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
Operational thermal remote sensing and lava flow monitoring at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Automated tracking of lava lake level using thermal images at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i
The 2014-2015 Pāhoa lava flow crisis at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i: Disaster avoided and lessons learned
Long period seismicity and very long period infrasound driven by shallow magmatic degassing at Mount Pagan, Mariana Islands
Long period (LP) seismicity and very long period infrasound (iVLP) were recorded during continuous degassing from Mount Pagan, Mariana Islands, in July 2013 to January 2014. The frequency content of the LP and iVLP events and delay times between the two arrivals were remarkably stable and indicate nearly co-located sources. Using phase-weighted stacking over similar events to dampen noise, we find
Stronger or longer: Discriminating between Hawaiian and Strombolian eruption styles
Lava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard
Satellite monitoring of dramatic changes at Hawai'i's only alpine lake: Lake Waiau on Mauna Kea volcano
A multipurpose camera system for monitoring Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i
Kilauea's 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu'u 'Ō'ō
A spaceborne inventory of volcanic activity in Antarctica and southern oceans, 2000-10
A sinuous tumulus over an active lava tube at Kīlauea Volcano: evolution, analogs, and hazard forecasts
Continuous monitoring of Hawaiian volcanoes with thermal cameras
Science and Products
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Operational thermal remote sensing and lava flow monitoring at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Hawaiian volcanoes are highly accessible and well monitored by ground instruments. Nevertheless, observational gaps remain and thermal satellite imagery has proven useful in Hawai‘i for providing synoptic views of activity during intervals between field visits. Here we describe the beginning of a thermal remote sensing programme at the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). WhereAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, James P. Kauahikaua, Tim R. Orr, Ashley G. Davies, Michael S. RamseyAutomated tracking of lava lake level using thermal images at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i
Tracking the level of the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i, is an essential part of monitoring the ongoing eruption and forecasting potentially hazardous changes in activity. We describe a simple automated image processing routine that analyzes continuously-acquired thermal images of the lava lake and measures lava level. The method uses three image segmeAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, Don Swanson, Tim R. OrrThe 2014-2015 Pāhoa lava flow crisis at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i: Disaster avoided and lessons learned
Lava flow crises are nothing new on the Island of Hawai‘i, where their destructive force has been demonstrated repeatedly over the past several hundred years. The 2014–2015 Pāhoa lava flow crisis, however, was unique in terms of its societal impact and volcanological characteristics. Despite low effusion rates, a long-lived lava flow whose extent reached 20 km (the longest at Kīlauea Volcano in thAuthorsMichael P. Poland, Tim R. Orr, James P. Kauahikaua, Steven R. Brantley, Janet L. Babb, Matthew R. Patrick, Christina A. Neal, Kyle R. Anderson, Loren Antolik, Matthew K. Burgess, Tamar Elias, Steven Fuke, Pauline Fukunaga, Ingrid A. Johanson, Marian Kagimoto, Kevan P. Kamibayashi, Lopaka Lee, Asta Miklius, William Million, Cyril J. Moniz, Paul G. Okubo, Andrew Sutton, T. Jane Takahashi, Weston A. Thelen, Willam Tollett, Frank A. TrusdellLong period seismicity and very long period infrasound driven by shallow magmatic degassing at Mount Pagan, Mariana Islands
Long period (LP) seismicity and very long period infrasound (iVLP) were recorded during continuous degassing from Mount Pagan, Mariana Islands, in July 2013 to January 2014. The frequency content of the LP and iVLP events and delay times between the two arrivals were remarkably stable and indicate nearly co-located sources. Using phase-weighted stacking over similar events to dampen noise, we find
AuthorsJohn J. Lyons, Matthew M. Haney, Cynthia A. Werner, Peter J. Kelly, Matthew R. Patrick, Christoph Kern, Frank A. TrusdellStronger or longer: Discriminating between Hawaiian and Strombolian eruption styles
