Rick L. Wessels, Ph.D.
I use high-resolution satellite remote sensing to monitor and research volcanoes around the world. I am always working toward faster remote sensing acquisition and reporting to many partners both at the USGS Volcano Observatories and many international observatories and emergency managers.
I've been using various types of overhead imaging as the main tool for various types of geology, glacier, and volcano research since 1988 starting in industry and academic positions and now with the U.S. Geological Survey since 2003. I specialize in using a full spectrum of satellite data to better understand the surface of the Earth.
Professional Experience
USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program - Reston, VA (since 2013): 2011-present
USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory - Anchorage, AK: 2003-2013
Arizona State University Post-Doc - USGS Astrogeology - Flagstaff, AZ: 2000-2003
Amoco Research - Tulsa, OK 1997 - 1998 (part-time consulting while at ASU for my PhD.)
Amoco - Houston, TX: 1990 - 1993
Chevron - Midland, TX: summer 1989
USGS NAGT intern - Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, WA: summer 1988
Education and Certifications
Arizona State University Geology PhD. 1999
Northern Arizona Geology MS 1990
Cornell College Geology BA 1988
Affiliations and Memberships*
AGU
IAVCEI
NASA
Honors and Awards
Partly funded as a Co-investigator for various Earth Science and Planetary NASA grants from 1993 to 2022
Several USGS STAR awards 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018
Abstracts and Presentations
Panelist - NGA Thermal Summit - 2019 - Chantilly, VA
Invited Speaker - ScienceWriters2018 Meeting - Washington DC
Invited Speaker - Civil Applications Meeting - 2014, 2015 - Reston, VA
Invited Speaker - University of Pittsburgh - 2008
Science and Products
Geospatial database of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
The 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea Volcano began in the late afternoon of 3 May, with fissure 1 opening and erupting lava onto Mohala Street in the Leilani Estates subdivision, part of the lower Puna District of the Island of Hawaii. For the first week of the eruption, relatively viscous lava flowed only within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of the fissures within Leilani Estates, before a
Filter Total Items: 13
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards—Suggestions from the USGS Powell Center Volcano Remote Sensing Working Group
A significant number of the world’s approximately 1,400 subaerial volcanoes with Holocene eruptions are unmonitored by ground-based sensors yet constitute a potential hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and global commerce. Data from an international constellation of more than 60 current satellite instruments provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity and
Authors
M. E. Pritchard, M. Poland, K. Reath, B. Andrews, M. Bagnardi, J. Biggs, S. Carn, D. Coppola, S.K. Ebmeier, M.A. Furtney, T. Girona, J. Griswold, T. Lopez, P. Lundgren, S. Ogburn, M. Pavolonis, E. Rumpf, G. Vaughan, C. Wauthier, R. Wessels, R. Wright, K.R. Anderson, M.G. Bato, A. Roman
Quantifying eruptive and background seismicity, deformation, degassing, and thermal emissions at volcanoes in the United States during 1978–2020
An important aspect of volcanic hazard assessment is determination of the level and character of background activity at a volcano so that deviations from background (called unrest) can be identified. Here, we compile the instrumentally recorded eruptive and noneruptive activity for 161 US volcanoes between 1978 and 2020. We combine monitoring data from four techniques: seismicity, ground deformati
Authors
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Diana C. Roman, Taryn Lopez, Simon A Carn, Tobias P. Fischer, Zhong Lu, M. Poland, R. Greg Vaughan, Rick Wessels, L. L. Wike, H. K. Tran
Evolution of the submarine–subaerial edifice of Bogoslof volcano, Alaska, during its 2016–2017 eruption based on analysis of satellite imagery
The 2016–2017 eruption of Bogoslof volcano involved at least 70 detected eruptive events between mid-December 2016 and August 30, 2017. Acquisition of high-resolution satellite imagery throughout the duration of the eruptive period allowed us to document and map the various morphologic changes that occurred on the subaerial part of Bogoslof Island. The emplacement of pyroclastic-flow and surge dep
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas, Kim M. Angeli, Rick Wessels
Monitoring, forecasting collapse events, and mapping pyroclastic deposits at Sinabung volcano with satellite imagery
