Dr. Michelle L. Coombs Ph.D. | |
|---|---|
 Coombs pictured in 2016 | |
| Occupation(s) | Scientist-in-Charge (AVO) Affiliate Faculty (UAF) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Williams College (BA) University of Alaska Fairbanks (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Alaska Volcano Observatory |
| Website | www |
Michelle Lynn Coombs is a geologist and the current Scientist-in-Charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO). [1] [2] She is a fellow of the Geological Society of America. [3]
Coombs is married to USGS geologist Evan Thoms. [5] [6]
Michelle is originally from Maine, [7] where Coombs is a common last name. [8] [9]
Coombs has been the Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) of AVO since 2016. [10] As the SIC,she is in charge of coordinating emergency responses to volcanic eruptions,and guides the process of monitoring volcanic activity in Alaska. [11] She is frequently quoted in the news as a subject-matter expert on volcanoes in and around Alaska. [12] As the SIC,she is also the main contact from the media to AVO.
She is the second woman in AVO history to serve as the Alaskan SIC,as Terry Keith held the position from 1994–99. [13] When she became SIC in 2016,she was one of 3 women serving as a Scientist-in-Charge of a USGS-operated Volcano Observatory,but as of March 2023,she was the only one. [14]
She has worked with the AVO since 2004,before which she worked for the USGS's Volcano Hazards Program out of Menlo Park,California; [14] [15] which she joined after completing her Ph.D. [7]
While Coombs was in college,she was a field assistant to Judy Fierstein. Once she began working at AVO,she became a mentee of Terry Keith and Tina Neal. [14]
Coombs was the advisor to a 2011 internship studying the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano. [16] She had previously co-edited a 2010 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper on the eruption. [17]
Coombs has also been a participant of a volcanic eruptions workshop from the National Academies. [18]
Coomb's main research focus is volcanology. [19] Much of her research is on volcanic geology in Alaska,but she has also published research on volcanoes in Hawaii, [20] and her doctoral dissertation was on Mount Desert Island,Maine. [21]
Coombs is an expert on the geology of the Aleutian Arc,having published extensively on it. [22]
In 2019,Coombs and a group of collaborators were awarded a NSF grant to model eruptions of Alaskan volcanoes. [23]
As well as currently being a fellow to the Geological Society of America (GSA),she stood on the Student Awards Committee for the American Geophysical Union (AGU) from 2011–2015. [24]
Coombs was an Associate Editor for the Bulletin of Volcanology (2013–2016),and was on the editorial board of Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (2007–2018). [22] She has also served as a Steering Committee member for the Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE). [25]
A volcanologist,or volcano scientist,is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes,sometimes active ones,to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions,collect eruptive products including tephra,rock and lava samples. One major focus of inquiry in recent times is the prediction of eruptions to alleviate the impact on surrounding populations and monitor natural hazards associated with volcanic activity. Geologists who research volcanic materials that make up the solid Earth are referred to as igneous petrologists.
Kīlauea is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi,the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Historically,it is the most active of the five volcanoes that together form Hawaii island. Kīlauea is also one of the most active volcanoes on Earth,and the most recent eruption began on September 29,2021,when several vents began to erupt lava within Halemaʻumaʻu,a pit crater in the volcano's summit caldera,and ended March 7,2023.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is an agency of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and one of five volcano observatories operating under the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. Based in Hilo,Hawaii,the observatory monitors six Hawaiian volcanoes:Kīlauea,Mauna Loa,Kamaʻehuakanaloa,Hualālai,Mauna Kea,and Haleakalā,of which,Kīlauea and Mauna Loa are the most active. The observatory has a worldwide reputation as a leader in the study of active volcanism. Due to the relatively non-explosive nature of Kīlauea's volcanic eruptions for many years,scientists have generally been able to study ongoing eruptions in proximity without being in extreme danger.
Redoubt Volcano,or Mount Redoubt,is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located at the head of the Chigmit Mountains subrange in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve,the mountain is just west of Cook Inlet,in the Kenai Peninsula Borough about 110 miles (180 km) southwest of Anchorage. At 10,197 feet (3,108 m),in just over 5 miles (8.0 km) Mount Redoubt attains 9,150 feet (2,790 m) of prominence over its surrounding terrain. It is the highest summit in the Aleutian Range. In 1976,Redoubt Volcano was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.
