Tag Archives: Volcanology

Monitoring Volcanic Eruptions Using Lightning

Posted on March 27, 2020 by rberkowitz

Volcanologist Alexa Van Eaton explains the origins of electrical activity in volcanic ash plumes and why it sometimes leads to detectable lightning. Continue reading →

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Real-time observations explain magma dynamics of Kilauea’s 2018 eruption

Posted on January 3, 2020 by rberkowitz

Piston-like caldera collapses drove episodic lava flows far from the summit.  Continue reading →

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Volcano topography can distort ground deformation data

Posted on May 10, 2019 by rberkowitz

Cliff-like features could explain the anomalous measurements taken by tiltmeters deployed at Hawaii’s Kilauea and other volcanoes. Continue reading →

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New tools for forecasting steam-blast eruptions

Posted on June 1, 2018 by rberkowitz

Satellite data can pinpoint predictors of future explosive activity. Read more in Physics Today…

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A Kilauea eruption like no other

Posted on May 16, 2018 by rberkowitz

The famously active Hawaiian volcano typically erupts at existing fissures and triggers minor earthquakes. This latest event has no such limitations. Continue reading →

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Forecasting steam-burst eruptions

Posted on April 20, 2018 by rberkowitz

Satellite data can pinpoint the locations of potentially life-threatening geothermal events.   Continue reading →

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An eruption mechanism for underwater volcanoes

Posted on April 12, 2018 by rberkowitz

A new model explains how some lava that rises from the seafloor eventually sinks back down.   Continue reading →

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Continental rift exposes mantle melting at work

Posted on July 18, 2017 by rberkowitz

Changes in the degree of melting of mantle rock explain uplift and subsidence patterns in New Zealand’s Taupo Volcanic Zone. Continue reading →

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Finding the magma source for Mount St Helens

Posted on November 1, 2016 by rberkowitz

Seismic imaging reveals a cold mantle beneath the volcano and suggests that magma migrates from the east. Continue reading →

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Active Mud Volcano Field Discovered off Southeast Alaska

Posted on November 30, 2015 by rberkowitz

A cruise to study landslide potential along an earthquake-prone fault found a surprising methane plume. Continue reading →

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