Matthew Patrick, Ph.D.
I am a geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, conducting research and monitoring of active eruptions.
Professional Experience
US Geological Survey - Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Research Geologist, 2007-present
Michigan Tech University: Postdoctoral Researcher, 2006-2007
University of Hawaii Manoa: Postdoctoral Researcher, 2005-2006
Education and Certifications
University of Hawai‘i Mānoa Geology 8/02 – 8/05 Ph.D. 2005
University of Alaska Fairbanks Geology 8/99 – 5/02 M.S. 2002
Cornell University Geology 8/95 – 5/99 B.S. 1999
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 29
Digital elevation models, orthomosaics, and GIS shapefiles of the 2020–2021 summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Digital elevation models, orthomosaics, and GIS shapefiles of the 2020–2021 summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
During the 2020–2021 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, staff at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) conducted 17 helicopter overflights of the eruption area between the dates of 21 December 2020 and 8 June 2021. Images captured during these flights were processed using the structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry technique to produce...
Continuous laser rangefinder measurements of lava lake elevation and crater filling at the summit of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2021-2024 Continuous laser rangefinder measurements of lava lake elevation and crater filling at the summit of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2021-2024
The surface elevation of lava lakes is an important parameter that can provide insight on the underlying magma reservoir pressure as well as outgassing dynamics of the magmatic system (Patrick and others 2019a). Lava lake elevation may also be useful in forecasting potentially hazardous eruptions on a volcano’s flanks (Burgi and others 2014; Patrick and others 2015, 2020). Precise...
Timelapse and webcam images of the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaiʻi Timelapse and webcam images of the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaiʻi
The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, was the first eruption on the volcano since 1984, producing a 17 km lava flow that threatened a major highway (Mulliken and others 2024; Zoeller and others 2024). The eruption began with lava fountaining in the summit caldera (Mokuʻāweoweo) at 23:21 HST on November 27, transitioning to vents on the Northeast Rift Zone (NERZ) by...
Sample details and near-real-time ED-XRF data collected during the 2020-2023 Halema‘uma‘u eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Sample details and near-real-time ED-XRF data collected during the 2020-2023 Halema‘uma‘u eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
A limited suite of samples for the 2020–2023 Kīlauea eruptions within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) field teams from within a publicly closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park in cooperation with the National Park Service. This data release presents sample metadata, whole rock ED-XRF, whole rock WD...
Geospatial database of the 2022 summit and Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawai'i Geospatial database of the 2022 summit and Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawai'i
In the late evening of November 27, 2022, an effusive eruption began inside Moku'aweoweo caldera at the summit of Mauna Loa volcano. Within a few hours, lava had covered most of the caldera floor, and several fissures just outside caldera sent short lava flows up to 3 kilometers (2 miles) to the southwest. Later in the morning of November 28, summit effusion ceased and the eruption moved...
Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
The 2018 eruption from the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, was one of the most significant and destructive events on the volcano in the past 200 years (Neal and others, 2019; Patrick and others, 2020; Anderson and others, 2023; Mulliken and others, 2024). Between May and September of that year, 24 fissures opened on the lower flank of the volcano...
Filter Total Items: 76
Catastrophic lava flow levee failure: Precursors, processes, and implications Catastrophic lava flow levee failure: Precursors, processes, and implications
During an effusive eruption crisis the initial advance of a lava flow is typically the primary focus of model forecasts and hazard management efforts. Flow branching and lateral expansion of lava flows can pose significant dangers within evolving flow fields throughout the duration of an eruption and are an underappreciated hazard. We use field monitoring, infrasound, time lapse imagery...
Authors
Elisabeth Gallant, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick, David M.R. Hyman, Brett B Carr, John J. Lyons, Elinor S. Meredith
Real-time lava flow forecasting during the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption response Real-time lava flow forecasting during the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption response
On November 27, 2022, Mauna Loa (Hawai‘i) erupted for the first time in 38 years, initially producing lava flows that covered the floor of its summit caldera, Moku‘āweoweo. Over the first 12 h following the summit eruption, four main fissures opened on Mauna Loa’s Northeast Rift Zone, with “fissure 3” quickly becoming the dominant source of lava flows. For the next 12 days, fissure 3...
