Paul Segall, Michael P. Poland, Emily Montgomery-Brown, Asta Miklius
Partly cloudy with a chance of lava flows: Forecasting volcanic eruptions in the 21st century Partly cloudy with a chance of lava flows: Forecasting volcanic eruptions in the 21st century
A primary goal of volcanology is forecasting hazardous eruptive activity. Despite much progress over the last century, however, volcanoes still erupt with no detected precursors, lives and livelihoods are lost to eruptive activity, and forecasting the onsets of eruptions remains fraught with uncertainty. Long‐term forecasts are generally derived from the geological and historical records...
Authors
Michael P. Poland, Kyle R. Anderson
Mechanics of inflationary deformation during Caldera collapse: Evidence from the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption Mechanics of inflationary deformation during Caldera collapse: Evidence from the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption
During the 2018 Kilauea eruption the caldera ffloor dropped 500 meters in 62 nearly periodic events of up to 8 meters. Caldera collapse maintains pressure in the magma reservoir necessary to sustain high-rate eruptions. The 2018 collapses were accompanied by inflationary tilts and displacements, similar to observations at other basaltic calderas. Collapse is modeled in 2D by uniform slip
Authors
Paul Segall, Kyle R. Anderson, Ingrid A. Johanson, Asta Miklius
Physicochemical models of effusive rhyolitic eruptions constrained with InSAR and DEM data: A case study of the 2011-2012 Cordon Caulle eruption Physicochemical models of effusive rhyolitic eruptions constrained with InSAR and DEM data: A case study of the 2011-2012 Cordon Caulle eruption
The 9 month long 2011-2012 eruption of Cordon Caulle (Southern Andes, Chile) is the best instrumentally recorded rhyolitic eruption to date and the first time that the effusion of a rhyolitic flow has been observed in detail. We use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), with time-lapse DEMs and numerical models to study the dynamics of coupled magma reservoir deflation and...
Authors
Francisco Delgado, Julia Kubanek, Kyle R. Anderson, Paul Lundgren, Matthew E. Pritchard
A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kilauea Caldera A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kilauea Caldera
We conduct finite element analysis to investigate the effect of sharp topography on surface ground deformation caused by pressure changes in a magma reservoir. Tilt data express the horizontal gradient of vertical displacement and therefore can emphasize small variations in deformation that go unnoticed using other methods. We find that the vertical displacement profile at a surface with...
Authors
Jessica A. Johnson, Michael P. Poland, Kyle R. Anderson, Juliet Biggs
Non-USGS Publications**
P. Segall and K. Anderson (2014), Look up for magma insights, Nature Geoscience, 7 (3), 2 pp., doi:10.1038/ngeo2064
Anderson, K. and P. Segall (2011), Physics-based models of ground deformation and extrusion rate at effusively erupting volcanoes, Journal of Geophysical Research, 116 (B7), 20 pp., doi:10.1029/2010JB007939
Anderson, K., M. Lisowski, and P. Segall (2010), Cyclic ground tilt associated with the 2004-2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (B11), 29 pp., doi:10.1029/2009JB007102
**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
Filter Total Items: 52
The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting
The 2018 summit and flank eruption of Kīlauea Volcano was one of the largest volcanic events in Hawaiʻi in 200 years. Data suggest that a backup in the magma plumbing system at the long-lived Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption site caused widespread pressurization in the volcano, driving magma into the lower flank. The eruption evolved, and its impact expanded, as a sequence of cascading events...
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, Bruce F. Houghton, Kyle R. Anderson, Michael P. Poland, Emily K. Montgomery-Brown, Ingrid A. Johanson, Weston Thelen, Tamar Elias
Very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic artifacts during the 2018 caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii Very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic artifacts during the 2018 caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii
Throughout the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano (Hawai‘i), episodic collapses of a portion of the volcano’s summit caldera produced repeated Mw 4.9–5.3 earthquakes. Each of these 62 events was characterized by a very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic signal (>40 s). Although collapses in the later stage of the eruption produced earthquakes with significant amplitude clipping on near‐summit...
Authors
Ashton F. Flinders, Ingrid A. Johanson, Phillip B. Dawson, Kyle R. Anderson, Matthew M. Haney, Brian Shiro
Caldera collapse geometry revealed by near‐field GPS displacements at Kilauea Volcano in 2018 Caldera collapse geometry revealed by near‐field GPS displacements at Kilauea Volcano in 2018
We employ near‐field GPS data to determine the subsurface geometry of a collapsing caldera during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. Collapse occurred in 62 discrete events, with “inflationary” deformation external to the collapse, similar to previous basaltic collapses. We take advantage of GPS data from the collapsing block and independent constraints on the magma chamber geometry from...
Authors
Paul Segall, Kyle R. Anderson, Fabio Pulvirenti, Taiyi Wang, Ingrid A. Johanson
The prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes The prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes
Determining the spatial relations between volcanic edifices and their underlying magma storage zones is fundamental for characterizing long-term evolution and short-term unrest. We compile centroid locations of upper crustal magma reservoirs at 56 arc volcanoes inferred from seismic, magnetotelluric, and geodetic studies. We show that magma reservoirs are often horizontally offset from...
