Michael Albert Mitchell, Ph.D.
I am a research geophysicist at the California Volcano Observatory who focuses on using gravity, magnetic, and MT datasets, to better image the magmatic plumbing of the Clear Lake Volcanic. Improving our understanding of the magmatic plumbing will allow us to better characterize the volcanic hazards and evaluate the threat that the Clear Lake Volcanic field poses to nearby communities.
Over the course of my education I have been fortunate to work on a diverse set of geophysical projects which range from:
- Shooting high resolution seismic profiles on the Kitsap Peninsula, west of Seattle, to better characterize the western end of the Seattle Fault.
- Archaeological geophysics investigations of the Great House at the Chimney Rock National Monument in southwestern Colorado.
- 3-D tomographic inversion of Askja volcano in Iceland’s Northern Volcanic Zone, using local micro-seismic events, to imaging the sub-caldera magma chamber and track the migration of magma from its injection points in the lower crust to the surface.
- Studying aspects of electrical and electromagnetic survey design, data quality control, and inversion in the hope of improving methodologies for the use of these geophysical methods in underground or in-mine environments.
With my current work on the Clear Lake Volcanic Field I am excited to be learning more about magnetotellurics (MT) and am happy to be studying volcanoes once again! At some point in my career I would enjoy the opportunity to work on projects related to archaeological geophysics once again.