Thomas Winslow Sisson, PhD
I am a research geologist with the USGS Volcano Science Center. I have spent many years working on the geologic history and volcano hazards of Mount Rainier. My research interests include experimental petrology and volatile solubility of magmas.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.S. UC Santa Barbara
B.S. Stanford University
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 53
Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information and tools to build resilience in communities exposed to subduction zone earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Improving the application of USGS science to successfully reduce risk from these events relies on whole community efforts, with continuing partnerships among...
Authors
Joan Gomberg, K. Ludwig, Barbara Bekins, Thomas Brocher, John Brock, Daniel Brothers, Jason D. Chaytor, Arthur Frankel, Eric Geist, Matthew Haney, Stephen Hickman, William Leith, Evelyn Roeloffs, William Schulz, Thomas Sisson, Kristi Wallace, Janet Watt, Anne Wein
Voluminous arc dacites as amphibole reaction-boundary liquids Voluminous arc dacites as amphibole reaction-boundary liquids
Dacites dominate the large-volume, explosive eruptions in magmatic arcs, and compositionally similar granodiorites and tonalites constitute the bulk of convergent margin batholiths. Shallow, pre-eruptive storage conditions are well known for many dacitic arc magmas through melt inclusions, Fe–Ti oxides, and experiments, but their potential origins deeper in the crust are not well...
Authors
Dawnika Blatter, Thomas Sisson, William Hankins
Quantifying gas emissions from the 946 CE Millennium Eruption of Paektu volcano, Democratic People's Republic of Korea/China Quantifying gas emissions from the 946 CE Millennium Eruption of Paektu volcano, Democratic People's Republic of Korea/China
Paektu volcano (Changbaishan) is a rhyolitic caldera that straddles the border between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China. Its most recent large eruption was the Millennium Eruption (ME; 23 km3 DRE) circa 946 CE, which resulted in the release of copious magmatic volatiles (H2O, CO2, sulfur, and halogens). Accurate quantification of volatile yield and composition...
Authors
Kayla Iacovino, Kim Ju-Song, Thomas Sisson, Jacob Lowenstern, Ri Ku-Hun, Jang Jong-Nam, Song Kun-Ho, Ham Song-Hwan, Clive Oppenheimer, James Hammond, Amy Donovan, Kosima Weber-Liu, Ryu Kum-Ran
Aluminosilicate melts and glasses at 1 to 3 GPa: Temperature and pressure effects on recovered structural and density changes Aluminosilicate melts and glasses at 1 to 3 GPa: Temperature and pressure effects on recovered structural and density changes
In the pressure range in the Earth’s mantle where many basaltic magmas are generated (1 to 3 GPa) (Stolper et al. 1981), increases in the coordination numbers of the network-forming cations in aluminosilicate melts have generally been considered to be minor, although effects on silicon and particularly on aluminum coordination in non-bridging oxygen-rich glasses from the higher, 5 to 12...
Authors
S Bista, Jonathan Stebbins, William Hankins, Thomas Sisson
Petrologic insights into basaltic volcanism at historically active Hawaiian volcanoes Petrologic insights into basaltic volcanism at historically active Hawaiian volcanoes
Study of the petrology of Hawaiian volcanoes, in particular the historically active volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i, has long been of worldwide scientific interest. When Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., established the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) in 1912, detailed observations on basaltic activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes increased dramatically. The period from 1912 to 1958...
Authors
Rosalind Helz, David Clague, Thomas Sisson, Carl Thornber
Crystallization of oxidized, moderately hydrous arc basalt at mid- to lower-crustal pressures: Implications for andesite genesis Crystallization of oxidized, moderately hydrous arc basalt at mid- to lower-crustal pressures: Implications for andesite genesis
This study focuses on the production of convergent margin calc-alkaline andesites by crystallization–differentiation of basaltic magmas in the lower to middle crust. Previous experimental studies show that dry, reduced, subalkaline basalts differentiate to tholeiitic (high Fe/Mg) daughter liquids, but the influences of H2O and oxidation on differentiation are less well established...