Authors
David M.R. Hyman, Hannah R. Dietterich, Elisabeth Gallant, Kendra J. Lynn, Michael H. Zoeller, Matthew R. Patrick, Jim Kauahikaua, Frank Trusdell, Ken Hon, Roger P. Denlinger, N. Leon Foks, R. Lopaka Lee, Jeff T. Falgout, Janice M. Gordon
Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder
Mount Rainier has had at least 11 large lahars over the last 6,000 years, including one occurring without evidence of eruptive activity. This prompted the creation of a lahar detection system that uses a combination of seismic, infrasound, and tripwires. We test a laser rangefinder placed on a river channel bank for detecting and confirming mass movements flowing past a station as an...
Authors
Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Weston Thelen, Craig Gabrielson, Seth C. Moran, Matthew R. Patrick, Edward F. Younger, Maciej K. Obryk
Pulsing in the Ahu‘ailaʻau pond-spillway system during the 2018 Kilauea Eruption: A dynamical systems perspective Pulsing in the Ahu‘ailaʻau pond-spillway system during the 2018 Kilauea Eruption: A dynamical systems perspective
During the 2018 Kīīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption, lava from 24 fissures inundated more than 8000 acres of land, destroying more than 700 structures over three months. Eruptive activity eventually focused at a single vent characterized by a continuously fed lava pond that was drained by a narrow spillway into a much wider, slower channelized flow. The spillway exhibited intervals of...
Authors
David M.R. Hyman, Roger P. Denlinger, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick
Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014 Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014
In 2014, the Pāhoa lava flow at Kīlauea, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (USA), entered a string of pre-existing meter-width ground cracks in the volcano’s East Rift Zone. The ground cracks transported lava below the surface in a direction discordant to the slope of the landscape. The cracks, which were 100s of meters long and 10s to 100s of meters deep, also widened by up to several meters as...
Authors
Tim R. Orr, Edward W. Llewellin, Kyle R. Anderson, Matthew R. Patrick
Chemistry, growth, and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019–2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii Chemistry, growth, and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019–2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Less than a year after the 2018 Kīlauea caldera collapse and eruption, water appeared in newly deepened Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The lake—unprecedented in the written record—grew to a depth of ∼50 m before lava from the December 2020 eruption boiled it away. Surface water heightened concerns of potential phreatic or phreatomagmatic explosions but also offered a new means of possibly...
Authors
Patricia A. Nadeau, Shaul Hurwitz, Sara Peek, Allan Lerner, Edward F. Younger, Matthew R. Patrick, David Damby, R. Blaine McCleskey, Peter J. Kelly
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 29
Digital elevation models, orthomosaics, and GIS shapefiles of the 2020–2021 summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Digital elevation models, orthomosaics, and GIS shapefiles of the 2020–2021 summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
During the 2020–2021 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, staff at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) conducted 17 helicopter overflights of the eruption area between the dates of 21 December 2020 and 8 June 2021. Images captured during these flights were processed using the structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry technique to produce...
Continuous laser rangefinder measurements of lava lake elevation and crater filling at the summit of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2021-2024 Continuous laser rangefinder measurements of lava lake elevation and crater filling at the summit of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, 2021-2024
The surface elevation of lava lakes is an important parameter that can provide insight on the underlying magma reservoir pressure as well as outgassing dynamics of the magmatic system (Patrick and others 2019a). Lava lake elevation may also be useful in forecasting potentially hazardous eruptions on a volcano’s flanks (Burgi and others 2014; Patrick and others 2015, 2020). Precise...
Timelapse and webcam images of the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaiʻi Timelapse and webcam images of the 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaiʻi
The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi, was the first eruption on the volcano since 1984, producing a 17 km lava flow that threatened a major highway (Mulliken and others 2024; Zoeller and others 2024). The eruption began with lava fountaining in the summit caldera (Mokuʻāweoweo) at 23:21 HST on November 27, transitioning to vents on the Northeast Rift Zone (NERZ) by...
Sample details and near-real-time ED-XRF data collected during the 2020-2023 Halema‘uma‘u eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Sample details and near-real-time ED-XRF data collected during the 2020-2023 Halema‘uma‘u eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
A limited suite of samples for the 2020–2023 Kīlauea eruptions within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) field teams from within a publicly closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park in cooperation with the National Park Service. This data release presents sample metadata, whole rock ED-XRF, whole rock WD...
