Collaborative Research in Central America:  Geophysical Investigations of Volcanic Activity and Hazards

 

 

 

Gregg J.S. Bluth (PI)

William I. Rose (co-PI)

 

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI  49931

4.  Project Summary

      This proposal requests funding to support the growth of collaborative volcanic hazard studies between the U.S. and Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, facilitated by Michigan Technological University (MTU).  Our motivation for these activities includes the initiation of collaborative work between the PI  (Bluth) and Guatemalan scientists, and develops new directions to the decades of collaborative work of the co-PI (Rose) in Central America.  This project builds on prior NSF-sponsored work in Guatemala and El Salvador, which helped establish collaborative efforts with their hazards agencies (INSIVUMEH, CONRED and SNET).  We propose to broaden our studies into Nicaragua, with the objective of developing solid scientific and hazard mitigation links among the three Central American countries.

 

In the proposed project:

      -U.S. scientists will travel to Central America to participate in experiments involving simultaneous geophysical instrumentation (gas, seismic, thermal, gravity, deformation) on  active volcanoes.  Field mapping and sampling studies are merged with satellite remote sensing, taking advantage of the monitoring capabilities.  These projects help establish meaningful collaborations among the various university and hazard agency scientists on the latest technology, encourage collaboration among the Central American agencies, and improve our understanding of volcanic eruption processes and potential hazards.

      -Central American scientists will travel to MTU to teach us about their operational monitoring efforts, and to learn about remote sensing methods of volcano monitoring.

 

The intellectual merits of this proposal include:

      -This project facilitates bringing together international teams of experts in the field, combining new technological methods and extensive experience in volcanic studies.

      -The proposed simultaneous geophysical studies are designed to improve our understanding of magmatic processes which produce multiple physical and chemical changes in temperature, volatile release, deformation, and subsurface movements. 

      -We are developing and testing monitoring tools, which will lead to better recognition and interpretation of changes in activity and consequently hazard prediction.

 

Outreach and broader impacts include:

       -Participation in a 2004 workshop featuring Nicaragua's new satellite receiving station, with the goal of developing expertise and motivation for other Central American scientists to make use of these data for volcanic hazard monitoring.

      -Working with the leaders of Guatemala's hazard monitoring and mitigation agencies to develop a special journal publication on Guatemalan volcanic activity and hazards. 

      -Graduate student research is one of the primary emphases in selection of the study sites; the six U.S. graduate students involved are all female, including 2 minorities.  They are developing volcanological experience from leaders in the field, and important international contacts through these efforts.

 

 

 

6.  Project Description and Results of Prior Support

 

a.  Results of Prior NSF Support

 

US-El Salvador-Guatemala Collaborative Research: Volcanic Hazard Mitigation

 Award # 0118587; $60,000 5/01-5/04. W I Rose and J W Vallance.  

 

      This project funds field research visits by scientists from U.S. to work with Guatemalan and Salvadoran professionals to help build infrastructural capability for volcanic hazards mitigation in both countries, and for travel of Central American professionals to the US. In the course of the project we sponsored work on volcanic caldera lake chemistry, volcanic hazards of Ilopango caldera, hazard studies of San Miguel Volcano, comprehensive studies at Santiaguito, continuing work at Pacaya and Fuego. We established strong contacts between visiting scientists and the Guatemalan agencies INSIVUMEH and CONRED, and the new Salvadoran agency, SNET, created after the disasters of hurricane Mitch and the two great earthquakes of 2001. The project is also supported by funds from USAID ($85K) which include scholarships for two Central American professionals, Otoniel Matías, who completed his B.S. in Geology at Michigan Tech in August 2002, and Demetrio Escobar, who is scheduled to receive his M.S. degree in December 2003. The research collaborators include ten senior scientists from U.S. and Canada (Gregg Bluth, Andy Harris, Luke Flynn, Mark Davies, Lee Siebert, Paul Kimberly, Simon Carn, John Stix, Craig Chesner, Alain Bernard); two U.S. post-doctoral scientists (Lina Patino, Matt Watson), six U.S. graduate students (Janelle Byman, Keith MacPhail, Lizzette Rodriguez, Elly Bunzendahl, Yvonne Branan, Jeremy Shannon), three Salvadoran volcanologists (Demetrio Escobar, Eduardo Gutierrez and Carlos Pullinger) and seven Guatemalan scientists (Otoniel Matías, Eddy Sanchez, Gustavo Chigna, Julio Cornejo, Juan Pablo Liggoria, Rudiger Escobar). A report to the geophysical community was published in Eos (Bluth and Rose, 2002) and the main project in outreach is a Geological Society of America Special Paper (http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/ GSASalvador.html) with 40 scientific papers about Natural Hazards in El Salvador, now in revision with a tentative publication date of January 2004.

 

Volcano-atmosphere interactions: the first week; Award # EAR 0106875; W I Rose, $259,000 5/01/01-4/30/03

 

      The focus of our project has been to apply all of our current methods for satellite-based sensing of volcanic clouds to two recent eruptions, the February 2000 Hekla event and the February-March 2001 eruption of Cleveland.  Advances in satellite retrievals enable us to get quantitative estimates of SO2 (three different methods), ash, ice and sulfate for volcanic clouds during periods lasting from hours to days.  They also allow mapping of the 2D positions of volcanic clouds and the separations of ash and SO2.  Tangible results from this project were four major publications: 1.  A comprehensive paper in the AGU Volcanism/ Climate volume about the February Hekla eruption, including results from many satellite-based volcanic cloud sensors and the research aircraft validations (Rose et al., in press).  2.  A paper about MODIS  results on volcanic clouds (Watson et al., in press) is completed.  3.  A paper about the development of the forward model of radiative transfer of volcanic clouds is completed (Watson et al., in review) and 4.  The demonstration of a new scheme for atmospheric corrections of IR ash size and mass retrievals (Yu et al., 2002) is in JGR.  In addition this project has supported the doctoral research of two students, one who studied the fallout of fine ash from earth's atmosphere (Colleen Riley, 2002) and the second (Song Guo) who is in progress doing an evaluation of remote sensing data for the 1992 Pinatubo eruption, the largest of the satellite era.

 

      The Hekla study includes the most significant science results. A small (80,000 km2) stratospheric volcanic cloud formed from the 26 February 2000 eruption of Hekla, Iceland.  Three different algorithms (TOMS UV, MODIS & TOVS 7.3 micron IR and MODIS 8.6 micron IR) were used to quantitatively measure (about 0.2 Tg ) and map SO2, and they produced remarkably comparable data for this initial effort.  The mass of sulfate aerosol in the cloud, estimated from multispectral MODIS IR data during the first 3 days was 0.003-0.008 Tg.  MODIS and AVHRR remote sensing showed that the particles in the volcanic cloud were mainly ice and reached a peak mass of about 1 Tg about 10 hours after eruption, but a small (0.1 Tg) mass of ash was detected in the initial dense volcanic plume measured during the early explosive phase of the eruption.  Repetitive TOVS data were used to measure the loss of SO2 from the cloud which decreased from 0.2 Tg to values below TOVS detection in about 3.5 days.  The stratospheric height of the volcanic plume and resulting cloud may have been explained by a large release of magmatic water vapor early during the explosive phase of the eruption beginning at 1819 UT on 26 February, which led to the ice-rich volcanic cloud.  A serendipitous research aircraft encounter with the top part of the volcanic cloud at 0514 UT on 28 February, 35 hours after eruption, gave us important information to validate the various algorithms.  Comparisons among different SO2 algorithms during the drifting of the cloud illuminate some of the environmental variables (e.g., meteorology, underlying background, altitude, water vapor content) which affect the quality of results.  Overall this is the most robust data set ever analyzed to assess the first few days of stratospheric residence of a volcanic cloud.

