Publications

This geologic field-trip guide provides an overview of Quaternary volcanism in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. The guide begins with a comprehensive overview of the geologic framework and the stratigraphic terminology of the Lassen region, based primarily on the “Geologic map of Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity” (Clynne and Muffler, 2010). The...

SO2 camera systems are increasingly being used to image volcanic gas plumes. The ability to derive SO2 emission rates directly from the acquired imagery at high time resolution allows volcanic process studies that incorporate other high time-resolution datasets. Though the general principles behind the SO2 camera have remained the same for a number of years, recent advances in CCD...

Recent technology allows two-dimensional “imaging” of trace gas distributions in plumes. In contrast to older, one-dimensional remote sensing techniques, that are only capable of measuring total column densities, the new imaging methods give insight into details of transport and mixing processes as well as chemical transformation within plumes. We give an overview of gas imaging...

SO2 camera systems allow rapid two-dimensional imaging of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted from volcanic vents. Here, we describe the development of an SO2 camera system specifically designed for semi-permanent field installation and continuous use. The integration of innovative but largely “off-the-shelf” components allowed us to assemble a robust and highly customizable instrument capable...

Messages conveying volcano alert level such as Watches and Warnings are designed to provide people with risk information before, during, and after eruptions. Information is communicated to people from volcano observatories and emergency management agencies and from informal sources and social and environmental cues. Any individual or agency can be both a message sender and a recipient...

Slow inflation began at Long Valley Caldera in late 2011, coinciding with renewed swarm seismicity. Ongoing deformation is concentrated within the caldera. We analyze this deformation using a combination of GPS and InSAR (TerraSAR-X) data processed with a persistent scatterer technique. The extension rate of the dome-crossing baseline during this episode (CA99 to KRAC) is 1 cm/yr...

Simultaneous summit and rift zone eruptions at Kīlauea starting in 2008 reflect a shallow eruptive plumbing system inundated by a bourgeoning supply of new magma from depth. Olivine-hosted melt inclusions, host glass, and bulk lava compositions of magma erupted at both the summit and east rift zone demonstrate chemical continuity at both ends of a well-worn summit-to-rift pipeline...

We analyze a group of 6073 low-frequency earthquakes recorded during a week-long temporary deployment of broadband seismometers at distances of less than 3 km from the crater at Mount St. Helens in September of 2006. We estimate the seismic moment (M0) and spectral corner frequency (f0) using a spectral ratio approach for events with a high signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio that have a cross...

Recent volcanic eruptions in Hawai'i, Iceland and Cape Verde highlight the challenges of mitigating hazards when lava flows threaten infrastructure. Diversion barriers are the most common form of intervention, but historical attempts to divert lava flows have met with mixed success and there has been little systematic analysis of optimal barrier design. We examine the interaction of...

Recently, various methods have been proposed and applied for earthquake source imaging, and theoretical relationships among the methods have been studied. In this study, we make a follow-up theoretical study to better understand the meanings of earthquake source imaging. For imaging problems, the point spread function (PSF) is used to describe the degree of blurring and degradation in an...

An estimated 800 million people live within 100 km of an active volcano in 86 countries and additional overseas territories worldwide [see Chapter 4 and Appendix B]1. Volcanoes are compelling evidence that the Earth is a dynamic planet characterised by endless change and renewal. Humans have always found volcanic activity fascinating and have often chosen to live close to volcanoes...

Lake Waiau is a small, typically 100-meter-long lake, located near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is Hawaiʻi’s only alpine lake and is considered sacred in Hawaiian cultural tradition. Over the past few years, the lake has diminished in size, and, by October 2013, surface water had almost completely disappeared from the lake. In this study, we use high...