This Partnership for International Research and Education will bring together U.S., Russian and Japanese scientists and students to address an important problem in volcanology of immediate relevance: the devastating cone collapse/blast sequence and its aftermath that beset Mount St. Helens in 1980 and two analogous systems in Kamchatka, Russia - Sheveluch in 1964 and Bezymianny in 1956. The faculty team is led by John Eichelberger, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Evgenii Gordeev, Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, and Takehiro Koyaguchi, University of Tokyo, Japan. Volcanoes are among the most exciting and inspiring, as well as dangerous phenomena on the planet Earth and this project uses one of the most volcanically active regions of the world as a natural laboratory. Understanding volcanoes has become increasingly important as growing population and technical complexity of society make us more vulnerable to natural catastrophe and as we realize the role of volcanism in global change. By conducting an integrated comparison of these three especially violent analogous systems at different times since their eruptions over the last 50 years, this project will advance our understanding of how magma is stored in the crust, how eruptions are triggered, and how sector collapse affects future eruptive behavior.
The trinational collaboration is essential to carrying out the project analyses because the scientists from each nation will contribute different and complementary expertise. The collaboration continues and expands cooperation among U.S., Russian and Japanese institutions, and establishes the foundation for long-term research and training among these countries in the northern Pacific Rim. These efforts will enhance volcano hazard monitoring capabilities in the future by improving our understanding of the processes behind these large explosive eruptions and by training internationally-engaged young volcanologists. The project is notable for developing international research teams of faculty and students that will undertake field research in Kamchatka, in Alaska, and at Mount St. Helens. The graduate students will be trained in multiple approaches in geophysics, physical volcanology, modeling, and petrology. The students will also have language and culture training in Russian and will take short courses at Kamchatka State Pedagogical University with Russian and Japanese graduate students. This project will develop a cadre of scholars that are fluent in international collaborative approaches, with increased understanding of both the cultures and the cultures of science in the three nations. The teams will stay connected by frequent regular webcast seminars and meetings that will start before the field work and continue after field data is collected to ensure an integrated and collaborative analysis of the data.
This award is co-funded by the Division of Earth Sciences.