 

Geology of Utah's National Parks and Monuments: Education Materials for Earth Science Courses.  Award # 9950213 - $428,131 from 7/15/99 to 6/30/03. PI's Jacqueline E Huntoon, Gregg J Bluth, and William A Kennedy.

 

      Funds are used to develop, evaluate, and disseminate three components of an introductory earth science multimedia laboratory(http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/PIRSWeb/Doc/9950213.htm).   This project is developing CD-ROM based activities that integrate the components of a field course taught in the National Parks and Monuments of southeastern Utah.  The course and the CD incorporate a variety of teaching methods to communicate fundamental geologic principles and concepts.  The materials target lower division undergraduate students and K-12 teachers.  The multimedia laboratory is designed to help university undergraduates and secondary school earth science teachers to understand information using an earth system approach.  The content of the multimedia laboratory encourages problem-solving on the part of users and the ability to integrate information from a variety of sources.  Quantitative and qualitative assessment vehicles, including diagnostic learning logs, pre-test/post-test attitude surveys, and an instrument to measure higher-order cognition are used by students and teachers who participate in the project to determine the materials success at teaching basic geologic concepts.

 

      The tangible products consist of a CD-ROM "virtual" field course, extensive lesson plans, rock samples, and an instructional video covering in greater detail some of the field techniques used by students and teachers in this course.  Project dissemination has included 6 publications and 7 presentations on project results.  Participants in the field project have included undergraduate students, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, minorities, and graduate students.  The major research and education activities have been tested in part by the P.I.'s during the field-based version of the course.  Based on participant assessments, the material presented in this project has consistently produced a significant (>20%) increase in scores on technical skills, scientific concepts, and open-ended concepts.  If this trends holds for larger sample sizes, this project would form the basis for meaningful, quantitative assessments for field-based learning.  Quantitative assessments are continuing throughout this project.

 

b.  Project plan

 

      Our project objectives are to build stronger scientific ties between the U.S. and Central American scientists, and facilitate increased collaboration among the Central American agencies. Involvement of U.S. scientists in this region is beneficial because of the proximity and infrastructure for volcanic research, and the opportunity to study many different aspects of active volcanism and volcanic hazards.  The key components of our plan are:

 

-We are building upon earlier NSF-funded projects, and these efforts are expanding to include many new colleagues.  MTU has led large, multi-investigator, multi-national field activities for the past four years into Central America with the help of our colleagues in Guatemala and El Salvador.  We are taking advantage of our close collaborations among MTU, University of Hawaii (UH) and the USGS, and are drawing new Universities into these field studies.

-We are facilitating the development of the Central American agencies.  We are providing sustained, practical investigations into volcanic activity and hazards, at a time when Central American agencies are developing and need both public awareness and international support. 

-There is a high level of graduate student involvement.  Each field site involves at least one student project, which is crucial for establishing these young scientists as future leaders in their fields.  We are also enabling Central American students to complete degrees at MTU.

-The study approaches feature simultaneous, multisensor measurements of volcanic activity processes. Combining gas emissions, seismicity, and deformation data are giving us a much greater understanding of the interrelated volcanic processes, particularly in the ability to interpret data.  These data are merged with remote sensing studies to give us powerful tools for long-term monitoring and study.

-Our outreach efforts build upon our own experience and past successes.  We will be demonstrating volcanic cloud and hot spot detection techniques at a Remote Sensing workshop in Nicaragua, and begin development of a special journal issue focusing on Guatemalan volcanic activity and hazards.

 

 

Background

      Collaboration between graduate volcanology programs and local government organizations constructively directs research toward mitigating real problems of volcanic hazards and building local infrastructure.  However, a single university is unlikely to be able to maintain a broad base of expertise, which researchers and students require for effective research on volcanic systems.  Collaborations among the academic community have the potential to attack problems from each unit's strength, and enable students to get broadly based training from top scientists in diverse, yet complementary fields. 

 

      Central America is, after Indonesia, the second most consistently active volcanic zone on earth. It also is is an area of accessible active volcanism very close to the United States.  Centuries of volcanic activity have produced collapsed calderas, debris flows and thick blankets of pyroclastic materials, and along with subsequent erosion these have created a spectacular landscape.  The volcanic hazards in these countries are diverse and ominous:  steep, unstable slopes, seasonal transport of volcanic debris, volcanic dome collapse, and of course the many primary and secondary threats from explosive eruptions themselves.  Although much of the region's infrastructure is located on or near volcanoes, because the historic time period has been unusually quiet people are not as aware of potential hazards.  Hazards of civil war, earthquakes, landslides and hurricanes are much more in people's memories.  None of the countries have strong volcanic hazard programs, and are at stages of development where timely, external interest could be most beneficial.  Some of their most pressing needs include coordination of studies of historic and recent volcanic activity and generation of baseline monitoring data. 

 

      January of 2003 marked the fourth consecutive year of NSF-supported field studies in Central America by a broad-based group of volcanologists and geophysicists, led by MTU.  These field efforts are the combined work of a growing number of U.S. and international universities and organizations in Central America.  The work includes many ground-based, geophysical field studies in conjunction with satellite remote sensing.  The university contingent works closely with the local volcanological and hazard mitigation agencies, with all benefitting from the sharing of manpower, resources, technical and field expertise.

 

Hazards Agencies in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua

      There are two main agencies within Guatemala that deal with volcano hazards.  INSIVUMEH (Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, E Hidrologia) is a scientific and technical agency which works with both the private sector and government.  They are responsible for monitoring and basic research into natural hazards, and developing and maintaining a database on these hazards.  They operate instrument networks for monitoring volcanic activity - the monitoring is primarily through seismic stations, but they also have a network of field workers who maintain small observatories and watch the volcanoes, reporting daily by radio.  INSIVUMEH consists of roughly 100 scientists/engineers, technicians and staff, directed by Eddie Sanchez, an engineer; the two staff volcanologists are Oto Matías and Gustavo Chigna.

 

      CONRED (COordinadora Nacional para la REduccion de Desastres) is concerned with overall disaster mitigation.  They develop and implement disaster reduction strategies, which include many aspects of volcanogical hazards, including primary (ash falls, lava and debris flows) and secondary (flooding, mudflows and relocation) hazards.  This agency is responsible for hazard education, as well as recommending evacuation routes and relief shelters.  CONRED is led by an Executive Secretary, Alejandro Maldonado.  The Emergency Management Department, led by Dr. Juan Pablo Ligorria, works most closely with volcanic activity.

