Patricia Ann Mothes

Last updated

Patricia Ann Mothes
Born1957
Alma mater University of Texas at Austin (MSc)
Scientific career
Institutions Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Ecuador

Patricia (Patty) Ann Mothes is an American volcanologist who has spent most of her career working in Ecuador. She is best known for her work on volcanic hazards and risk in Ecuador.

Contents

Biography and education

Mothes was born in West Virginia, USA, in 1957. She studied geography at University, graduating with a master's degree from University of Texas, Austin. [1] In 1986, she travelled to Ecuador with a grant from the Inter-American Foundation. [2]

Career

Mothes has worked for the Instituto Geofísico of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (IG-EPN), in Quito, Ecuador, since 1987. The IG-EPN is the responsible institution in Ecuador for the study of seismic and volcanic risk. Mothes was Head of the Volcanology section of IG-EPN for many years, including during the long-term volcanic eruption sequence at volcan Tungurahua, which began suddenly in 1999, and lasted for over 15 years. [3] As well as her national leadership in volcanology, Mothes is well known for her work on the hazards and risks from lahars, in particular those from Cotopaxi volcano. [4] [5] in 2017, IG-EPN adopted a cartoon figure based on Mothes and called "Patty la Vulcanóloga" to represent the institution on their digital and print media. [6]

In 1993, Mothes was involved in the rescue of scientists who had been caught up in a fatal explosion on Galeras volcano, Colombia, during an international volcanological workshop. [7]

Recognition

Mothes served on the executive committee of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) from 2011 to 2015. [8] In December 2022, Mothes was recognised by the Government of Quito with the award of the "Gran Collar Barón de Carondelet". This distinction is reserved for people from outside Ecuador who have contributed to the development and progress of the city of Quito. [9] [10] In January 2023, Mothes was given Honorary Member status of IAVCEI, at the Scientific Assembly in Rotorua. [11]

Family

Mothes is married to the volcanologist Minard L. 'Pete' Hall. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tungurahua</span> Volcano in Ecuador

Tungurahua is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity restarted on August 19, 1999, and is ongoing as of 2023, with several eruptive episodes since then, the most recent lasting from February 26 to March 16, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chimborazo</span> Volcano and highest mountain in Ecuador

Chimborazo is an inactive stratovolcano situated in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Despite not being the tallest mountain in the Andes or on Earth, its summit holds the distinction of being the farthest point on Earth's surface from the Earth's center, due to its location along the planet's equatorial bulge. Chimborazo's height is 6,263 m, well below that of Mount Everest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotopaxi</span> Active stratovolcano in Ecuador

Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located near Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about 50 km (31 mi) south of Quito, and 31 km (19 mi) northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft). Cotopaxi is among the highest active volcanoes in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pichincha (volcano)</span> Volcano in north-central Ecuador

Pichincha is a stratovolcano in Ecuador. The capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayambe (volcano)</span> Volcanic mountain in Ecuador

Cayambe or Volcán Cayambe is a volcano in Ecuador, in the Cordillera Central, a range of the Ecuadorian Andes. It is located in Pichincha Province, some 70 km (43 mi) northeast of Quito. It is the third-highest mountain in Ecuador, at an elevation of 5,790 m (18,996 ft) above sea level.

The Decade Volcanoes are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to densely populated areas. The Decade Volcanoes project encourages studies and public-awareness activities at these volcanoes, with the aim of achieving a better understanding of the volcanoes and the dangers they present, and thus being able to reduce the severity of natural disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangay</span> Active stratovolcano in central Ecuador

Sangay is an active stratovolcano in central Ecuador. It exhibits mostly strombolian activity. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of crust accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's approximately 500,000-year-old history is one of instability; two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antisana</span>

Antisana is a stratovolcano of the northern Andes, in Ecuador. It is the fourth highest volcano in Ecuador, at 5,753 metres (18,875 ft), and is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) SE of the capital city of Quito.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carihuairazo</span> Inactive stratovolcano in the Ecuadorian Andes

Mount Carihuairazo is an eroded stratovolcano neighboured by Ecuador's highest mountain Chimborazo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior</span> International non-governmental organization

The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) is a learned society that focuses on research in volcanology, efforts to mitigate volcanic disasters, and research into closely related disciplines, such as igneous geochemistry and petrology, geochronology, volcanogenic mineral deposits, and the physics of the generation and ascent of magmas in the upper mantle and crust. It is one of eight constituent associations of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prediction of volcanic activity</span> Research to predict volcanic activity

Prediction of volcanic activity, or volcanic eruption forecasting, is an interdisciplinary monitoring and research effort to predict the time and severity of a volcano's eruption. Of particular importance is the prediction of hazardous eruptions that could lead to catastrophic loss of life, property, and disruption of human activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quilotoa</span> Westernmost volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes

Quilotoa is a water-filled crater lake and the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The 3-kilometre (2 mi)-wide caldera was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago, which produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that reached the Pacific Ocean, and spread an airborne deposit of volcanic ash throughout the northern Andes. This last eruption followed a dormancy period of 14,000 years and is known as the 1280 Plinian eruption. The fourth eruptive phase was phreatomagmatic, indicating that a Crater lake was already present at that time. The caldera has since accumulated a 250-metre-deep (820 ft) crater lake, which has a greenish color as a result of dissolved minerals. Fumaroles are found on the lake floor and hot springs occur on the eastern flank of the volcano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean Volcanic Belt</span> Volcanic belt in South America

