Volcano Group

The Volcano Group is currently looking for graduate students to participate in funded projects as research assistants!

Volcanology is an exciting and broad area of research at USF. The department currently includes two physical volcanologists (Dr. Chuck Connor and Dr. Diana Roman), a volcanic-gas geochemist (Dr. Thomas Pichler), and an igneous petrologist and geochemist (Dr. Jeff Ryan). This makes USF one of the largest departments in the USA for volcanology. Currently three PhD candidates and four M.S. candidates are part of the volcano group. Volcanology students can expect to do field work on volcanoes, learn about a plethora of lab and numerical methods for studying volcano processes, and attend international meetings (the group went to meetings in San Francisco and Quito, Ecuador last year).

Some of the current graduate student projects in the Volcano Group include:

• Alain Volentik (PhD candidate): Modeling tephra dispersion and characterizing total grainsize distribution in eruption columns. Field area: Ecuador
• Mikel Diez (PhD candidate): Coupled interactions: stress transfer, fracturing, and the dynamics of eruption and degassing at active volcanoes. Field areas: Masaya and Cerro Negro volcanoes, Nicaragua, Socorro Island, Mexico, San Rafael, Utah, SO FAR!
• Sophie Pearson (PhD candidate): Time series analysis of temperature and related data sets from Cotopaxi volcano, Ecuador, and Nicargaua. Thermo-hydrodology of volcanic systems.
• Amanda Leonard-Hintz (MS candidate): Geology and structural setting of monogenetic volcanic vields in central Utah.
• John Petriello(MS candidate): Nature of a low-aspect ratio ignimbrite, the 2450 BP Puluahua eruption, Ecuador.
• Heather Lehto (MS candidate): Correlation between SP anomalies and gas flux on active volcanoes. Nicargaua.

The Department of Geology operates a Direct Current Plasma Emission Spectrometer for the chemical analysis of whole rocks, and is a part of a consortium using an Electron Microprobe for microanalysis of rocks and minerals, both of which are involved in research of the Volcano Group.

For more information about the Volcano Group, especially multi-disciplinary projects go to the Volcano Group Website. Contact Chuck Connor, Diana Roman, Jeff Ryan, or Thomas Pichler about research opportunities for graduate students.