 

      In El Salvador, where following a tragic civil war and a series of natural disasters (Hurricane Mitch in 1998, major tectonic earthquakes and associated landslides in 2001), a reorganization of government agencies which deal with natural hazards is occurring.  A new agency called SNET (Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales) was created in late 2001, to centralize and help prioritize monitoring and mitigation efforts in the country.  The Geology division of the new agency, within the Ministerio de Ambiente, is headed by Carlos Pullinger, who did a hazards study of the Santa Ana Volcanic Complex as an M.S. thesis at MTU in 1997.  SNET aims to involve the academic community in hazards efforts, but at present the only geoscience degree program in El Salvador is a small geophysics program at the Physics Department, Universidad de El Salvador, headed by Tomas Soriano.

 

      Nicaragua's INETER (Instituto Nicaraguense de Estudios Territoriales) was created in 1981, and is headed by Dr. Wilfried Strauch.  INETER is the country's technical and scientific organization  that generates and makes basic information public, including that of Mapping, Meteorology, Hydrology, Geology, and Seismology.  It also conducts and supports scientific studies and monitoring efforts which support natural hazard mitigation.  A recent project headed by Dr. Martin Wooster of King's College London has secured a satellite receiving station from DFID (Department for International Development), in order to add remote sensing of volcanoes to the hazard monitoring capabilities.  Wooster's project focuses initially on Nicaraguan infrastructure, with the intention of expanding these capabilities throughout Central America. 

 

Collaborative Assistance in Central America

      We have excellent relationships with the above hazard agencies in Central America, which have supported past field efforts by supplying personnel, vehicles, observatory housing, data (seismological, meteorological, GIS, maps) and interpretations.

     

      The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided extensive help to our work in Central America.  In addition to the efforts of Jim Vallance in advising students in the field, a major part of this support has been the use of laboratory resources for age dating and chemical analyses of rock samples, for Byman's and Escobar's research projects.  Specifically, Byman received support from the Central American Mitigation Initiative (CAMI) project of the USGS's Volcano Disaster Assistance Program for the analysis of 80 samples (fall deposits and lava flow samples) and for radiocarbon dating of 4 charcoal samples.  The CAMI project has already provided scholarship support for Matías' and Escobar's studies at MTU.

 

      In 2001, Steve Schilling of the USGS visited MTU and provided the LAHARZ code and instruction on its usage.  We now have two versions of LAHARZ: (1) the original code and (2) a beta version.  The beta version has expanded capabilities but has not yet been  published.  One of our M.S. students, Oscar Sorenson, has used LAHARZ extensively during his thesis research to help generate a lahar hazards map for Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador.  Our capabilities for LAHARZ are now complete, and the code is available on any PC or Sun workstation in our department.  We have a general LAHARZ guide and Sorenson has put together an excellent tutorial. 

 

 

Cooperative Research Activities

 

I.  Volcanic Hazards and Field Studies

      Following are short descriptions of the hazards, activity, and our relevant previous and planned volcanic studies in Central America.  This work and the personnel involved are summarized in Tables 1, 2 and 3.

 

      Pacaya volcano lies approximately 30 km south from Guatemala's capital of Guatemala City (population ~2 million).  Pacaya is a basaltic volcano built upon the southern rim of the 225 km2 Pleistocene Amatitlan caldera, within which lies much of the city.  Air routes for Guatemala's La Aurora International Airport routinely pass through Pacaya's airspace.  A summit collapse approximately 1100 years ago produced a debris flow deposit extending 25 km southward onto the coastal plain (Vallance et al., 1995).  During the past several decades, Pacaya has produced numerous strombolian eruptions, lava flows and occasionally more explosive eruptions.   The most recent activity was in late 1999-early 2000, with spectacular fire fountaining, lava flows, and an explosive event on January 16 which sent ash to 8 km altitude.  The current geometry of the volcano features oversteepening from the high level magma body, which may be the locus of a future major collapse. 

 

      Our collaborative work on Pacaya has included measurements of SO2 emissions, gravity and field studies using Global Positioning System (GPS), petrography, paleomagnetism, and remote sensing (e.g., Conway et al., 1992; Branan et al., 2001; Reif et al., 2001; Rodriguez et al., 2002).  SO2 measurements by MTU + INSIVUMEH spiked during 2002, at 1000-2000 tonnes/day, a ten-fold increase from the previous year.  A deformation-measurement network was designed by University of Hawaii (UH) scientists and set up in 2000-2001, employing a kinematic GPS system and establishing a baseline for future comparisons.  GPS surveys of lava flows observed from the 1999 activity were completed (UH, INSIVUMEH), and will be used to first calculate the flow volumes, and again to establish a base level for future activity.  Suites of rock samples from individual flows have been collected and catalogued for future petrographic studies.  Oto Matías has generated a preliminary map of lava flows from analysis of 20 years of Landsat imagery for his senior thesis project at MTU.

 

      Key issues for this volcano are to address the patterns of activity both temporally and spatially, which includes a complete compilation of eruptive activity in the past 40 years, and organization of the many individual studies on the composition, observed behavior, and hazards.  Continued work will be by scientists from MTU, UH, CONRED and INSIVUMEH, and merging of the geophysical data into a coherent picture of Pacaya's activity is a priority.

 

      Fuego Volcano is a large stratovolcano of andesitic to basaltic composition.  With more than 60 historic eruptions, Fuego has produced extensive ashfalls and many basaltic pyroclastic flows.  Its eruptions affected large areas along the Guatemalan highlands and coastal plain in 1971 and 1974, and then was inactive from about 1978 until 1999, when an event on 21 May 1999 reopened its vertical conduit.  In early 2002 its restlessness increased, small ash eruptions became more numerous, and lava filled the summit crater and began to flow down steep slopes generating occasional moderate sized block and ash flows.  In December 2002 and January 2003 eruptive activity became stronger and more frequent and produced numerous pyroclastic flows, forcing the evacuation of Sangre de Cristo on its western flanks.

 

      The hazard issues with Fuego are many.  Its proximity to Antigua Guatemala, a major tourist and cultural center, means that ash eruptions could affect tourism significantly.  Ash eruptions also affect air traffic as the volcano is only 40 km from the country's international airport.  Extensive ashfall and pyroclastic flows lead to even more extensive lahars during subsequent rainy seasons.  A general hazard map has been prepared for the region (Vallance et al., 2001), but current needs include detailed mapping, quantitative assessments of sediments in main drainages, lahar modeling, monitoring and hazard communications.  MTU scientists, INSIVUMEH and CONRED produced a sulfur dioxide evaluation of Fuego for 2001-2002 (average ~250 t/day).  Samantha Reif and Oto Matías spent 3 weeks surveying drainages around Fuego, for use in conjunction with Landsat imagery for sediment hazard mapping (Reif et al., 2003).   The sediment data provide important constraints for application of the USGS's lahar hazard modeling tools (Iverson et al., 1998). 

 

      The next field seasons by MTU (graduate students Reif and Dalton) and Guatemalans will focus on developing a more robust, validated baseline of SO2 emissions, and validating the remote sensing of channel sediments.  A compilation of Fuego's activity and relevant analyses over the past three decades will be completed, and an ongoing objective will include the generation of a detailed, GIS-based hazard map.

