Publications

The consequences of volcanic eruptions span a broad range. Large explosive eruptions that recur every several hundred to thousands of years can impact global climate, but even small eruptions of a magnitude that takes place multiple times each year someplace on Earth can have devastating effects given the large number of people who live near volcanoes. Ground-based monitoring is...

The Hawaiian volcanic chain exhibits a long-recognized double track of volcanism defined by the Loa and Kea trends, which erupt chemically and isotopically distinct lavas. Mauna Loa and Kīlauea, the two most frequently active volcanoes of the Loa and Kea trends, produce distinct endmember compositions. However, historical periods of compositional convergence have prompted debate...

A network of ten buckets was established early in the 2008–2018 summit eruption at Kīlauea to collect proximal tephra ejected from the new, informally named the “Overlook crater”; the buckets were emptied on most days of the eruption thereafter. This report summarizes the results of more than 2,400 different sampling intervals (most 1–3 days long) during the eruption, focusing on the...

Field observations plus sanidine compositional and 40Ar/39Ar age data collected on rocks from the Sour Creek dome (SCD) area of Yellowstone volcano (United States) serve to identify five new ignimbrite packages with ages (average 631.5 ± 0.9 ka) that are analytically indistinguishable from those of the Lava Creek Tuff (LCT), challenging the current framework of two LCT eruptive members...

Magnetic surveys are an important tool used to augment geologic mapping in distributed volcanic fields. Using magnetic anomalies, it is possible to model the geometry of shallowly buried volcanic features, such as conduits, sills, and lava flows. This subsurface mapping is important for understanding eruption dynamics and emplacement of lava flows, and it sometimes reveals buried...

In 2024, the Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, increased seismicity, and other significant activity at 10 volcanic centers in Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands. Eruptive activity in Alaska consisted of the eruption of a thick lava flow within the summit crater at Great Sitkin Volcano throughout the entire year and a small...

Atmospheric acoustic waves transmit energy into the solid Earth through air-to-ground coupling. These waves are recorded by seismic sensors and provide insight into both atmospheric phenomena and subsurface properties. Interpreting these signals is often challenging because they are modulated by subsurface structure and the incidence angle of the acoustic wave. This study examines...

Landslide runout and debris-flow inundation can disrupt areas well beyond their initial sources, causing widespread damage and extensive fatalities. Understanding where they start and how far they might travel is essential in many locations worldwide. However, most landslide susceptibility maps focus on initiation areas and fail to incorporate runout areas. Furthermore, hazards vary...

Most volcanic activity is taking place in the oceans. Depending on water depth, eruption recurrence times and volumes, a new island can form. The power of erosional forces, the type of erupted material and the efficiency of secondary processes determine the island’s lifetime. Since the famous eruption of Surtsey (Iceland) in 1963, at least another 23 volcanic islands have appeared. Some...

Volcanic eruptions can cause substantial damage and disruption to infrastructure and communities. Contemporary societies typically depend on petroleum infrastructure. Volcanic unrest and eruptions can cause considerable operational and structural challenges for the petroleum sector. The vulnerability of this sector to volcanic hazards is understudied when compared to other potentially...

The Lost Jim flow field, in the Imuruk Lake volcanic field, Alaska, extends west ~34 km from a single vent, crossing subarctic tundra and currently touches several lakes and streams. The weighted mean of five 36Cl cosmogenic exposure ages from the Lost Jim pāhoehoe flow is 7.73 ± 0.37 ka, indicating this eruption occurred substantially after the eruption of the underlying Camille flow...

Volcanoes undergo rapid growth and extended periods of repose during which erosion dominates, representing natural laboratories for studying erosion patterns and rates across various timescales. However, complex constructional and degradational histories and limited temporal constraints make analyzing volcano erosion dynamics challenging. Analogue models with rainfall-induced runoff...