The Andean Volcanic Belt is a major volcanic belt along the Andean cordillera in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is formed as a result of subduction of the Nazca Plate and Antarctic Plate underneath the South American Plate. The belt is subdivided into four main volcanic zones which are separated by volcanic gaps. The volcanoes of the belt are diverse in terms of activity style, products, and morphology. While some differences can be explained by which volcanic zone a volcano belongs to, there are significant differences within volcanic zones and even between neighboring volcanoes. Despite being a type location for calc-alkalic and subduction volcanism, the Andean Volcanic Belt has a broad range of volcano-tectonic settings, as it has rift systems and extensional zones, transpressional faults, subduction of mid-ocean ridges and seamount chains as well as a large range of crustal thicknesses and magma ascent paths and different amounts of crustal assimilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Polytechnic School (Ecuador)</span> Public university in Quito, Ecuador

The National Polytechnic School, also known as EPN, is a public university in Quito, Ecuador. The campus, called "José Rubén Orellana", is located at the sector center-oriental of Quito. It occupies an area of 15.2 hectares and has a built area of around 62,000 metres2. Its student body numbers approximately 10,000 of which thirty percent are women. The main campus encompasses ten teaching and research faculties, in addition to four technical and specialized institutes. EPN was founded in 1869 with the aim of becoming the first technical and technological center in the country. Since its beginnings, EPN adopted the polytechnic university model, which stresses laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. At the campus, there are some libraries with a content primarily oriented to engineering and scientific topics.

Bruce F. Houghton is a New Zealand volcanologist. He was a student at Auckland University, and University of Otago, where he completed a PhD in 1977 on the geology of the Takatimu Mountains in western Southland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galeras tragedy</span> 1993 eruption of a volcano in Colombia

The Galeras tragedy occurred when six scientists and three tourists were killed as a result of the January 1993 eruption of the Galeras stratovolcano in Colombia. Geologist Stanley Williams and six others on the volcano survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auquihuato</span> Mountain in Peru

Auquihuato is a cinder cone in the Andes of Peru, 4,980 metres (16,339 ft) high. It is situated in the Ayacucho Region, Paucar del Sara Sara Province, on the border of the districts Colta and Oyolo. Auquihuato lies northeast of Sara Sara volcano.

Marta Lucía Calvache Velasco is a Colombian geologist and volcanologist, best known for her work on geological hazards and risk reduction in Colombia.

References

  1. ↑ "Vivir a la sombra de un volcán". www.lahora.com.ec.
  2. ↑ Quillupangui, Soraya (June 9, 2021). "Patricia Mothes: 'Yo me siento humilde entre los volcanes'". El Comercio.
  3. ↑ Mothes, Patricia A.; Yepes, Hugo A.; Hall, Minard L.; Ramón, Patricio A.; Steele, Alexander L.; Ruiz, Mario C. (February 25, 2015). "The scientific–community interface over the fifteen-year eruptive episode of Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador". Journal of Applied Volcanology. 4 (1): 9. Bibcode:2015JApV....4....9M. doi: 10.1186/s13617-015-0025-y .
  4. ↑ Mothes, Patricia A. (January 14, 1992). McCall, G. J. H.; Laming, D. J. C.; Scott, S. C. (eds.). Geohazards: Natural and man-made. Springer Netherlands. pp. 53–63. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0381-4_7 – via Springer Link.
  5. ↑ Mothes, Patricia A.; Hall, Minard L.; Janda, Richard J. (February 1, 1998). "The enormous Chillos Valley Lahar: an ash-flow-generated debris flow from Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador". Bulletin of Volcanology. 59 (4): 233–244. Bibcode:1998BVol...59..233M. doi:10.1007/s004450050188. S2CID   128636134 – via Springer Link.
  6. ↑ "Mostrando artículos por etiqueta: patty - Instituto Geofísico - EPN". www.igepn.edu.ec.
  7. ↑ Reich, Kenneth (January 25, 1993). "Images Haunt Survivors of Volcano Eruption : Disaster: On what had seemed a routine exploration, U.N. scientists are caught in surprise explosion that killed nine and injured 10". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ Cas, Ray A.F. (January 11, 2022). "The centenary of IAVCEI 1919–2019 and beyond: origins and evolution of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior". Bulletin of Volcanology. 84 (2): 15. Bibcode:2022BVol...84...15C. doi:10.1007/s00445-021-01509-5. PMC   8748530 . PMID   35035015 – via Springer Link.
  9. ↑ diciembre, rea Saltosel 1; amPermalink, 2022 a las 2:50 (November 29, 2022). "Concejo Metropolitano conoció los nombres de los condecorados 2022".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Patricia Mothes recibe el premio "Gran Collar Barón de Carondelet" del Municipio de Quito - Instituto Geofísico - EPN". www.igepn.edu.ec.
  11. ↑ IAVCEI [@IAVCEI_official] (February 1, 2023). "Moments from the IAVCEI awards Cerimony 🎊 Congratulations to the winners for their brillant achiviements in Volcanology 🌋 #iavcei2023 #rotorua #medalsforscience #NewZealand https://t.co/8JzwJg3nc1" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023– via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Williams, Stanley (2001). Surviving Galeras. London: Little, Brown and Co. (UK). p. 225. ISBN   0316855707.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.