 

      Atitlán caldera is the touristic centerpiece of Guatemala, a high elevation caldera lake surrounded by indigenous populations.  It's topography has resulted from caldera formation followed by the growth of three stratovolcanoes, all in the past 100,000 years.  The largest caldera event (300 km3), 85,000 years ago, formed tephra that has been located and identified from Florida's coast to Ecuador  (Drexler et al., 1980) and formed a voluminous ignimbrite whose deposits occur throughout much of the Guatemalan Highlands and Pacific coastal plain.  Since this major caldera-forming event, three stratovolcanoes (Atitlán, Toliman and San Pedro) have formed within and near the caldera, are situated within the caldera. The hazards presented by volcanic activity are compounded by the closely spaced density of recently active vents and by the presence of the great lake itself.  Atitlán's explosive nature, frequency of eruptions, and the prevalence of agricultural development indicates the need for a volcano hazard evaluation.  

 

      In this project we aim to produce a new volcanic hazard map for Atitlán, Toliman and San Pedro volcanoes.  The map prepares the region for the scenario of renewed activity and associated hazards of the volcanoes south of the scenic lake, which include pyroclastic flows, tephra, lahars and some lava flows.  In 2002, a six-week field investigation involving a team of geologists from MTU (Rose, Janelle Byman), USGS (Vallance), INSIVUMEH (Matías)and CONRED (Rudy Wolf) has resulted in intensive mapping and sampling of the volcanic deposits of Atitlán, with samples submitted to the USGS for age dates and geochemistry.  A preliminary hazard report was developed, focusing on the behavior of Atitlán volcano.  The 2003 mapping focused on the Los Chocoyos deposits.  Because Los Chocoyos  is widely dispersed and unwelded many population centers are built on 10s of meters of Los Chocoyos ash, which  increases the risk of earthquake damage.  Although this eruption was the largest eruption in recent geological history of Guatemala it is poorly understood.  Future research plans involve the same team to complete the detailed mapping of the Los Chocoyos deposit. The work will form the basis of GIS hazard map preparations, supplemented by Landsat imagery and previous work on the other nearby cones, and emphasizes the collaboration between INSIVUMEH's geologic skills and CONRED's hazard focus. 

 

      Santa María and Santiaguito volcanoes are located in western Guatemala.  Santa María produced one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century in 1902 and devastated much of SW Guatemala, killing at least 5000 people and leaving behind a 1 km diameter crater.  The dacitic Santiaguito lava-dome complex has been growing episodically at the base of the crater since 1922, accompanied by almost continuous minor explosions and periodic lava extrusion, larger explosions, pyroclastic flows, and lahars (Rose, 1987).  Hazards generated from Santiaguito activity are mainly directed towards the south, affecting an important agricultural region and disrupting major ground transportation routes.  The near-constant output of pyroclastic material is transported, sometimes catastrophically, downstream through several major river channels during the rainy season.  A block lava flow extends more than 2 km from Santiaguito, generating hazards from potential collapse and generation of lahars, both at the flow front and at the vent itself (Harris et al., 2002). 

 

      Studies of eruptive activity in 2002-2003 by MTU, UH, INSIVUMEH and CONRED featured simultaneous gas, seismic, thermal measurement with digital video documentation of the variety of outgassing, rock falls and explosions at the Santiaguito dome (Bluth et al., 2002; Sahetapy-Engel et al., in review).  Yvonne Branan spent 20 days at the observatory making SO2 measurements in conjunction with UH's thermal instruments, and comparison of independent gas retrieval techniques with INSIVUMEH. 

 

      A GIS database has been developed as a M.S. thesis by Elly Bunzendahl (MTU), with extensive help from CONRED and INSIVUMEH, for the areas affected by Santiaguito, which will facilitate the development of a long-range (several decades) plan for hazard mitigation and infrastructure development.  The GIS includes digital topography obtained from Guatemala maps, supplemented by the kinematic results from the Santiaguito hazards project above, model lahar simulations contributed from the USGS, and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite images spanning the past 20 years (Bunzendahl, 2003). 

 

      Correlation of infrared spectral studies to active dome extrusion were completed for calibration with Landsat Thematic Mapper thermal studies, creating a methodology for assessing the consequent downstream lahar and flood hazards from satellite data (Harris et al., 2003).  A Global Positioning System (GPS) survey was completed of the four aggraded rivers (Tambor, Nimá I, Nimá II, and Samalá) in the region.  These surveys set the baseline of unprecedented accuracy in estimating volume of aggraded sediments and complement composition studies of the sediments (Harris et al., 2003; Harris et al., in press).  Helicopter flights have been used for kinematic GPS, and cameras to perform GPS photo surveys of the dome area, for a new and more accurate dome volume estimate for Santiaguito.  We hope that this work will provide a means for quantitatively assessing the eruption rates and locations of active dome and lava flow extrusions from regular repeated satellite data. 

 

      In January 2003 Falk Amelung installed a geodetic network consisting of 12 GPS stations at distances of 2-15 km from the active dome.  Measurement accuracy is ~0.5 cm, which is designed to detect ground displacements between annual observations. The GPS data will provide new constraints on the magmatic plumbing system, such as the location of the magma reservoir, which is crucial for the interpretation of geophysical data collected by MTU and UH.

 

      Ongoing work continues our approach of making simultaneous geophysical measurements of eruptive activity.  Gas and thermal measurements by MTU and UH with INSIVUMEH support will be used to constrain near-surface eruptive processes and ground validations for satellite remote sensing.  Bluth, Marika Dalton and Enrique Molina will combine the seismic and video data to develop a catalog of activity to improve INSIVUMEH's abilities for remote seismological interpretations.  The GIS database will be turned over to CONRED, and serve as a format for continued GPS surveys of downslope sediment transport.  Detailed sampling of flow lobes by Rose and Kathy Cashman will be undertaken to see if textural changes can be related to eruption rate.  Determinations of amount of juvenile material in some of the fine particles emitted from phreatic eruptions, and correlating those types of samples with gas, thermal and acoustic emissions, will help in understanding the explosivity of historic events.

 

      Santa Ana Volcano is a volcanic complex in El Salvador, consisting of a silicic caldera (Coatepeque), an andesitic phreatomagmatic stratovolcano (Volcán Santa Ana, proper) and several satellitic mafic cones (e.g., Izalco, Cerro Verde, San Marcelino).  Except for Izalco, which showed virtually continuous strombolian activity from 1770 until 1959, the volcanic complex has been rarely active in historic times, and has been developed as a touristic center and agricultural resource for El Salvador.  Santa Ana has a summit crater lake and a prominent plume.  In recent years, and particularly following the earthquake of January 2001, the local residents complained of increased acidity of the plume and were concerned about a volcanic crisis.  The volcano had been the site of a volcanic hazard study (Pullinger, 1997) and its south flank was known to have experienced a major debris avalanche, which extended far out into the Pacific Ocean south of the cone.

 

      A team of MTU investigators (Watson, Rodriguez, Branan) worked with INSIVUMEH scientists and Salvadorans (SNET) to repeatedly measure Santa Ana's SO2 emissions (Rodiriguez et al., in prep.), combined with thermal radiometer measurements.  SO2 declined markedly after the 2001 earthquakes and the crater lake temperatures also were lowered, so it is possible that the quakes promoted temporary increased degassing of the volcano's hydrothermal system.  SO2 emissions as measured by COSPEC averaged roughly 50 tonnes/day.  Future work focuses on establishing a consistent and complete baseline of SO2 data, and helping SNET develop its seismic network for volcanic hazards.