Geospatial database of the 2022 summit and Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawai'i Geospatial database of the 2022 summit and Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawai'i
In the late evening of November 27, 2022, an effusive eruption began inside Moku'aweoweo caldera at the summit of Mauna Loa volcano. Within a few hours, lava had covered most of the caldera floor, and several fissures just outside caldera sent short lava flows up to 3 kilometers (2 miles) to the southwest. Later in the morning of November 28, summit effusion ceased and the eruption moved...
Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi Lava fountain heights and associated timelapse images during the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Island of Hawaiʻi
The 2018 eruption from the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, was one of the most significant and destructive events on the volcano in the past 200 years (Neal and others, 2019; Patrick and others, 2020; Anderson and others, 2023; Mulliken and others, 2024). Between May and September of that year, 24 fissures opened on the lower flank of the volcano...
Filter Total Items: 76
Catastrophic lava flow levee failure: Precursors, processes, and implications Catastrophic lava flow levee failure: Precursors, processes, and implications
During an effusive eruption crisis the initial advance of a lava flow is typically the primary focus of model forecasts and hazard management efforts. Flow branching and lateral expansion of lava flows can pose significant dangers within evolving flow fields throughout the duration of an eruption and are an underappreciated hazard. We use field monitoring, infrasound, time lapse imagery...
Authors
Elisabeth Gallant, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick, David M.R. Hyman, Brett B Carr, John J. Lyons, Elinor S. Meredith
Real-time lava flow forecasting during the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption response Real-time lava flow forecasting during the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption response
On November 27, 2022, Mauna Loa (Hawai‘i) erupted for the first time in 38 years, initially producing lava flows that covered the floor of its summit caldera, Moku‘āweoweo. Over the first 12 h following the summit eruption, four main fissures opened on Mauna Loa’s Northeast Rift Zone, with “fissure 3” quickly becoming the dominant source of lava flows. For the next 12 days, fissure 3...
Authors
David M.R. Hyman, Hannah R. Dietterich, Elisabeth Gallant, Kendra J. Lynn, Michael H. Zoeller, Matthew R. Patrick, Jim Kauahikaua, Frank Trusdell, Ken Hon, Roger P. Denlinger, N. Leon Foks, R. Lopaka Lee, Jeff T. Falgout, Janice M. Gordon
Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder
Mount Rainier has had at least 11 large lahars over the last 6,000 years, including one occurring without evidence of eruptive activity. This prompted the creation of a lahar detection system that uses a combination of seismic, infrasound, and tripwires. We test a laser rangefinder placed on a river channel bank for detecting and confirming mass movements flowing past a station as an...
Authors
Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Weston Thelen, Craig Gabrielson, Seth C. Moran, Matthew R. Patrick, Edward F. Younger, Maciej K. Obryk
Pulsing in the Ahu‘ailaʻau pond-spillway system during the 2018 Kilauea Eruption: A dynamical systems perspective Pulsing in the Ahu‘ailaʻau pond-spillway system during the 2018 Kilauea Eruption: A dynamical systems perspective
During the 2018 Kīīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption, lava from 24 fissures inundated more than 8000 acres of land, destroying more than 700 structures over three months. Eruptive activity eventually focused at a single vent characterized by a continuously fed lava pond that was drained by a narrow spillway into a much wider, slower channelized flow. The spillway exhibited intervals of...
Authors
David M.R. Hyman, Roger P. Denlinger, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick
Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014 Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014
In 2014, the Pāhoa lava flow at Kīlauea, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (USA), entered a string of pre-existing meter-width ground cracks in the volcano’s East Rift Zone. The ground cracks transported lava below the surface in a direction discordant to the slope of the landscape. The cracks, which were 100s of meters long and 10s to 100s of meters deep, also widened by up to several meters as...
Authors
Tim R. Orr, Edward W. Llewellin, Kyle R. Anderson, Matthew R. Patrick
Chemistry, growth, and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019–2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii Chemistry, growth, and fate of the unique, short-lived (2019–2020) water lake at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Less than a year after the 2018 Kīlauea caldera collapse and eruption, water appeared in newly deepened Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The lake—unprecedented in the written record—grew to a depth of ∼50 m before lava from the December 2020 eruption boiled it away. Surface water heightened concerns of potential phreatic or phreatomagmatic explosions but also offered a new means of possibly...
Authors
Patricia A. Nadeau, Shaul Hurwitz, Sara Peek, Allan Lerner, Edward F. Younger, Matthew R. Patrick, David Damby, R. Blaine McCleskey, Peter J. Kelly