Michael Poland
Biography
Mike is a research geophysicist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory and the current Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. His area of specialization is volcano geodesy, which emphasizes the surface deformation and gravity fields associated with volcanic activity. This work involves the use of space-based technologies, like Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), as well as ground-based techniques, like microgravity surveys. Mike has taken part in studies on a variety of volcanic systems in the United states, including Mount St. Helens and other volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest, Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes in Hawaii, and the Yellowstone caldera. His recent work has focused on using gravity change over time to understand the character of the fluids that drive volcanic unrest, and also on the potential of satellite data to improve forecasts of future changes in volcanic activity.
Education:
- Arizona State University: Ph.D. (2001), Geological Sciences
- University of California, Davis: B.S. (1997), Geology
Appointments:
- U.S. Geological Survey - Yellowstone Volcano Observatory: Scientist-in-Charge (2017 - present)
- U.S. Geological Survey – Cascades Volcano Observatory: Research Geophysicist (2015 - present)
- U.S. Geological Survey – Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Research Geophysicist (2005 - 2015)
- U.S. Geological Survey – Cascades Volcano Observatory: Research Geophysicist (2002 - 2005)
- Department of Geology, Clark College (Vancouver, Washington): Instructor (2004)
- Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences: Graduate Teaching/Research Assoc. (1997 - 2001)
Science and Products
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards
A vast number of the world’s volcanoes are unmonitored by ground-based sensors, yet constitute an important hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and the global economy. Satellite data provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity at such volcanoes. Unfortunately, satellite acquisitions are not optimized for application to volcano hazards, in part because...
Repeat microgravity data from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
These data are microgravity measurements collected in Yellowstone National Park. Data are collected suing multiple instruments, which each data file representing measurements from a specific instrument during a specific time period. The data dictionary explains the file format and contents, and the dataset will be updated as new data are collected.
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,...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Anderson, Kyle R.; Poland, Michael P.; Montgomery-Brown, Emily; Johanson, Ingrid; Thelen, Weston; Elias, Tamar Forecasting, detecting, and tracking volcanic eruptions from space
Satellite monitoring of volcanic activity typically includes four primary observations: (1) deformation and surface change, (2) gas emissions, (3) thermal anomalies, and (4) ash plumes. These phenomena are imaged by remote sensing data that span the electromagnetic spectrum, from microwave to ultraviolet energy and including visible and infrared...
Poland, Michael P.; Lopez, Taryn; Wright, Robert; Pavolonis, Michael J. Using conceptual models to relate multiparameter satellite data to subsurface volcanic processes in Latin America
Satellite data have been extensively used to identify volcanic behavior. However, the physical subsurface processes causing any individual manifestation of activity can be ambiguous. We propose a classification scheme for the cause of unrest that simultaneously considers three multiparameter satellite observations. The scheme is based on...
Reath, Kevin; Pritchard, Matthew; Biggs, Juliet; Andrews, Ben; Ebmeier, Susi; Bagnardi, Marco; Girona, Tarsilo; Lundgren, Paul; Lopez, Taryn; Poland, Michael P. Post-collapse gravity increase at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi
We conducted gravity surveys of the summit area of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, in November 2018 and March 2019, with the goal of determining whether there was any mass change at depth following the volcano's May–August 2018 caldera collapse. Surface deformation between the two surveys was minimal, but we measured a gravity increase (maximum 44 μGal...
Poland, Michael P.; de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen, Elske; Bagnardi, Marco; Johanson, Ingrid 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...
Anderson, Kyle R.; Johanson, Ingrid; Patrick, Matthew R.; Gu, Mengyang; Segall, Paul; Poland, Michael P.; Montgomery-Brown, Emily; Miklius, Asta 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...
Poland, Michael P.; Anderson, Kyle R. Interseismic quiescence and triggered slip of active normal faults of Kīlauea Volcano’s south flank during 2001-2018
The mobile south flank of Kīlauea Volcano hosts two normal fault systems, the Koa'e fault system (KFS) and the Hilina fault system (HFS). In historical time, at least three M>6.5 earthquakes have occurred on the basal detachment of the Kīlauea Volcano's south flank, with the most recent being the 4 May 2018 M6.9 earthquake. Here we analyze...
Wang, Kang; MacArthur, Hayden; Johanson, Ingrid; Montgomery-Brown, Emily; Poland, Michael P.; Cannon, Eric; d'Alessio, Matthew; Bürgmann, Roland Don Swanson: A field volcanology career worth celebrating
Don Swanson has profoundly influenced generations of volcanologists and has made major contributions to our understanding of both silicic and basaltic volcanic systems. He provides an exceptional example of how a gifted scientist can develop entirely new paradigms related to large-scale problems on the basis of decades of study, as exemplified by...
Poland, Michael P.; Garcia, Michael O.; Camp, Victor E.; Grunder, Anita 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...