 

      San Miguel Volcano is a prominent basaltic edifice in eastern El Salvador, towering above El Salvador's second city of San Miguel.  The volcano is mainly basaltic and dominated by lava flows.  It has had several minor ash eruptions since 1970 and has active SO2 emission from a deep summit crater.  Key issues included geologic and hazard mapping, and documentation of past activity (Major et al., 2001a; 2001b).  SNET scientists Escobar and Pullinger have now extensively mapped and sampled San Miguel.  Geochemical analysis and age dating is now underway.  Two field seasons have provided the basic geological data needed for a modern hazard assessment, which will be the M.S. thesis for Escobar.  Updated evaluation of the SO2 flux from San Miguel's open vent was begun in 2002, by a team consisting of Watson, Branan, Rodriguez and Escobar, and the INSIVUMEH team of Matías and Gustavo Chigna.  Their COSPEC data (average 260 tonnes/day) was the first evaluation of this volcano in over two decades, and was combined with thermal measurements to continue our efforts in linking multiple geophysical datasets. 

 

      Some of the overriding issues for both volcanological/seismological studies will be to assess the advantages of updating specific pieces of monitoring equipment.  For some cases, the old equipment may be unreliable, so that SNET personnel are having to spend too much time repairing it.  For other cases, the equipment may still be working, but new equipment would offer much more in the breadth of data that can be reliably recorded.  A goal of this work is that SNET personnel should be technologically independent, so that they can carry out maintenance of SNET equipment on their own.  The understanding that will be necessary for technological independence will also give their personnel more confidence in recognizing new advances that can be adopted by SNET.   Other issues are the development of a regional seismic magnitude scale for El Salvador, and calibration of this scale with respect to widely used global magnitude scales.   For earthquakes and volcanic activity near the borders of El Salvador (e.g., Santa Ana), evaluating the ability of SNET seismologists to obtain arrival-time and magnitude information from neighboring countries.  Thus we are in an excellent position to strengthen collaborations between SNET and INSIVUMEH and INETER.  The potential for further U.S.-based training will be evaluated during Escobar's and Pullinger's visits to MTU, and in collaboration with Wayne Pennington who has significant experience in seismic studies in Central America.

 

      Masaya Volcano is a large basaltic shield volcano, located 20 km south of Managua, Nicaragua.  In 1979, Masaya became Nicaragua's first National Park (Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya).  It is composed of a nested set of calderas and craters, the largest of which is Las Sierras shield and caldera.  Within this caldera lies Masaya Volcano.  Masaya is one of Nicaragua's most unusual and most active volcanoes; it has erupted at least 19 times since its description by Spanish explorers in 1524.  The most recent eruption was in 2002.  Masaya is an unusual basaltic volcano because it has had explosive eruptions. The eruption in 4550 B.C. was one of the largest on Earth in the last 10,000 years.  It is a broad, 6 x 11 km basaltic caldera with steep-sided walls up to 300 m high.  The caldera is filled on its NW end by more than a dozen vents erupted along a circular, 4-km-diameter fracture system.  Historical lava flows cover much of the caldera floor and have confined a lake to the far eastern end of the caldera.  Most activity at these vents consisted of effusion of basaltic lava.  Pyroclastic eruptions have constructed three main cones: Masaya, Nindiri, and Santiago.  Three times during the past 100 years, Masaya has emitted large amounts of sulfur dioxide gas.  In 1981, sulfur dioxide was released from Santiago Crater at a rate of 500,000 tons per year.

 

      In 2002, investigators from MTU, INETER, UH and Open University performed a series of geophysical experiments during a period of active degassing.  Branan (MTU) stayed at Masaya for about 3 weeks collecting daily thermal data, and studying the SO2 "puffing" pattern.  About a week from the end, Glyn Williams-Jones and a group of students from Open arrived with a second thermal radiometer, which Branan took over and set up to run side by side with the first for one of the rare opportunities for validation.  Andy Harris brought a third infrared radiometer which were pointed at different areas (e.g., the vent, the crater wall) to get a feel for what wafting gas/ambient background changes (solar heating of the crater wall) may be doing.  Keith Horton (UH) brought a " FLYSPEC" (a new version of the COSPEC) and made the very first field measurements with it.  Dave Rothery (Open University) gathered micro-gravity data along with the thermal and gas measurements.

 

      Plans for future work are to continue these multi-sensor investigations to generate a robust dataset, focusing on the intermittent gas emissions.  Understanding the patterns of such an active system, and the damages of the gas emission to the surrounding population, are the main motivations for these efforts.

 

 

II.  Special journal issue on Guatemalan volcanology and hazards

      Guatemala has recently emerging from a protracted civil war, and economic emergence is perhaps an overriding issue for the government.  The priority of natural hazard mitigation has thus far been limited; however, there is a strong interest by both the public and government in understanding and mitigating persistent and potentially devastating natural hazards (Bluth and Rose, 2002).  Generating attention to these issues before disaster strikes would provide enormous economic, social and scientific benefits to Guatemala.  Thus, this is an excellent time to increase awareness both within Guatemala and amongst the scientific community of the special needs, resources, and opportunities for scientific study and hazards research.

 

      Rose and colleagues are currently involved in a related effort to establish a special issue on El Salvador (http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/GSASalvador.html).  Like Guatemala, El Salvador is a small country with significant natural hazards.  The work needed in both countries is part of a worldwide problem of building local infrastructural capability to mitigate natural hazards.  The kinds of hazards particularly highlighted in the El Salvador volume are volcanic, seismic and landslide, and the contributors include Salvadorans and scientists from North America and Europe.  The publication date for this issue is targeted for March 2004.

 

      Bluth and Rose will initiate communications prior to visiting, and plan to meet with heads of INSIVUMEH (Sanchez) and CONRED (Ligorria) in early 2004.  At this time we will develop the general goals of such as issue, focusing on the benefits to Guatemalan agencies and scientists.  At this point we will also develop a set of themes, initially including but not limited to:  volcanic hazards, landslides and debris flows, seismic hazards, social issues and impacts, hazard mitigation efforts.  We will initiate the process of gathering collaborative efforts in region, identifying important agencies and authors for solicitation of manuscript contributions.

 

      The significance this effort will provide publicity for Guatemala's abundant volcanic activity and hazards, national efforts towards mitigation, increased awareness of needs and collaborative opportunities.  These efforts will succeed in gathering a significant body of work together from many diverse sources throughout Guatemala and the many foreign scientists studying Guatemalan hazards.

 

 

III.  Joint workshop in Nicaragua

      For Latin American volcanic observatories to get access to satellite data, they need both the proper equipment and training.  There are abundant meteorological data available, but few resources (e.g., software) or expertise to make use of these data.  Martin Wooster (King's College London) recently secured a grant from the Department for International Development (DFID) to enhance Central American capabilities in volcanic hazard mitigation through thermal remote sensing techniques.  The DFID project provided an AVHRR receiver for Nicaragua, with the intention that it could be eventually used by all Central American scientists, and could eventually include a MODIS downlink which would greatly increase the number of volcanic applications.  There is a desperate need to instruct potential users in Central America how to take advantage of this excellent opportunity. 