During the ongoing (2013–present) eruption of Sinabung volcano, north Sumatra, we have routinely used a variety of satellite remote sensing data to observe and forecast lava dome and lava flow collapse events, to map the resulting pyroclastic deposits, and to estimate effusion rates. In this paper, we focus on the first two years of the current eruption (September 2013–December 2015), and we summa
Authors
John S. Pallister, Rick Wessels, Julia P. Griswold, Wendy A. McCausland, Nugraha Kartadinata, Hendra Gunawan, Agus Budianto, Sofyan Primulyana
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 rapid lava effusion occurred between 25 and 29 November
Authors
D.K. Syahbana, K. Kasbani, G. Suantika, O. Prambada, A. Andreas, U. Saing, S. Kunrat, S.L. Andreastuti, S. Martanto, E. Kriswati, Y. Suparman, H. Humaida, Sarah E. Ogburn, Peter J. Kelly, John Wellik, Heather Wright, Jeremy D. Pesicek, Rick Wessels, Christoph Kern, Michael Lisowski, Angela K. Diefenbach, Michael P. Poland, Francois Beauducel, R. Greg Vaughan, John S. Pallister, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Thermal, deformation, and degassing remote sensing time-series (A.D. 2000-2017) at the 47 most active volcanoes in Latin America: Implications for volcanic systems
Volcanoes are hazardous to local and global populations, but only a fraction are continuously monitored by ground-based sensors. For example, in Latin America, more than 60% of Holocene volcanoes are unmonitored, meaning long-term multi-parameter datasets of volcanic activity are rare and sparse. We use satellite observations of degassing, thermal anomalies, and surface deformation spanning 17 yea
Authors
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Michael P. Poland, F. Delgado, S. Carn, D. Coppola, B. J. Andrews, S.K. Ebmeier, M. Elise Rumpf, S. Henderson, S. Baker, P. Lundgren, R. Erik Wright, J. Biggs, T. Lopez, C. Wauthier, S. Moruzzi, A. Alcott, Rick Wessels, Julia P. Griswold, Sarah E. Ogburn, S. C. Loughlin, F. Meyer, R. Greg Vaughan, M. Bagnardi
Construction of probabilistic event trees for eruption forecasting at Sinabung volcano, Indonesia 2013–14
Eruptions of Sinabung volcano, Indonesia have been ongoing since 2013. Since that time, the character of eruptions has changed, from phreatic to phreatomagmatic to magmatic explosive eruptions, and from production of a lava dome that collapsed to a subsequent thick lava flow that slowly ceased to be active, and later, to a new lava dome. As the eruption progressed, event trees were constructed to
Authors
Heather M. Wright, John S. Pallister, Wendy A. McCausland, Julia P. Griswold, Supriyati Andreastuti, Agus Budianto, Sofyan Primulyana, Maurizio Battaglia, Angie Diefenbach, John W. Ewert, Peter J. Kelly, Christoph Kern, Martin R. LaFevers, Andrew B. Lockhart, Jeffrey N. Marso, Gari C. Mayberry, Steve P. Schilling, Rick Wessels, Randall A. White, Nurnaning Aisyah, Nugraha Kartadinata, Kristianto, Raditya Putra, Ugan Boyson Saing, Agus Solihin, Yasa Suparman, Devy Damil Syahbana, Hetty Triastuty
Magmatic degassing, lava dome extrusion, and explosions from Mount Cleveland volcano, Alaska, 2011–2015: Insight into the continuous nature of volcanic activity over multi-year timescales
Mount Cleveland volcano (1730 m) is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc, Alaska, but heightened activity is rarely accompanied by geophysical signals, which makes interpretation of the activity difficult. In this study, we combine volcanic gas emissions measured for the first time in August 2015 with longer-term measurements of thermal output and lava extrusion rates between 2011
Authors
Cynthia Werner, Christoph Kern, Diego Coppola, John J. Lyons, Peter J. Kelly, Kristi L. Wallace, David J. Schneider, Rick Wessels
Volcano–ice interactions precursory to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
In late summer of 2008, after nearly 20 years of quiescence, Redoubt Volcano began to show signs of abnormal heat flow in its summit crater. In the months that followed, the excess heat triggered melting and ablation of Redoubt's glaciers, beginning at the summit and propagating to lower elevations as the unrest accelerated. A variety of morphological changes were observed, including the creation
Authors
Heather A. Bleick, Michelle L. Coombs, Peter F. Cervelli, Katharine F. Bull, Rick Wessels
Photogrammetric monitoring of lava dome growth during the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano
The 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, began with a phreatic explosion on 15 March followed by a series of at least 19 explosive events and growth and destruction of at least two, and likely three, lava domes between 22 March and 4 April. On 4 April explosive activity gave way to continuous lava effusion within the summit crater. We present an analysis of post-4 April lava dome growth using
Authors
Angela K. Diefenbach, Katharine F. Bull, Rick Wessels, Robert G. McGimsey
Recent extreme avalanches: Triggered by climate change?