Authors
Allan H. Lerner, Daniel O'Hara, Leif Karlstrom, Susanna K. Ebmeier, Kyle R. Anderson, Shaul Hurwitz
Preliminary analyses of volcanic hazards at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, 2017–2018 Preliminary analyses of volcanic hazards at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, 2017–2018
From 2017 to 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) responded to ongoing and changing eruptions at Kīlauea Volcano as part of its mission to monitor volcanic processes, issue warnings of dangerous activity, and assess volcanic hazards. To formalize short-term hazards assessments—and, in some cases, issue prognoses for future activity—and make results
Authors
Christina A. Neal, Kyle R. Anderson
Temporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i Temporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Measurements of gas compositions and emission rates play a major role in monitoring restless volcanoes. However, thermodynamic calculations imply that scrubbing by groundwater will prevent most HCl and significant SO2 emissions until dry pathways are established, thus leading to underestimates of gas released from magma and magma volumes. Despite the significance, direct evidence for...
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Kyle R. Anderson
Cyclic lava effusion during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano 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...
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, Hannah R. Dietterich, John J. Lyons, Angela K. Diefenbach, Carolyn Parcheta, Kyle R. Anderson, Atsuko Namiki, Ikuro Sumita, Brian Shiro, James P. Kauahikaua
Magma reservoir failure and the onset of caldera collapse at Kīlauea volcano in 2018 Magma reservoir failure and the onset of caldera collapse at Kīlauea volcano in 2018
Caldera-forming eruptions are among Earths most hazardous natural phenomena, yet the architecture of subcaldera magma reservoirs and the conditions that trigger collapse are poorly understood. Observations from the formation of a 0.8cubic kilometer basaltic caldera at Klauea Volcano in 2018 included the draining of an active lava lake, which provided a window into pressure decrease in...
Authors
Kyle R. Anderson, Ingrid A. Johanson, Matthew R. Patrick, Mengyang Gu, Paul Segall, Michael P. Poland, Emily Montgomery-Brown, Asta Miklius
Partly cloudy with a chance of lava flows: Forecasting volcanic eruptions in the 21st century Partly cloudy with a chance of lava flows: Forecasting volcanic eruptions in the 21st century
A primary goal of volcanology is forecasting hazardous eruptive activity. Despite much progress over the last century, however, volcanoes still erupt with no detected precursors, lives and livelihoods are lost to eruptive activity, and forecasting the onsets of eruptions remains fraught with uncertainty. Long‐term forecasts are generally derived from the geological and historical records...
Authors
Michael P. Poland, Kyle R. Anderson
Mechanics of inflationary deformation during Caldera collapse: Evidence from the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption Mechanics of inflationary deformation during Caldera collapse: Evidence from the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption
During the 2018 Kilauea eruption the caldera ffloor dropped 500 meters in 62 nearly periodic events of up to 8 meters. Caldera collapse maintains pressure in the magma reservoir necessary to sustain high-rate eruptions. The 2018 collapses were accompanied by inflationary tilts and displacements, similar to observations at other basaltic calderas. Collapse is modeled in 2D by uniform slip
Authors
Paul Segall, Kyle R. Anderson, Ingrid A. Johanson, Asta Miklius
Physicochemical models of effusive rhyolitic eruptions constrained with InSAR and DEM data: A case study of the 2011-2012 Cordon Caulle eruption Physicochemical models of effusive rhyolitic eruptions constrained with InSAR and DEM data: A case study of the 2011-2012 Cordon Caulle eruption
The 9 month long 2011-2012 eruption of Cordon Caulle (Southern Andes, Chile) is the best instrumentally recorded rhyolitic eruption to date and the first time that the effusion of a rhyolitic flow has been observed in detail. We use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), with time-lapse DEMs and numerical models to study the dynamics of coupled magma reservoir deflation and...
Authors
Francisco Delgado, Julia Kubanek, Kyle R. Anderson, Paul Lundgren, Matthew E. Pritchard
A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kilauea Caldera A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kilauea Caldera
We conduct finite element analysis to investigate the effect of sharp topography on surface ground deformation caused by pressure changes in a magma reservoir. Tilt data express the horizontal gradient of vertical displacement and therefore can emphasize small variations in deformation that go unnoticed using other methods. We find that the vertical displacement profile at a surface with...
Authors
Jessica A. Johnson, Michael P. Poland, Kyle R. Anderson, Juliet Biggs
Non-USGS Publications**
P. Segall and K. Anderson (2014), Look up for magma insights, Nature Geoscience, 7 (3), 2 pp., doi:10.1038/ngeo2064
Anderson, K. and P. Segall (2011), Physics-based models of ground deformation and extrusion rate at effusively erupting volcanoes, Journal of Geophysical Research, 116 (B7), 20 pp., doi:10.1029/2010JB007939
Anderson, K., M. Lisowski, and P. Segall (2010), Cyclic ground tilt associated with the 2004-2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (B11), 29 pp., doi:10.1029/2009JB007102
**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.
*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