The weakest explosive volcanic eruptions globally, Strombolian explosions and Hawaiian fountaining, are also the most common. Yet, despite over a hundred years of observations, no classifications have offered a convincing, quantitative way of demarcating these two styles. New observations show that the two styles are distinct in their eruptive timescale, with the duration of Hawaiian fountaining eAuthorsBruce F. Houghton, Jacopo Taddeucci, D. Andronico, H Gonnerman, M Pistolesi, Matthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr, Don Swanson, M Edmonds, Rebecca J. Carey, P. ScarlatoLava lake level as a gauge of magma reservoir pressure and eruptive hazard
Forecasting volcanic activity relies fundamentally on tracking magma pressure through the use of proxies, such as ground surface deformation and earthquake rates. Lava lakes at open-vent basaltic volcanoes provide a window into the uppermost magma system for gauging reservoir pressure changes more directly. At Kīlauea Volcano (Hawaiʻi, USA) the surface height of the summit lava lake in HalemaʻumaʻAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, Kyle R. Anderson, Michael P. Poland, Tim R. Orr, Donald A. SwansonSatellite monitoring of dramatic changes at Hawai'i's only alpine lake: Lake Waiau on Mauna Kea volcano
Lake Waiau is a small, typically 100-meter-long lake, located near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is Hawaiʻi’s only alpine lake and is considered sacred in Hawaiian cultural tradition. Over the past few years, the lake has diminished in size, and, by October 2013, surface water had almost completely disappeared from the lake. In this study, we use high-resolution satAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, James P. KauahikauaA multipurpose camera system for monitoring Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i
We describe a low-cost, compact multipurpose camera system designed for field deployment at active volcanoes that can be used either as a webcam (transmitting images back to an observatory in real-time) or as a time-lapse camera system (storing images onto the camera system for periodic retrieval during field visits). The system also has the capability to acquire high-definition video. The cameraAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr, Lopaka Lee, Cyril J. MonizKilauea's 5-9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption and its relation to 30+ years of activity from Pu'u 'Ō'ō
Lava output from Kīlauea's long-lived East Rift Zone eruption, ongoing since 1983, began waning in 2010 and was coupled with uplift, increased seismicity, and rising lava levels at the volcano's summit and Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent. These changes culminated in the four-day-long Kamoamoa fissure eruption on the East Rift Zone starting on 5 March 2011. About 2.7 × 106 m3 of lava erupted, accompanied by ˜15 cmAuthorsTim R. Orr, Michael P. Poland, Matthew R. Patrick, Weston A. Thelen, A.J. Sutton, Tamar Elias, Carl R. Thornber, Carolyn Parcheta, Kelly M. WootenA spaceborne inventory of volcanic activity in Antarctica and southern oceans, 2000-10
Of the more than twenty historically active volcanoes in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic region only two, to our knowledge, host any ground-based monitoring instruments. Moreover, because of their remoteness, most of the volcanoes are seldom visited, thus relegating the monitoring of volcanism in this region almost entirely to satellites. In this study, high temporal resolution satellite data froAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, John L. SmellieA sinuous tumulus over an active lava tube at Kīlauea Volcano: evolution, analogs, and hazard forecasts
Inflation of narrow tube-fed basaltic lava flows (tens of meters across), such as those confined by topography, can be focused predominantly along the roof of a lava tube. This can lead to the development of an unusually long tumulus, its shape matching the sinuosity of the underlying lava tube. Such a situation occurred during Kīlauea Volcano's (Hawai'i, USA) ongoing East Rift Zone eruption on aAuthorsTim R. Orr, Jacob E. Bleacher, Matthew R. Patrick, Kelly M. WootenContinuous monitoring of Hawaiian volcanoes with thermal cameras
Continuously operating thermal cameras are becoming more common around the world for volcano monitoring, and offer distinct advantages over conventional visual webcams for observing volcanic activity. Thermal cameras can sometimes “see” through volcanic fume that obscures views to visual webcams and the naked eye, and often provide a much clearer view of the extent of high temperature areas and acAuthorsMatthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr, Loren Antolik, Robert Lopaka Lee, Kevan P. Kamibayashi - News