On 25 September 2008, seismo meters operated by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) registered strong ground shaking. On the basis of previous experience with such large seismic signals, AVO personnel were able to rapidly identify the seismic event as an avalanche. Two days later, an AVO overflight of Iliamna volcano, near Alaska's Cook Inlet, confirmed that a massive chunk of glacial ice and roc
Authors
C. Huggel, J. Caplan-Auerbach, Rick Wessels
Monitoring volcanic threats using ASTER satellite data
This document summarizes ongoing activities associated with a research project funded by the national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) focusing on volcanic change detection through the use of satellite imagery. This work includes systems development as well as improvements in data analysis methods. Participating organizations include the NASA land processes distributed active archive ce
Authors
K. A. Duda, R. Wessels, M. Ramsey, J. Dehn
Science and Products
Geospatial database of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
The 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea Volcano began in the late afternoon of 3 May, with fissure 1 opening and erupting lava onto Mohala Street in the Leilani Estates subdivision, part of the lower Puna District of the Island of Hawaii. For the first week of the eruption, relatively viscous lava flowed only within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of the fissures within Leilani Estates, before a
Filter Total Items: 13
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards—Suggestions from the USGS Powell Center Volcano Remote Sensing Working Group
A significant number of the world’s approximately 1,400 subaerial volcanoes with Holocene eruptions are unmonitored by ground-based sensors yet constitute a potential hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and global commerce. Data from an international constellation of more than 60 current satellite instruments provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity and
Authors
M. E. Pritchard, M. Poland, K. Reath, B. Andrews, M. Bagnardi, J. Biggs, S. Carn, D. Coppola, S.K. Ebmeier, M.A. Furtney, T. Girona, J. Griswold, T. Lopez, P. Lundgren, S. Ogburn, M. Pavolonis, E. Rumpf, G. Vaughan, C. Wauthier, R. Wessels, R. Wright, K.R. Anderson, M.G. Bato, A. Roman
Quantifying eruptive and background seismicity, deformation, degassing, and thermal emissions at volcanoes in the United States during 1978–2020
An important aspect of volcanic hazard assessment is determination of the level and character of background activity at a volcano so that deviations from background (called unrest) can be identified. Here, we compile the instrumentally recorded eruptive and noneruptive activity for 161 US volcanoes between 1978 and 2020. We combine monitoring data from four techniques: seismicity, ground deformati
Authors
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Diana C. Roman, Taryn Lopez, Simon A Carn, Tobias P. Fischer, Zhong Lu, M. Poland, R. Greg Vaughan, Rick Wessels, L. L. Wike, H. K. Tran
Evolution of the submarine–subaerial edifice of Bogoslof volcano, Alaska, during its 2016–2017 eruption based on analysis of satellite imagery
The 2016–2017 eruption of Bogoslof volcano involved at least 70 detected eruptive events between mid-December 2016 and August 30, 2017. Acquisition of high-resolution satellite imagery throughout the duration of the eruptive period allowed us to document and map the various morphologic changes that occurred on the subaerial part of Bogoslof Island. The emplacement of pyroclastic-flow and surge dep
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas, Kim M. Angeli, Rick Wessels
Monitoring, forecasting collapse events, and mapping pyroclastic deposits at Sinabung volcano with satellite imagery
During the ongoing (2013–present) eruption of Sinabung volcano, north Sumatra, we have routinely used a variety of satellite remote sensing data to observe and forecast lava dome and lava flow collapse events, to map the resulting pyroclastic deposits, and to estimate effusion rates. In this paper, we focus on the first two years of the current eruption (September 2013–December 2015), and we summa
Authors
John S. Pallister, Rick Wessels, Julia P. Griswold, Wendy A. McCausland, Nugraha Kartadinata, Hendra Gunawan, Agus Budianto, Sofyan Primulyana
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 rapid lava effusion occurred between 25 and 29 November
Authors
D.K. Syahbana, K. Kasbani, G. Suantika, O. Prambada, A. Andreas, U. Saing, S. Kunrat, S.L. Andreastuti, S. Martanto, E. Kriswati, Y. Suparman, H. Humaida, Sarah E. Ogburn, Peter J. Kelly, John Wellik, Heather Wright, Jeremy D. Pesicek, Rick Wessels, Christoph Kern, Michael Lisowski, Angela K. Diefenbach, Michael P. Poland, Francois Beauducel, R. Greg Vaughan, John S. Pallister, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Thermal, deformation, and degassing remote sensing time-series (A.D. 2000-2017) at the 47 most active volcanoes in Latin America: Implications for volcanic systems
