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Weston Thelen

I love earthquakes. I love volcanoes. And I know for a fact that volcano seismology is the best seismology.

As a research geophysicist at the Cascades Volcano Observatory, I undertake and facilitate research on Cascade Range Volcanoes; monitor seismicity on Cascade Range Volcanoes to assess volcanic hazard; and assist in planning, prioritization and execution of maintenance and growth of volcano monitoring networks in Oregon and Washington.

My education is in both geology and geophysics with a focus more recently on volcanoes. I have experience on both stratovolcanoes and basaltic volcanoes in Russia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.  I've worked in eruptive scenarios at Mount St. Helens in 2004-2008, Redoubt in 2008 and Kilauea from 2011 till 2020.  In addition, I've held positions at the Nevada Seismological Network, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which have all had components of network seismology to them.  

 

Professional Experience

  • 2011 - 2016, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Network Manager/ Supervisory Geophysicist

    Responsibilities: Maintain and improve real-time monitoring and operations of the seismic network at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.  Interpret seismic data for changes in volcanic activity.  Analyze earthquake data.

     

Education and Certifications

  • 2004: University of Nevada, B.S. in Geophysics with high distinction 2004

  • 2004: University of Nevada, B.S. in Geology with high distinction 2004

  • 2009: University of Washington, Ph.D in Geophysics

  • 2009: University of Washington, Network Seismology, Post Doc
     

  • 2010: USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory, Volcano Seismology, Post Doc

Science and Products

Earthquake-derived seismic velocity changes during the 2018 caldera collapse of Kīlauea volcano

The 2018 Kīlauea caldera collapse produced extraordinary sequences of seismicity and deformation, with 62 episodic collapse events which significantly altered the landscape of the summit region. Despite decades of focused scientific studies at Kīlauea, detailed information about the internal structure of the volcano is limited. Recently developed techniques in seismic interferometry can be used to
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Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center

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, as a sequence of cascading events, allowing relative
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Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center, Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Recovery Activities

Deep long-period earthquakes generated by second boiling beneath Mauna Kea volcano

Deep long-period earthquakes (DLPs) are an enigmatic type of volcanic seismicity that sometimes precedes eruptions but mostly occurs at quiescent volcanoes. These earthquakes are depleted in high-frequency content and typically occur near the base of the crust. We observed a near-periodic, long- lived sequence of more than one million DLPs in the past 19 years beneath the dormant postshield Mauna
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Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center

Seismic and geodetic progression of the 2018 summit caldera collapse of Kīlauea Volcano

The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi, resulted in a major collapse of the summit caldera along with an effusive eruption in the lower East Rift Zone. The caldera collapse comprised 62 highly similar collapse cycles of strong ground deformation and earthquake swarms that ended with a magnitude 5 collapse event and one partial cycle that did not end with a collapse event. We analyzed geodet
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Natural Hazards, Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center

Anatomy of a caldera collapse: Kīlauea 2018 summit seismicity sequence in high resolution

The 2018 Kīlauea eruption and caldera collapse generated intense cycles of seismicity tied to repeated large seismic (Mw ~5) collapse events associated with magma withdrawal from beneath the summit. To gain insight into the underlying dynamics and aid eruption response, we applied waveform-based earthquake detection and double-difference location as the eruption unfolded. Here, we augment these r
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Lava lake thermal pattern classification using self organizing maps and relationships to eruption processes at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Kīlauea Volcano’s active summit lava lake poses hazards to downwind residents and over 1.6 million Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park visitors each year. The lava lake surface is dynamic; crustal plates separated by incandescent cracks move across the lake as magma circulates below. We hypothesize that these dynamic thermal patterns are related to changes in other volcanic processes, such that sequen
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Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center

The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano

In 2018, Kīlauea Volcano experienced its largest lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption and caldera collapse in at least 200 years. After collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent on 30 April, magma propagated downrift. Eruptive fissures opened in the LERZ on 3 May, eventually extending ~6.8 km. A 4 May earthquake (M6.9) produced ~5 m of fault slip. Lava erupted at rates exceeding 100 m3/s, eventually coveri
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Volcano Hazards, Volcano Science Center

Seismic and acoustic signatures of surficial mass movements at volcanoes

Surficial mass movements, such as debris avalanches, rock falls, lahars, pyroclastic flows, and outburst floods, are a dominant hazard at many volcanoes worldwide. Understanding these processes, cataloging their spatio-temporal occurrence, and detecting, tracking, and characterizing these events would advance the science of volcano monitoring and help mitigate hazards. Seismic and acoustic methods
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Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Volcano Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center
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January 17, 2021 Mount Hood Earthquake Swarm

An earthquake swarm at Mount Hood is ongoing. The earthquakes are associated with regional faulting and are not a sign of changes in volcanic activity...

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Volcano Watch — Mauna Loa Back to Normal

For more than six months, earthquakes at Mauna Loa have diminished and deformation has slowed, indicating that the volcano is no longer at an elevated...

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Volcano Watch — Mauna Loa: Earth's largest active volcano is still stirring

Despite not being in the headlines, Mauna Loa continues to be in a state of unrest based on seismic and deformation monitoring data.

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High resolution earthquake catalogs from the 2018 Kilauea eruption sequence

The 2018 Kilauea eruption and caldera collapse generated intense cycles of seismicity tied to repeated large seismic (Mw ~5) collapse events associated with magma withdrawal from beneath the summit. To gain insight into the underlying dynamics and aid eruption response, we applied waveform-based earthquake detection and double-difference location as the eruption unfolded. Here, we augment these ra
By
Earthquake Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center
Plot showing deformation and seismicity near South Sister during 2001-2022
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Mount Rainier Seismicity 2010-2020
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Science and Products