In October 2006,the United States Geological Survey (USGS) adopted a nationwide alert system for characterizing the level of unrest and eruptive activity at volcanoes. The system is now used by the Alaska Volcano Observatory,the California Volcano Observatory,the Cascades Volcano Observatory,the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Pavlof Volcano is a stratovolcano of the Aleutian Range on the Alaska Peninsula. It has been one of the most active volcanoes in the United States since 1980,with eruptions recorded in 1980,1981,1983,1986–1988,1996–1997,2007,2013,twice in 2014,2016,and is currently erupting as of August 2021. Basaltic andesite with SiO2 around 53% is the most common lava type. The volcano is monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory- a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS),the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI),and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS). With a threat score of 95,the threat from future eruptions is considered to be high;much of this threat comes from the possibility of disruption of nearby air routes by large releases of ash. The mountain currently has basic real-time monitoring,but the USGS would like to improve instrumentation at the site. The mountain shares a name with the nearby Pavlof Sister,which last erupted in 1786.
Mount Cleveland is a nearly symmetrical stratovolcano on the western end of Chuginadak Island,which is part of the Islands of Four Mountains just west of Umnak Island in the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Mt. Cleveland is 5,675 ft (1,730 m) high,and one of the most active of the 75 or more volcanoes in the larger Aleutian Arc. Aleutian natives named the island after their fire goddess,Chuginadak,who they believed inhabited the volcano. In 1894 a team from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey visited the island and gave Mount Cleveland its current name,after then-president Grover Cleveland.
Mount Edgecumbe is located at the southern end of Kruzof Island,Alaska,about 15 miles (24 km) west of Sitka. The dormant volcano is about 9.9 miles (16 km) east of the Queen Charlotte Fault that separates the North American and Pacific Plates,and is the highest point in the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field,an area of about 100 square miles (260 km2) on Kruzof Island that also includes Crater Ridge and Shell Mountain.
Fourpeaked Mountain,also known as Fourpeaked Volcano,is an active stratovolcano located in the U.S. state of Alaska within Katmai National Park &Preserve. The volcano is nearly completely covered by Fourpeaked Glacier.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS),the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI),and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS). AVO was formed in 1988,and uses federal,state,and university resources to monitor and study Alaska's volcanology,hazardous volcanoes,to predict and record eruptive activity,and to mitigate volcanic hazards to life and property. The Observatory website allows users to monitor active volcanoes,with seismographs and webcameras that update regularly. AVO now monitors more than 20 volcanoes in Cook Inlet,which is close to Alaskan population centers,and the Aleutian Arc due to the hazard that plumes of ash pose to aviation.
The Hawaiʻi hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands,in the northern Pacific Ocean. One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world,the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain,a 6,200-kilometer (3,900 mi) mostly undersea volcanic mountain range. Four of these volcanoes are active,two are dormant;more than 123 are extinct,most now preserved as atolls or seamounts. The chain extends from south of the island of Hawaiʻi to the edge of the Aleutian Trench,near the eastern coast of Russia.
Mount Gareloi,or Gareloi Volcano,is a stratovolcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska,United States,about 1,259 miles (2,026 km) from Anchorage. Gareloi is located on Gareloi Island,and comprises most of its land mass. The island also has two small glaciers which protrude to the northwest and southeast.
The 2018 lower Puna eruption was a volcanic event on the island of Hawaiʻi,on Kīlauea volcano's East Rift Zone that began on May 3,2018. It is related to the larger eruption of Kīlauea that began on January 3,1983,though some volcanologists and USGS scientists have discussed whether to classify it as a new eruption. Outbreaks of lava fountains up to 300 feet (90 m) high,lava flows,and volcanic gas in the Leilani Estates subdivision were preceded by earthquakes and ground deformation that created cracks in the roads.
The National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System is a U.S. federal program within the U.S. Geological Survey for monitoring volcano activity and providing early warning to threatened areas. It was authorized by the John D. Dingell,Jr. Conservation,Management,and Recreation Act on March 12,2019.
Christina "Tina" Neal is a volcanologist and an honoree for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Neal was the Scientist in Charge at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from 2015 to 2021. Neal took over as the director of the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center on May 9,2021.
The 2022 eruption of Mauna Loa was an episode of eruptive volcanic activity at Mauna Loa,the world's largest active volcano,located on Hawaiʻi island,Hawaiʻi. Mauna Loa began to erupt shortly before midnight HST on November 27,2022,when lava flows emerged from fissure vents in Moku‘āweoweo. It marked the first eruption at the volcano in 38 years. The eruption ended on December 13,2022,after more than two weeks.
Edward Wesley Hildreth III,is an American field geologist and volcanologist employed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). He is a fellow of both the Geological Society of America (GSA),and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Hildreth was described as "one of the great volcanologists/petrologists of our time" in the magazine Wired.
Judith Ellen Fierstein is a geologist and researcher employed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). She is affiliated with the USGS California Volcano Observatory.
Terry E. C. Keith is a geologist from the U.S. Geological Survey and former Scientist-in-Charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Hawaii Kilauea volcano erupts explosively and shoots ash miles high early Thursday
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