Aurelie Germa
University of South Florida, FL·Earth & Environmental Science
Some volcanic regions have no single big volcano. Instead, they have many small vents scattered across a wide area.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
distributed volcanic field
San Rafael Volcanic Field
Utah
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2028
What they work on
- Constrain the absolute and relative ages of magma intrusion episodes in Utah's San Rafael Volcanic Field, using high-precision 40Ar/39Ar dating and paleomagnetic data, to count intrusive events and calculate their rate.
- Locate and estimate the number and size of individual sills, dikes and conduits, using geological mapping and magnetometry surveys, and add them to an existing lidar-based 3D model of the field's plumbing.
- Combine the ages in a statistical model of how often intrusions recur, toward a 4D model of a basaltic plumbing system that links underground magma movement to volcanic hazards at the surface.
More about the research
These distributed volcanic fields (DVFs) often lie near towns and infrastructure. In the western U.S., the chance of an eruption in one of them is about 1 in 1,000 per year, at least as likely as an eruption at any single Cascade volcano. Still, little is known about how long an active period lasts or how much area it affects. Answering this requires seeing the underground magma "plumbing" that feeds eruptions, which is normally hidden.
Why it matters
Distributed volcanic fields in the western U.S. sit near population centers and infrastructure, yet how often magma moves beneath them is poorly known. By measuring how often and how large the intrusions that feed eruptions are, this work could improve volcanic hazard assessment. It could also inform monitoring and eruption forecasting at these fields and similar volcanic fields elsewhere.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Alison Graettinger
University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO·Earth & Environmental Science
Determine at what depths silica-rich and basaltic magmas build up beneath Askja and how often magma is refilled, using plagioclase and clinopyroxene mineral analyses and gabbro xenoliths, chunks of deep rock carried up by eruptions.
Esteban Gazel
Cornell University, NY·Earth & Environmental Science
Reconstruct pre-eruptive magma conditions, volatile saturation and degassing pathways of basaltic Plinian eruptions using olivine-hosted melt inclusions, droplets of melt trapped during crystal growth.
Aleksey Smirnov
Michigan Technological University, MI·Earth & Environmental Science
Measure ancient magnetic field strength in Miocene Vestfirðir lava flows using the IZZI Thellier-Thellier and LTD-DHT-Shaw paleointensity methods, backed by rock magnetic analyses, to fill gaps in the global database.
The school
University of South Florida: 20 labs on PI Pages, $522M a year on research, 305 research doctorates a year.
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