Alison Graettinger
University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO·Earth & Environmental Science
Knowing how often a volcano has erupted, and in what ways, is key to preparing for its next eruption. Askja volcano in Iceland is a popular tourist site.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
volcanology
Askja volcano
Iceland
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2029
What they work on
- 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.
- Establish the order and timing of Askja's eruptions over the last 70,000 years using fieldwork, whole-rock chemistry, zircon analysis, and 40Ar/39Ar and U-Th dating.
- Identify the most common eruption scenarios at Askja from its rebuilt eruption history, to help predict what a future eruption may look like.
- Survey visitors with Vatnajökull National Park to learn how the park can better communicate volcanic hazards at Askja.
More about the research
It has produced both small lava flows and large explosive eruptions. Its ground has risen about 65 centimeters since 2021, a sign that magma may be building up. Yet its prehistoric explosive eruptions have never been studied in detail, so the chances and timing of a future explosive eruption are poorly known.
Why it matters
Askja is rising and draws many tourists, so a clearer eruption history could help Icelandic authorities and Vatnajökull National Park plan for likely eruption scenarios. Visitor surveys could improve how hazard warnings reach people at the volcano. Lessons from Askja may also inform hazard planning at harder-to-study ice-covered volcanoes in Iceland and at volcanoes in the United States.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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.
Jessica Larsen
University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK·Earth & Environmental Science
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.
Aurelie Germa
University of South Florida, FL·Earth & Environmental Science
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.
The school
University of Missouri-Kansas City: 7 labs on PI Pages, $57M a year on research, 94 research doctorates a year.
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