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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 volcanologists (Dr. Chuck Connor and Dr. Diana Roman), a near-surface geophysicist (Dr. Sarah Kruse), and an igneous petrologist and geochemist (Dr. Jeff Ryan). This makes USF one of the largest departments in the USA for volcanology. Currently seven PhD students and two M.S. students are part of the volcano group. Volcanology students at USF can expect to do field work on volcanoes, learn about a plethora of lab and numerical methods for studying volcanic processes, and attend international meetings (the group went to meetings in San Francisco, Japan, and Iceland in the past year).

San Cristobal, Nicaragua, is one place we work

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
  • Sophie Pearson (PhD candidate): Thermo-hydrodology of volcanic systems. Field areas: Ecuador and Nicaragua
  • Heather Lehto (PhD student): Precursory changes in seismicity and stress in relation to regional tectonics. Field areas: Mt. St. Helens, Crater Lake, Oregon.

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 used in research by the volcano group. The Department of Geology also has a large number of geophysical instruments, including broadband seismometers, a gravimeter, magnetometers, a ground-penetrating radar system, and gas flux meters, all of which are used by volcano group members to study active volcanoes around the world.

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 Sarah Kruse about research opportunities for graduate students.