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I am a research hydrologist with the USGS Volcano Science Center. My goals are to characterize and quantify the myriad processes occurring in volcano-hydrothermal systems that take place at spatial and temporal scales that span many orders of magnitude.
My research is focused on quantifying processes in continental hydrothermal systems by integrating hydrologic, geochemical, and geophysical data with models of groundwater flow, heat transport, thermodynamics, and statistics. An improved understanding of hydrothermal systems is important because: 1) pressure, temperature and chemical changes within these systems can provide early warnings of volcanic unrest, 2) many of the geochemical, geodetic, and seismic signals measured at the volcano’s surface have their origins, or are modulated by hydrothermal processes, 3) hydrothermal fluids constitute a major source of hazard as a propellant in steam-driven explosions, lubricant in mudflows, and transport agent for toxins, 4) fluids in these systems are a source of geothermal energy and an agent in the formation of mineral deposits, and 5) hot springs and their deposits provide insights on the origin and environmental limits of life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. Insights gleaned from these studies have implications for many science disciplines and are mostly summarized in co-authored review papers. This research supports of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program mission to “enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from eruptions” and the Geothermal Research Investigation Project’s (GRIP) goals of assessing geothermal energy resources and the environmental impacts of energy production.
Research topics:
Dr. Cathy Whitlock (Montana State University) in the “core description boat” on Twin Butte Lake, Yellowstone National Park, with a freshly extruded one meter (3 feet) sediment core. Cores are described and measured in the field before being carefully wrapped for transport to the lab. Photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S.
Dr. Cathy Whitlock (Montana State University) in the “core description boat” on Twin Butte Lake, Yellowstone National Park, with a freshly extruded one meter (3 feet) sediment core. Cores are described and measured in the field before being carefully wrapped for transport to the lab. Photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S.
A string of pack mules led by the National Park Service packers Hannah Miller and Ben Cunningham carrying lake coring equipment to a small backcountry lake in Yellowstone National Park; photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz in August 2022.
A string of pack mules led by the National Park Service packers Hannah Miller and Ben Cunningham carrying lake coring equipment to a small backcountry lake in Yellowstone National Park; photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz in August 2022.
Lake coring operations at Twin Buttes Lake, Yellowstone National Park, (a) Assembled lake coring platform being launched into the Twin Buttes Lake and (b) anchored in the core sampling location. Photos taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz (a) and L. Harrison (b) in August 2022.
Lake coring operations at Twin Buttes Lake, Yellowstone National Park, (a) Assembled lake coring platform being launched into the Twin Buttes Lake and (b) anchored in the core sampling location. Photos taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz (a) and L. Harrison (b) in August 2022.
A weir constructed by Irving Friedman and Dan Norton to measure water discharge and to monitor changes in hydrothermal activity on a tributary flowing into Boundary Creek in southwest Yellowstone National Park. USGS photo by Shaul Hurwitz, September 17, 2017.
A weir constructed by Irving Friedman and Dan Norton to measure water discharge and to monitor changes in hydrothermal activity on a tributary flowing into Boundary Creek in southwest Yellowstone National Park. USGS photo by Shaul Hurwitz, September 17, 2017.
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
The water at Terrace Springs, northeast of Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park, is relatively cold (about 60 °C or 140 °F), but the water is still saturated with CO2-rich bubbles. Photo by Shaul Hurwitz in September 2008.
The water at Terrace Springs, northeast of Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park, is relatively cold (about 60 °C or 140 °F), but the water is still saturated with CO2-rich bubbles. Photo by Shaul Hurwitz in September 2008.
An eruption of Daisy Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The geyser erupts boiling water at about 93 °C (200 °F). Photo by Shaul Hurwitz on April 12, 2007.
An eruption of Daisy Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The geyser erupts boiling water at about 93 °C (200 °F). Photo by Shaul Hurwitz on April 12, 2007.
Schematic illustration showing the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Alaska and the caldera collapse at Mount Katmai, 10.6 km (about 6.6 miles) to the northeast.
Schematic illustration showing the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Alaska and the caldera collapse at Mount Katmai, 10.6 km (about 6.6 miles) to the northeast.
Dr. Cathy Whitlock (Montana State University) in the “core description boat” on Twin Butte Lake, Yellowstone National Park, with a freshly extruded one meter (3 feet) sediment core. Cores are described and measured in the field before being carefully wrapped for transport to the lab. Photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S.
Dr. Cathy Whitlock (Montana State University) in the “core description boat” on Twin Butte Lake, Yellowstone National Park, with a freshly extruded one meter (3 feet) sediment core. Cores are described and measured in the field before being carefully wrapped for transport to the lab. Photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S.
A string of pack mules led by the National Park Service packers Hannah Miller and Ben Cunningham carrying lake coring equipment to a small backcountry lake in Yellowstone National Park; photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz in August 2022.
A string of pack mules led by the National Park Service packers Hannah Miller and Ben Cunningham carrying lake coring equipment to a small backcountry lake in Yellowstone National Park; photo taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz in August 2022.
Lake coring operations at Twin Buttes Lake, Yellowstone National Park, (a) Assembled lake coring platform being launched into the Twin Buttes Lake and (b) anchored in the core sampling location. Photos taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz (a) and L. Harrison (b) in August 2022.
Lake coring operations at Twin Buttes Lake, Yellowstone National Park, (a) Assembled lake coring platform being launched into the Twin Buttes Lake and (b) anchored in the core sampling location. Photos taken under NPS research permit YELL-2022-SCI-0009 by S. Hurwitz (a) and L. Harrison (b) in August 2022.
A weir constructed by Irving Friedman and Dan Norton to measure water discharge and to monitor changes in hydrothermal activity on a tributary flowing into Boundary Creek in southwest Yellowstone National Park. USGS photo by Shaul Hurwitz, September 17, 2017.
A weir constructed by Irving Friedman and Dan Norton to measure water discharge and to monitor changes in hydrothermal activity on a tributary flowing into Boundary Creek in southwest Yellowstone National Park. USGS photo by Shaul Hurwitz, September 17, 2017.
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
The water at Terrace Springs, northeast of Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park, is relatively cold (about 60 °C or 140 °F), but the water is still saturated with CO2-rich bubbles. Photo by Shaul Hurwitz in September 2008.
The water at Terrace Springs, northeast of Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park, is relatively cold (about 60 °C or 140 °F), but the water is still saturated with CO2-rich bubbles. Photo by Shaul Hurwitz in September 2008.
An eruption of Daisy Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The geyser erupts boiling water at about 93 °C (200 °F). Photo by Shaul Hurwitz on April 12, 2007.
An eruption of Daisy Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The geyser erupts boiling water at about 93 °C (200 °F). Photo by Shaul Hurwitz on April 12, 2007.
Schematic illustration showing the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Alaska and the caldera collapse at Mount Katmai, 10.6 km (about 6.6 miles) to the northeast.
Schematic illustration showing the 1912 Novarupta eruption in Alaska and the caldera collapse at Mount Katmai, 10.6 km (about 6.6 miles) to the northeast.