 

      Wooster and INETER are planning a Nicaragua workshop in January 2004, focusing on the use of satellite receiver data.  In preparation for this workshop, Jean Wardell (a post-doc of John Stix) will be visiting MTU for instruction in remote sensing techniques.  The goal of this effort is to demonstrate satellite remote sensing techniques for the retrieval of volcanic SO2 emissions.  These data would be valuable for monitoring Nicaraguan volcanoes such as San Cristobal, Telica, and Concepción, for providing INETER with SO2 data to complement the other geophysical monitoring efforts.  For the workshop itself, we are planning to give tutorials on our methods of using thermal infrared satellite data for ash, gas, and aerosol clouds (Rose, Watson, Bluth) and for "hot spot" thermal alert systems (Harris, Flynn).  We have already established these techniques and have extensive experience in planning and conducting international workshops (e.g., the 2001 and 2003 Remote Sensing Workshops hosted by MTU; http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/workshop2.html).

 

 

Project Summary

      We are proposing three types of cooperative activities:  (1)  a series of focused field studies in Central American volcanoes, based upon previous NSF-supported efforts, and featuring graduate student research projects; (2)  development of a special journal issue focusing on Guatemalan volcanoes and hazards; and (3)  workshop support, to conduct tutorials in the remote sensing of volcanic ash, aerosol and gas clouds. 

 

      The proposed research activities revolve around the basic theme of improving our understanding of active volcanoes and their potential hazards by facilitating simultaneous geological and geophysical investigations of volcanic activity.  This type of project requires sincere collaborative efforts among the many agencies and scientists involved, and we have been very successful with this approach over the past four years.  These kinds of efforts serve the U.S. groups and Central American hazards agencies and scientists by providing a forum for which to initiate and continue volcanic studies, and developing collaborative efforts with U.S. and other Central American scientists.

 

      A strength of this proposal is the significant input of the graduate student and young U.S.-based investigators into the proposed studies.  We have had great success in matching graduate students with ongoing or developing projects, which has led to the students' rapid development of their own research areas, creation of collaborations and contacts with both U.S. and Central American scientists, and a thriving research environment.  Young investigators (particularly those from UH, now considered "senior") have taken advantage of the opportunities of these trips to develop their own research interests and while contributing to significant science and hazards investigations.  The work involved has been published and presented regularly, with co-authors from all the involved agencies and students (see Reference Section).  These types of collaborations serve to increase the importance of the Central American hazard agencies within their own countries, and are attracting new students and scientists to these field campaigns each year.  The graduate students included in this proposal support NSF's goals of increasing activities by women and underrepresented minorities in science, with 6 female students (4 Ph.D., 2 M.S.) including two Hispanic-Americans.  The opportunity for Central American students (Pullinger, Matías) to study hazards techniques and earn degrees at U.S. universities has worked well in the past, with Wolf and Escobar intending to continue these exchanges.

 

 

 

Table 1.  Project Scope and Timeline

Primary Tasks

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Multi-investigator field studies in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua (GPS, gas, thermal, seismic, gravity, deformation, mapping, remote sensing)

Collaborative studies among U.S. and Central American agencies (INSIVUMEH, CONRED, SNET, and INETER); focus on

    -student projects,           -continuing efforts,     -development of new projects.

Collaborative studies among U.S. and Central American agencies; focus on

    -student projects,    

    -increasing collaboration among Central American agencies.

Collaborative studies among U.S. and Central American agencies; focus on                     

-student projects,

     -generation of  long-term datasets,

     -remote sensing methods of hazard monitoring .

Development of special journal issue on Guatemala volcanoes and hazards

Meeting with INSIVUMEH, CONRED for issue planning:  target journal, scope, topics, timeline, invited papers.

Editorial meetings to finalize publication plans; management of review and revision process; finalize volume contents.

Publication targeted

Remote Sensing user's Workshop in Nicaragua

MTU and UH to Nicaragua in January 2004; tutorials on ash and gas cloud, and hot spot monitoring by remote sensing.

 

 

 

Table 2.  Summary of Proposed Field Efforts

Investigators

Institution

Roles/Research Areas

Gregg Bluth

Michigan Tech

PI; Project management; volcanic gas emissions, GIS hazard mapping, remote sensing, Guatemalan volcano seismicity; graduate advising (Reif, Dalton)

Bill Rose

Michigan Tech

Co-PI; field logistics; volcanic gas emissions, GIS, remote sensing, hazard mapping, petrology; graduate advising (Byman, Escobar, Wolf)

Matthew Watson

Michigan Tech

Gas emissions, remote sensing studies; graduate advising (Rodriguez, Branan, Lopez)

Jim Diehl

Michigan Tech

Paleomagnetics, GPS

Wayne Pennington

Michigan Tech

Seismic and tectonic regional studies

Andy Harris

University of Hawaii

Thermal studies, remote sensing, lava and debris flow volume measurements; graduate advising (Wolf)

Luke Flynn

University of Hawaii

Thermal studies, remote sensing of volcanoes

Mark Davies

University of Hawaii

geophysical gravity surveys; GPS; lava and debris flow volume measurements

Jim Vallance

U.S. Geological Survey

Debris flow hazard mapping; volume and composition measurements; graduate advising (Byman)

Kathy Cashman

University of Oregon

Magma mineralogy and petrology; eruption forecasting

Falk Amelung

University of Miami

Crustal deformation due to volcanic activity at Santiaguito

Oto Matías

INSIVUMEH, Guatemala

Gas emissions, volcanic hazards

Gustavo Chigna

INSIVUMEH, Guatemala

Gas emissions, volcanic hazards

Enrique Molina

INSIVUMEH, Guatemala

Seismic monitoring and hazards

Carlos Pullinger

SNET, El Salvador

National program of volcanic hazards mitigation

 

 

Table 3.  Graduate Student Projects

Student

Institution

Research Areas

Yvonne Branan

Michigan Tech

High temporal resolution gas emission rate and thermal studies at Santiaguito and Masaya volcanoes

Janelle Byman

Michigan Tech

Field and Landsat mapping, and petrologic analysis at Atitlán caldera region for production of hazard maps

Marika Dalton

Michigan Tech

GIS; LAHARZ debris flow modeling; seismic and video merging for Santiaguito hazard studies

Demetrio Escobar

SNET; Michigan Tech

Hazard assessment of San Miguel volcano, El Salvador

Taryn Lopez

Michigan Tech

Gas-emission rate measurements of volcanoes in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua; outreach to  local geological surveys

Samantha Reif

Michigan Tech

Field and satellite mapping of volcanic sediment deposits and landslide scars, Fuego volcano and central El Salvador

Lizzette Rodriguez

Michigan Tech

SO2 loss rates in different atmospheric conditions, including studies at Pacaya, Santa Ana and Masaya

Rudiger Escobar Wolf

CONRED; University of Hawaii/Michigan Tech

Field mapping of volcanic hazards in Guatemala; geophysical studies of volcanic activity

 

7.  References Cited for Proposal Activities

 

Bluth, G.J.S., Branan, Y.K., Rose, W.I., and O. Matías (2002)  Observations of Santiaguito's eruptive and passive emissions.  Eos Transactions AGU, 83(47), V72C-03.

Bluth, G.J.S. and W.I. Rose (2002)  Collaborative studies target volcanic hazards in Central America.  Eos Transactions AGU, 83, 429, 434, 435.

