Field Work
My work is always motivated by the need to understand how the simplified dynamics we produce in the lab or on a computer help with interpreting and responding to eruptions. My experience in the field has been primarily with using visual and thermal imagery and videography to observe the location, timing, and rates of ongoing eruptions.
Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain in November 2021
Cumbre Vieja volcano had a VEI 3 eruption that lasted from September 19 to December 13, 2021, displacing 7,000 people and destroying more than 3,000 buildings. I visited the eruption for two weeks in late November and worked closely with the staff at INVOLCAN/ITER to collect visual and thermal imagery from ground-based cameras of the lava flows and gas-and-ash plumes at the vent. We analyze videos and time-lapse images to estimate vortex speed and apparent volume flux over the course of the eruption.
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1193436
​
​
Fagradalsfjall, Iceland in June-July 2021
An eruption at Fagradalsfjall volcano began March 19, 2021, reactivating a volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninusula that had been inactive for over 800 years. The effusive basaltic eruption continued for months until September 2021, and fortunately did not damage any major infrastructure. At the time I was in the field, the volcano transitioned from a nearly continuous eruption to a more pulsatory style of alternating high flux conditions and low or no effusion. During this time, I collected UAV-based thermal and visual imagery of the lava flow dynamics and empty channel geometries. These data will give an unusual constraint on channel-bottom geometry for active flows recorded within days of the flow which is usually difficult to get during an eruption.