Authors
Dawnika L. Blatter, Thomas Sisson, W. Ben Hankins
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 53
Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information and tools to build resilience in communities exposed to subduction zone earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Improving the application of USGS science to successfully reduce risk from these events relies on whole community efforts, with continuing partnerships among...
Authors
Joan Gomberg, K. Ludwig, Barbara Bekins, Thomas Brocher, John Brock, Daniel Brothers, Jason D. Chaytor, Arthur Frankel, Eric Geist, Matthew Haney, Stephen Hickman, William Leith, Evelyn Roeloffs, William Schulz, Thomas Sisson, Kristi Wallace, Janet Watt, Anne Wein
Voluminous arc dacites as amphibole reaction-boundary liquids Voluminous arc dacites as amphibole reaction-boundary liquids
Dacites dominate the large-volume, explosive eruptions in magmatic arcs, and compositionally similar granodiorites and tonalites constitute the bulk of convergent margin batholiths. Shallow, pre-eruptive storage conditions are well known for many dacitic arc magmas through melt inclusions, Fe–Ti oxides, and experiments, but their potential origins deeper in the crust are not well...
Authors
Dawnika Blatter, Thomas Sisson, William Hankins
Quantifying gas emissions from the 946 CE Millennium Eruption of Paektu volcano, Democratic People's Republic of Korea/China Quantifying gas emissions from the 946 CE Millennium Eruption of Paektu volcano, Democratic People's Republic of Korea/China
Paektu volcano (Changbaishan) is a rhyolitic caldera that straddles the border between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China. Its most recent large eruption was the Millennium Eruption (ME; 23 km3 DRE) circa 946 CE, which resulted in the release of copious magmatic volatiles (H2O, CO2, sulfur, and halogens). Accurate quantification of volatile yield and composition...
Authors
Kayla Iacovino, Kim Ju-Song, Thomas Sisson, Jacob Lowenstern, Ri Ku-Hun, Jang Jong-Nam, Song Kun-Ho, Ham Song-Hwan, Clive Oppenheimer, James Hammond, Amy Donovan, Kosima Weber-Liu, Ryu Kum-Ran
Aluminosilicate melts and glasses at 1 to 3 GPa: Temperature and pressure effects on recovered structural and density changes Aluminosilicate melts and glasses at 1 to 3 GPa: Temperature and pressure effects on recovered structural and density changes
In the pressure range in the Earth’s mantle where many basaltic magmas are generated (1 to 3 GPa) (Stolper et al. 1981), increases in the coordination numbers of the network-forming cations in aluminosilicate melts have generally been considered to be minor, although effects on silicon and particularly on aluminum coordination in non-bridging oxygen-rich glasses from the higher, 5 to 12...
Authors
S Bista, Jonathan Stebbins, William Hankins, Thomas Sisson
Petrologic insights into basaltic volcanism at historically active Hawaiian volcanoes Petrologic insights into basaltic volcanism at historically active Hawaiian volcanoes
Study of the petrology of Hawaiian volcanoes, in particular the historically active volcanoes on the Island of Hawai‘i, has long been of worldwide scientific interest. When Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., established the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) in 1912, detailed observations on basaltic activity at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes increased dramatically. The period from 1912 to 1958...
Authors
Rosalind Helz, David Clague, Thomas Sisson, Carl Thornber
Crystallization of oxidized, moderately hydrous arc basalt at mid- to lower-crustal pressures: Implications for andesite genesis Crystallization of oxidized, moderately hydrous arc basalt at mid- to lower-crustal pressures: Implications for andesite genesis
This study focuses on the production of convergent margin calc-alkaline andesites by crystallization–differentiation of basaltic magmas in the lower to middle crust. Previous experimental studies show that dry, reduced, subalkaline basalts differentiate to tholeiitic (high Fe/Mg) daughter liquids, but the influences of H2O and oxidation on differentiation are less well established...
Authors
Dawnika L. Blatter, Thomas Sisson, W. Ben Hankins