RESEARCH
El Reventador, Ecuador
My master's thesis work will be focused on the November 2002
eruption of El Reventador volcano in Ecuador. I'm interested in studying
the eruption by satellite images of SO2 and ash/aerosols. I
plan on using some combination of the TOMS/MODIS/HIRS sensors for research.
My advisors/collaborators on this project will be Gregg Bluth and Simon
Carn.
Santiaguito, Guatemala
I recently presented a poster at the AGU Fall 2003 meeting
on this project. I have been working on integrating seismic and video
records of eruptive activity on Santiaguito Volcano in Guatemala. Santiaguito
is a long-lived, dacitic volcanic dome complex, which has now been continuously
active since 1922. The volcano's longevity is thought to be related
to a large magma body and the pattern of extrusion is notably unsteady.
Direct observations of activity are inhibited by logistics, such as cloudy
weather at proximal vantage points after mid morning. Activity observable
at Santiaguito each morning includes multiple vertical explosions, dome and
flow collapses leading to block and ash flows or rock avalanches, steam exhalations
and fumarolic discharges. These phenomena were recorded on digital
video from an excellent vantage point (the summit of Santa Maria) located
1200 m above and 2.5 km NE of the active Caliente Vent of Santiaguito for
about 3 hours on the morning of January 11, 2003, and from El Brujo Vent,
located ~200 m below and 1.2 km W for about four hours on the morning of
January 9, 2003. The volcano is also seismically monitored, and we
are synchronizing the video with digital seismic data processed through the
Seisan computer program.
Our expected result is a correlated record of seismic data and visually-identified
eruptive activity, allowing us to evaluate eruption characteristics.
This will be in the form of a digital video of surface activity on Santiaguito
with corresponding seismic signals, which will be applicable for education
and scientific analysis. By correlating seismic signals to eruptive
activity, monitoring agencies that are distant from the volcano can better
interpret the incoming seismic data, and communicate a more complete picture
of volcanic activity to the surrounding communities. It also allows
us to go back through the seismic record from Santiaguito and catalog past
eruptive activity. A synchronized seismic and eruptive activity video
is also a valuable educational/ outreach tool. With the technique for
correlating video and seismic records established, additional types of data
(such as temperature and gas readings) can be compared as well.