Branan, Y.K., Matías, O., Escobar, C.D., Rose, W.I., Shannon, J.M., Watson, I.M. and G.J.S. Bluth (2001)  Comprehensive COSPEC measurements to measure SO2 conversions in moist tropical atmosphere, Santa Ana, El Salvador .  Fall AGU Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Bunzendahl, E. (2003)  Developing a long-term hazard mitigation plan for consequent volcanic sedimentation hazards at Santiaguito Dome Complex, Guatemala.    M.S. Thesis, Michigan Technological University.

Conway, F. M., Diehl, J.F. and O. Matías (1992)  Paleomagnetic constraints on eruption patterns at Pacaya composite volcano, Guatemala.  Bulletin of Volcanology, 55, 25-32.

Drexler, J.W., Rose, W.I., Sparks, R.S.J., and M.T. Ledbetter (1980)  The Los Chocoyos Ash, Guatemala: A major stratigraphic marker in Middle America and in three ocean basins, Quaternary Research, 13, 327-345.

Harris, A.J.L., Flynn, L.P., Matías, O., and W.I. Rose (2002)  The thermal stealth flows of Santiaguito: implications for the cooling and emplacement of dacitic block lava flows, Geologica Society of America Bulletin, 114(5), 533-546.

Harris, A.J.L., Flynn, L.P., and W.I. Rose (2003)  Temporal trends in lava dome extrusion at Santiaguito 1922-2000, Bulletin of Volcanology, 65, 77-89.

Harris, A.J.L., Vallance, J.W., Kimberly, P., Rose, W.I., Matías, O., Flynn, L.P. and H. Garbeil (2003, in press)  Downstream aggradation owing to lava dome extrusion and rainfall runoff at Volcan Santiaguito, Guatemala.  Submitted to Bulletin of Volcanology.

Iverson, R.M., Schilling, S.P., and J.W. Vallance (1998)  Objective delineation of lahar-hazard zones downstream from volcanoes.  Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110, 972-984.

Major, J.J., Schilling, S.P., Sofield, D.J., Escobar, C.D., and C.R. Pullinger (2001)  Volcano Hazards in the San Salvador Region, El Salvador USGS Open-File Report 01-366.

Major, J.J., Schilling, S.P., Pullinger, C.R., Escobar, C.D., Chesner, C.A., and M.M. Howell (2001)  Lahar-Hazard Zonation for San Miguel Volcano, El Salvador: USGS Open-File Report 01-395.

Pullinger, C. (1997)  The geology and hazards of the Santa Ana Volcanic Complex, El Salvador.  M.S. thesis, Michigan Technological University.  See also web:  http://www.geo.mtu.edu/ ~djsofiel/volcanoes/salv/index.html

Reif, S., Matías, O., Rose, W.I., Bluth, G.J.S., Flynn, L.P. and A.J.L. Harris (2001)  Volcanic activity of Pacaya, Guatemala 1985-2001:  potential of TM images in assessing strombolian activity.    Fall AGU Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Reif, S.L., Bluth, G.J., Rose, W.I., Matías, O., and R. Wolf (2003)  Using satellite imagery to study lahar hazards.  Spring AGU Meeting, Nice, France.

Rodriguez, L.A., Branan, Y.K., Watson, I.M., Bluth, G.J.S., Rose, W.I., Chigna, G., Matías, O.,  Coy, A., Carn, S., and T. Fischer (2003, in review) SO2 emissions to the atmosphere from active volcanoes in northern Central America, 2000-2002.  Submitted to Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

Rose, W.I. (1987)  Volcanic activity at Santiaguito volcano, 1976-1984.  Geological Society of America, Special Paper 212, 17-27.

Rose, W.I., Gu, Y., Watson, I.M., Yu, T., Bluth, G.J.S., Prata, A.J., Krueger, A.J., Krotkov, N., Carn, S., Fromm, M.D., Hunton, D.E., Ernst, G.G.J., Viggiano, A.A., Miller, T.M., Ballentin, J.O., Reeves, J.M., Wilson, J.C., Anderson, B.E., and D. Flittner (2003, in press) The February-March 2000 eruption of Hekla, Iceland from a satellite perspective, AGU Special Publication on Volcanism and the Atmosphere, ed. by A. Robock and C. Oppenheimer.

Sahetapy-Engel, S., Flynn, L.P., Harris, A.J.L., Bluth, G.J., Rose, W.I., Matías, O., Wolfe, R.E., Carn, S., and Byman, J. (2003, in review)  Short-term periodic eruptive cycle at Volcan Santiaguito, Guatemala.  Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters.

Vallance, J.W., Schilling,S.P.,  Matías, O., Rose, W.I., and M.M. Howell (2001)  Volcano Hazards at Fuego and Acatenango, Guatemala.  USGS Open File Report 01-431.

Vallance, J.W., Siebert, L., Rose, W.I., Giron, J.R., and N.G. Banks (1995)  Edifice collapse and related hazards in Guatemala.  Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 66, 337-355.

Watson, I.M., Realmuto, V.J., Rose, W.I., Prata, A.J., Bluth, G.J.S., Gu, Y., and T. Yu, (2003, in press)  Thermal infrared remote sensing of volcanic emissions using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).  Submitted to the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

Watson, I.M., Realmuto, V.J., Rose, W.I., Bluth G.J.S. (2003, in review)  Forward modeling of volcanic cloud transmissions through different atmospheres.  Submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres.

Yu, T. Rose,W.I., and A.J. Prata (2002)  Atmospheric correction for satellite-based volcanic ash mapping and retrievals using "split window" IR data from GOES and AVHRR, J Geophys Res, 106, No. D16, 10.1029.

 

 

Key U.S.-based specialists

      Falk Amelung is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami (UM), specializing in the use of GPS and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to investigate deformations of the Earth's surface due to active volcanism, earthquakes and land subsidence.  UM currently maintains a small GPS network (3-5 stations each) at active volcanoes in Guatemala (Santa María) and Nicaragua (Telica, Cerro Negro and Masaya).

 

      Kathy Cashman is a Professor at the University of Oregon.  She is interested in processes of crystallization and vesiculation that occur on near-eruptive time scales, and their effects on eruptive activity, lava rheology and eruption/emplacement styles.    For more explosive eruptions, her interests lie in the textural characteristics of ejected clasts (vesicularity, permeability, groundmass crystallinity, etc.), again with a particular focus on relating textural characteristics to eruption rates/styles. 

 

      Jim Diehl is a Professor of Geophysics at Michigan Technological University (MTU).  His interests include the application of seismic refraction, resistivity, and gravity methods to geological engineering problems.  He maintains a fully equipped paleomagnetics lab and has extensive experience in Central American studies, determining magmatic dynamics, eruption rates and interpreting deposit geometries from historic and pre-historic eruptions.

 

      Mark Davies is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Hawaii (UH) who is a veteran of comprehensive volcanic hazards mitigation work at Montserrat.  His role in our collaboration is to introduce and demonstrate kinematic GPS techniques for volcanic hazards mitigation work.  Davies has been working with INSIVUMEH over the past three years to estimate the volumes and rates of sediment aggregation in rivers below active volcanic domes, determine dome volumes, and evaluation of magma body changes.