Syahbana, D.K.; Kasbani, K.; Suantika, G.; Prambada, O.; Andreas, A.; Saing, U.; Kunrat, S.; Andreastuti, S.L.; Martanto, S.; Kriswati, E.; Suparman, Y.; Humaida, H.; Ogburn, Sarah E.; Kelly, Peter J.; Wellik, John; Wright, Heather; Pesicek, Jeremy D.; Wessels, Rick; Kern, Christoph; Lisowski, Michael; Diefenbach, Angela K.; Poland, Michael P.; Francois Beauducel; Vaughan, R. Greg; Pallister, John S.; Lowenstern, Jacob B. Modulation of seismic activity in Kīlauea’s Upper East Rift Zone by summit pressurization
Kīlauea Volcano is underlain by a complex, laterally-extensive magmatic plumbing system. Although in recent decades it has mainly erupted through vents along the middle East Rift Zone and summit caldera, eruptions can occur anywhere along its two laterally extensive rift zones, as demonstrated by the dramatic eruptive activity of 2018. Forecasting...
Wauthier, Christelle; Roman, Diana C.; Poland, Michael P. Assessing seasonal changes in microgravity at Yellowstone caldera
Microgravity time series at active volcanoes can provide an indication of mass change related to subsurface magmatic processes, but uncertainty is often introduced by hydrologic variations and other noise sources that cannot easily be isolated. We empirically assessed seasonality and noise by conducting four surveys over the course of May-October...
Poland, Michael P.; de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen, Elske 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...
Johnson, Jessica A.; Poland, Michael P.; Anderson, Kyle R.; Biggs, Juliet
Silver Gate—the Mammoth Terraces of yesteryear!
Just south of Mammoth Hot Springs, near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, lies a jumble of white/gray rock known as the Hoodoos or, more formally, Silver Gate. The origin of this deposit is a quintessential tale of the dynamic nature of Yellowstone.
Yellowstone’s sibling in the southern hemisphere: Taupō, New Zealand
Yellowstone is not the only large caldera system in the world. Indeed, caldera systems can be found all over the planet! In New Zealand, the Taupō caldera system shares many similarities with Yellowstone—a history of large eruptions, geysers and hot springs, and even earthquake swarms and ground deformation, some of which might be related to magmatic intrusions.
The day that Porkchop Geyser exploded
Small hydrothermal explosions—steam blasts—are common at Yellowstone, occurring every year or two. Most happen in the backcountry and are not observed by people. In 1989, however, Porkchop Geyser blew up right in front of several observers on an otherwise sunny September afternoon.
Yellowstone’s unconformity—over 60 million years of missing geologic history!
Visitors to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park might have noticed an odd geological feature near the top of Mount Everts—an unconformity! This juxtaposition of different rocks serves as a marker of missing history in the Yellowstone region.
YVO’s 2021 field season is underway!
For half the year, Yellowstone is largely inaccessible to geologists, buried under snow and ice and subject to fierce storms. By May, however, improved weather and melting snow opens the park to field work. The 2021 field season promises to be a productive one for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The 2020 Yellowstone Volcano Observatory annual report is now available!
Interested in knowing more about Yellowstone geyser, seismic and deformation activity in 2020? And the results of research conducted by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory? Look no further—the 2020 Yellowstone Volcano Observatory annual report is now online!
Just how long has the Yellowstone Hotspot been around?
The Yellowstone hotspot—the source of heat that powers Yellowstone’s vast volcanic system—has long been thought to have initiated about 17 million years ago. A growing volume of evidence, however, suggests that it has been around much longer.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory year in review—what happened in 2020?
Although 2020 may not have been a great year for many of us, it was a pretty interesting year in Yellowstone. With this first Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles article of the new year, let’s take the traditional look back at what happened in Yellowstone during the previous 12 months,
Thousands of years of caldera inflation and deflation recorded in the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake
Thanks to technology like GPS (Global Positioning System), scientists know that the ground at Yellowstone moves up and down at a rate of a few centimeters—about an inch—per year. But what was happening to the caldera before scientists had the ability to make these measurements? Yellowstone Lake holds the key, with a record of deformation that extends back thousands of years!
The story of a Yellowstone icon: Old Faithful Geyser
Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in the world, but who named the iconic feature? And how does the current frequency of its eruptions compare to when it was first described?
The geology of a Yellowstone jewel: Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley is a gorgeous expanse of grassland and meadows located right in the center of Yellowstone National Park. It is a haven for wildlife and a popular spot for viewing some of Yellowstone’s most iconic animals. But why does this meadow exist in the midst of what is otherwise a high-altitude forest of lodgepole pine trees? The area’s geology holds the key
Yellowstone Monthly Update - June 2020
Yellowstone Volcano remains at GREEN/NORMAL. Yellowstone National Park is open and seasonal field work began last month. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations located 288 earthquakes in May that occurred as part of three swarms. Ground deformation remains unchanged from last month.