Volcanoes are hazardous to local and global populations, but only a fraction are continuously monitored by ground-based sensors. For example, in Latin America, more than 60% of Holocene volcanoes are unmonitored, meaning long-term multi-parameter datasets of volcanic activity are rare and sparse. We use satellite observations of degassing, thermal anomalies, and surface deformation spanning 17 yea
Authors
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Michael P. Poland, F. Delgado, S. Carn, D. Coppola, B. J. Andrews, S.K. Ebmeier, M. Elise Rumpf, S. Henderson, S. Baker, P. Lundgren, R. Erik Wright, J. Biggs, T. Lopez, C. Wauthier, S. Moruzzi, A. Alcott, Rick Wessels, Julia P. Griswold, Sarah E. Ogburn, S. C. Loughlin, F. Meyer, R. Greg Vaughan, M. Bagnardi
Construction of probabilistic event trees for eruption forecasting at Sinabung volcano, Indonesia 2013–14
Eruptions of Sinabung volcano, Indonesia have been ongoing since 2013. Since that time, the character of eruptions has changed, from phreatic to phreatomagmatic to magmatic explosive eruptions, and from production of a lava dome that collapsed to a subsequent thick lava flow that slowly ceased to be active, and later, to a new lava dome. As the eruption progressed, event trees were constructed to
Authors
Heather M. Wright, John S. Pallister, Wendy A. McCausland, Julia P. Griswold, Supriyati Andreastuti, Agus Budianto, Sofyan Primulyana, Maurizio Battaglia, Angie Diefenbach, John W. Ewert, Peter J. Kelly, Christoph Kern, Martin R. LaFevers, Andrew B. Lockhart, Jeffrey N. Marso, Gari C. Mayberry, Steve P. Schilling, Rick Wessels, Randall A. White, Nurnaning Aisyah, Nugraha Kartadinata, Kristianto, Raditya Putra, Ugan Boyson Saing, Agus Solihin, Yasa Suparman, Devy Damil Syahbana, Hetty Triastuty
Magmatic degassing, lava dome extrusion, and explosions from Mount Cleveland volcano, Alaska, 2011–2015: Insight into the continuous nature of volcanic activity over multi-year timescales
Mount Cleveland volcano (1730 m) is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc, Alaska, but heightened activity is rarely accompanied by geophysical signals, which makes interpretation of the activity difficult. In this study, we combine volcanic gas emissions measured for the first time in August 2015 with longer-term measurements of thermal output and lava extrusion rates between 2011
Authors
Cynthia Werner, Christoph Kern, Diego Coppola, John J. Lyons, Peter J. Kelly, Kristi L. Wallace, David J. Schneider, Rick Wessels
Volcano–ice interactions precursory to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
In late summer of 2008, after nearly 20 years of quiescence, Redoubt Volcano began to show signs of abnormal heat flow in its summit crater. In the months that followed, the excess heat triggered melting and ablation of Redoubt's glaciers, beginning at the summit and propagating to lower elevations as the unrest accelerated. A variety of morphological changes were observed, including the creation
Authors
Heather A. Bleick, Michelle L. Coombs, Peter F. Cervelli, Katharine F. Bull, Rick Wessels
Photogrammetric monitoring of lava dome growth during the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano
The 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, began with a phreatic explosion on 15 March followed by a series of at least 19 explosive events and growth and destruction of at least two, and likely three, lava domes between 22 March and 4 April. On 4 April explosive activity gave way to continuous lava effusion within the summit crater. We present an analysis of post-4 April lava dome growth using
Authors
Angela K. Diefenbach, Katharine F. Bull, Rick Wessels, Robert G. McGimsey
Recent extreme avalanches: Triggered by climate change?
On 25 September 2008, seismo meters operated by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) registered strong ground shaking. On the basis of previous experience with such large seismic signals, AVO personnel were able to rapidly identify the seismic event as an avalanche. Two days later, an AVO overflight of Iliamna volcano, near Alaska's Cook Inlet, confirmed that a massive chunk of glacial ice and roc
Authors
C. Huggel, J. Caplan-Auerbach, Rick Wessels
Monitoring volcanic threats using ASTER satellite data
This document summarizes ongoing activities associated with a research project funded by the national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) focusing on volcanic change detection through the use of satellite imagery. This work includes systems development as well as improvements in data analysis methods. Participating organizations include the NASA land processes distributed active archive ce
Authors
K. A. Duda, R. Wessels, M. Ramsey, J. Dehn
*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