 

      Andy Harris is an Assistant Professor at UH.  He has pioneered the use of Landsat remote sensing imagery in volcanic hazards mitigation.  His ongoing collaborative interests include thermal studies at Santiaguito, Fuego and Pacaya volcanoes.  His expertise includes the remote sensing of volcanoes, lava flow rheology, cooling and emplacement processes, conduit processes, degassing patterns and predictions, and studies of fumarolic activity.

 

      Luke Flynn is an Associate Researcher at UH, and has developed a real time thermal infrared satellite alarm system using geostationary GEOS detectors.  This system is now operational and sends data every 15 minutes, detecting volcanic hot spots, and biomass burning.  Flynn needs to visit active volcanoes with varied activity to calibrate and aid his data interpretation.  A variety of field spectrometers are used in the work.  He will also do training in the use of the real time system with Central American colleagues. 

 

      Wayne Pennington is Professor of Geophysical Engineering at MTU, and has worked in Central and South America, as well as South Asia.  He has advised graduate students in earthquake and tectonic studies of the plate boundaries around the Caribbean and Nazca plates, and has spent field seasons in southern Mexico and Northern Colombia; some of his former grad students are now in positions of responsibility within Central and South American government agencies and industry.   He is currently the First Vice-President of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, with over 16,000 members in 110 different countries.

 

      Matthew Watson is a Research Assistant Professor at MTU, specializing in monitoring active volcanoes.  He was involved in using a sun-photometer for the first time to measure at-vent volcanic emissions on Etna, and on using COSPEC and tiltmeters at Montserrat.  He is currently working on radiative transfer models of volcanic plumes and improving sulfur dioxide gas monitoring.  He has acquired a Differential Optical Absortion Spectrometer (DOAS), a next-generation field sensor for SO2 degassing, and has been instructing MTU students and Central American workers in its use.

 

      James Vallance is a Geologist with the USGS, based at the Cascades Volcano Observatory.  His interests are in sedimentological and geomorphological investigations of volcanic hazards, including and extending to debris avalanches, slope stability, and flood hazards.  He has specialized in the study of volcanic debris flows, both in field and theoretical studies.  He has vast experience in Central American volcanoes and has produced many key hazard maps and evaluations in these countries.

 

Key Central American specialists

      Demetrio Escobar is an M.S. student at MTU, and plans to return to MTU during late 2003 and 2004 to complete his degree.  He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of El Salvador.  His geological background comes from years of experience working for the Centro de Investigaciones Geotecnicas (CIG), a hazards mitigation agency in El Salvador.  His thesis research focuses on developing a volcanic hazards map for San Miguel volcano.

 

      Enrique Molina Cruz is the chief seismologist at INSIVUMEH, and we plan on him visiting Michigan Tech to work with Bluth and Dalton, give instruction on the seismic software package, and interpretation of seismic signals and monitoring.  We would provide him with instruction on our computing network capabilities, linkage of gas, thermal and seismic measurements, and correlations of observed activity to seismic unrest.

 

      Carlos Pullinger is the head of the SNET's Geology division.  He graduated with an M.S. degree from MTU in 1998, and maintains strong ties with our faculty.  He plans to visit MTU to help establish seismological collaboration between the two, and to learn some of the more recent remote sensing capabilities that can be transported back to El Salvador for hazard mitigation and monitoring.

 

      Rudiger Escobar Wolf works in technical and field support for CONRED, and has applied for graduate studies at both MTU and UH.  He holds a Civil Engineering degree, and has extensive field experience on Central American volcanoes.  Regardless of the institution he will be based from, he will maintain contact with both universities during this time owing to the integral role he plays in several of our projects.  His visit to MTU is for instruction in remote sensing mapping techniques, and consultation on many of our Guatemalan field studies.

 

MTU Graduate Student Researchers

      Yvonne Branan is a Ph.D. candidate, interested in observing, quantifying and explaining patterns in high temporal resolution gas emission rate and thermal data.  She has already traveled extensively and acquired data in Central America.  Early results indicate intriguing correlations between gas emissions and thermal data from Santiaguito.  She plans to return to Central America (particularly Santiaguito) in early 2004 as part of a multidisciplinary field team.

 

      Janelle Byman  is a Ph.D. candidate.  Her thesis research involves hazard mapping of the Atitlán lake volcanoes.  Her main interests are in detailed physical volcanological mapping of the 85,000 year old Los Chocoyos caldera eruption from Lake Atitlán, and hazard mapping of Atitlán volcano.  This work will be supplemented by remote sensing studies, with the objective of producing a modern hazard map for the region.

 

      Marika Dalton is a newly recruited M.S. candidate with past experience in field studies, GIS, and debris flow modeling.  Our initial plans are for her to work with Enrique Molina on interpretation of the Santiaguito seismic and explosive activity, linking digital video documentation to seismic signals.  Her interests in slope hazards modeling will be applied to studies of the recent activity and potential lahar hazards at Fuego volcano.

 

      Taryn Lopez is a newly recruited M.S. student.  Her interests center about remote sensing of Central American volcanism.  Her project will be based about gas-emission rate measurements of volcanoes in Guatemala, El Salvador and/or Nicaragua, and to include outreach in helping the local geological surveys develop new gas-study techniques, specifically using the DOAS system.

 

      Samantha Reif is a Ph.D. candidate with a background in remote sensing and GIS, and interests in using these tools for hazard evaluation and prediction for volcanic and seismic slope hazards.  NSF supported her initial field surveys of channel deposits down the flanks of Fuego volcano in January-February of this year.  Her next step is to develop and validate remote sensing methods of surveying these channel deposits, and develop this into a practical tool for hazard mitigation.

 

      Lizzette Rodriguez is a Ph.D. candidate.  She is interested in determining SO2 loss rates in different atmospheric conditions using an improved field sensor, the Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer (DOAS).  She has collected SO2 data from Central America and plans to return to Pacaya, Santa Ana and Masaya.  These all represent intermediate, but common, environmental settings for volcanism, and are key to her studies

 

12.  Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources

Laboratory

      Mineralogy and petrology laboratory outfitted with reflected and transmitted light microscopy, fully equipped electron microscope facility, wet chemistry and geophysical laboratories, and rock and mineral processing facilities.  Paleomagnetic lab with a fully automated 2G Superconducting Rock Magnetometer in dedicated shielded room.

 

Computer

      Computer laboratories have been designed for high level image processing and advanced remote sensing applications.  The Imaging and Analysis Lab (211 Dow) includes 6 Sun workstations for high end data processing and graphics, and abundant data storage capabilities.  The GIS  Lab (210 Dow) is outfitted with 2 PC's and 4 Sun workstations for GIS software packages, the LAHARZ code for flow hazard modeling.  Seismic computer lab (619 Dow), with 3 Sun workstations, and 3 PC's.

 

Office

      Computer systems administration are well supported and knowledgeable about the project's special software, data processing and storage needs.  Office space is kept available specifically for visiting scientists.

 

Other

      2 Trimble GPS ProXR units, surveying and geophysical field equipment.  Software licenses include IDL (60-seat floating license), ERDAS Imagine (30-seat floating license), ARC/INFO (campus license), ENVI, Terascan, virtual-PC software for the UNIX  workstations, Fortran, C products,  ERMapper, Geographix, Geoquest, and many specialized codes developed and tested in-house.