Jessica Larsen
University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK·Earth & Environmental Science
Explosive volcanoes can bury nearby towns in ash and send ash clouds into flight paths. To forecast eruptions, scientists need to know where magma is stored underground and how it rises.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
volcanology
petrology
phase equilibria experiments
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jul 2028
What they work on
- Estimate magma storage depths beneath Mt. Edgecumbe by combining experimental petrology and melt inclusion analyses of rock samples with InSAR satellite measurements of ground deformation.
- Build a regional tectonic model testing whether local crustal extension near the Queen Charlotte–Fairweather transform fault drives decompression melting that feeds the Mt. Edgecumbe Volcanic Field.
- Combine tectonic geodesy, volcano deformation models (including effects of uneven rock strength) and petrology into a unified magma-tectonic model of Mt. Edgecumbe's current state.
- Run high pressure and temperature phase equilibria experiments on White River Ash dacite to build a model of magma storage beneath Mt. Churchill, Alaska.
- Measure water, carbon dioxide, sulfur and chlorine in plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions by micro-FTIR and electron microprobe to estimate trapping pressures, and use amphibole textures to estimate magma ascent rates.
More about the research
That knowledge helps them interpret signs of unrest such as earthquakes and ground movement. The lab's projects focus on two Alaskan volcanoes. They recreate the conditions inside magma chambers in the laboratory and study tiny pockets of melt trapped in crystals. These results are then used to build models of each volcano's plumbing system.
Why it matters
Eruptions from Mt. Edgecumbe could cover Sitka and Southeast Alaska in ash and disrupt boats and aircraft. A Mt. Churchill eruption like the White River Ash events could severely affect air traffic and downwind communities. Knowing where magma is stored and what drives it could help the Alaska Volcano Observatory interpret earthquakes and ground movement and improve eruption forecasts. The work also supports hazard communication with Sitka communities and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Collaborative Research: Probing transcrustal magmatism at a transform fault: The Mt. Edgecumbe (Lux Shaa) Volcanic Field in the Context of Regional Tectonics
NSF · Aug 2025 – Jul 2028
Phase equilibria experiments to constrain magma storage at Mt Churchill, Alaska; refining the magmatic source of the White River Ash eruptions
NSF · Sep 2023 – Aug 2027
Closest labs
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.
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.
James Gardner
University of Texas at Austin, TX·Earth & Environmental Science
Reconstruct the 1980 Mount St. Helens pyroclastic density current in four dimensions by mapping the orientations of trees it knocked down and combining them with closely timed eruption photographs from multiple vantage points.
The school
University of Alaska Fairbanks: 7 labs on PI Pages, $246M a year on research, 31 research doctorates a year.
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