Geology topics

Jessica L. Ball

Publications and source records attributed to Jessica L. Ball.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

Getting the story straight: Common misconceptions around volcanoes and eruptions with case studies of recent events

The ability to rapidly disseminate scientific knowledge across the world has never been greater. This is paralleled by the ability of rumors to spread equally far and fast. Popular misconceptions can take root and, without correction, take on the appearance of facts. Commonly misunderstood topics include those with attention-grabbing phrasing (e.g. “Pacific Ring of Fire”, “supervolcanoes”, or “mega-tsunamis”), the intersection of volcanic research with high-profile science topics (climate or human health), aspirational science goals (eruption forecasts), and basic terminology (volcanic ash versus smoke, or magma “chambers”). In this paper, we describe eighteen misconceptions grouped in six themes (seismology, volcanoes and climate, systems and structures, volcanic hazards, timescales, photographs and footage) commonly encountered by volcanologists who are actively engaging with the public and media both during and between eruptions. Each misconception description is accompanied by takeaway points and summaries of recent research to assist the reader with the information necessary to describe the issues. Finally, we present seven case studies where incorrect information was widely shared and counteracted at well-known volcanoes and recent eruptions at Mount Agung (Bali, Indonesia), Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy), Kīlauea (Hawaii, U.S.A.), Tajogaite (La Palma, Spain), La Soufrière (St. Vincent), Taal Volcano (Philippines), and Yellowstone caldera (U.S.A.). This work is intended to help both volcanologists and non-specialists get the story straight, and to effectively communicate processes and scales of volcanism and volcanic hazards, impacts, and risks.

Journal of Applied Volcanology↗

USGS2026

Mount Rainier volcanic hazard information

Introduction Eruptions at Mount Rainier produce lava flows, plumes of airborne volcanic ash, and avalanches of hot rock, ash, and gas—pyroclastic flows—that rush down the steep, ice-covered slopes of the volcano. Hot rock and ash ejected during an eruption can melt large quantities of snow and ice, forming huge, fast moving mudflows called lahars that travel 30+ miles, all the way to Puget Sound. Very large lahars can also form when weak and water-saturated rock high on the volcano collapses with or without volcanic activity. Learn more inside!

Washington↗

USGS2025

Young explosive eruptions from the Clear Lake volcanic field

The Clear Lake volcanic field is the northernmost and youngest field in a chain of volcanic fields in and near the California Coast Range mountains. For 2 million years, numerous eruptions have happened around (and through) Clear Lake. The most recent period of activity in the Clear Lake volcanic field probably started around 40,000 years ago and was mainly explosive eruptions concentrated on and near faults in and around the lake. The combination of hot magma and groundwater created explosive releases of hot steam. The craters, called maars, threw out volcanic ash, pumice, and lava fragments, which fell back to the ground and draped the surrounding landscape. The deposits are visible in many places around the southeast end of the lake.

California↗

USGS2023

Officially social: Developing a social media crisis communication strategy for USGS Volcanoes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption

The USGS Volcano Science Center has a long history of science and crisis communication about volcanoes and their eruptions. Centered mainly on websites, email notifications, traditional media, and in-person interaction in the past, our toolkit has expanded in the last decade to include social media channels. This medium has allowed us to communicate with both long-standing and new audiences in new ways. In the process, social media communication has further developed trust in USGS researchers. In particular, the nearly 4-month-long 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano in the State of Hawaii necessitated the rapid development of a communication strategy that more deeply incorporated web and social media (Facebook and Twitter) channels to share critical eruption information. This was the first major volcanic eruption response where the USGS used official social media accounts as a significant form of public communication and outreach. These timely and conversive interactions furthered engagement with residents and reinforced the USGS as an authoritative and approachable voice on the eruption with U.S. and international audiences. In many cases, USGS Volcanoes' social media channels were also sampled directly by media outlets looking to provide current information, particularly by local reporters and citizen journalists. This helped disseminate scientific information directly to those who needed it and removed pressure from observatory scientists to respond to media requests. In short, the conversational tone and engaged and inquisitive online audience allowed the USGS Volcanoes' social media channels to act as a virtual community meeting, which nurtured a nearly continuous educational environment for both directly affected and distant members of the public. We present the history and details of this strategy here in hopes that it will benefit volcano observatories and other official agencies and crisis communicators.

Hawaii↗

USGS2022

Stratigraphy and eruption history of maars in the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, California

The Clear Lake Volcanic Field (CLVF) is the northernmost and youngest field in a chain of volcanic provinces in the California Coast Range mountains. Effusive and explosive volcanic activity in the field has spanned at least 2.1 million years, with the youngest eruptions comprising a series of maar craters at the edges of, and within, Clear Lake itself. This work documents the first direct ages for many of these maar deposits, and builds the stratigraphic basis for interpreting eruptive processes and dynamics of the young eruptions which produced them. Detailed stratigraphy has distinguished maar eruption products from pyroclastic deposits (monolithologic falls and flows, previously mapped together with maars as a single unit), and established a set of 6 eruption facies from maar deposit lithology, grain size parameters, and depositional structures. Radiocarbon dates from carbon films found on clasts at 3 outcrops have constrained several of these maar eruptions to ~8500-13,500 years BP, coinciding with eruptive periods previously estimated based on lake core tephrachronology. Part of this period also coincides with indigenous occupation (< 12,000 years BP), which suggests that oral histories of Pomo and other local tribes may contain descriptions of volcanic phenomena experienced by local residents of the CLVF. Collaboration between volcanologists and indigenous historians may add a valuable human dimension to the youngest eruptions of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field; combined, geologic and ethnographic avenues of research will help build a richer eruption history for future volcanic hazard assessment.

California↗

USGS2022

#TheSmoreYouKnow and #emergencycute: A conceptual model on the use of humor by science agencies during crisis to create connection, empathy, and compassion

Studies from a variety of disciplines reveal that humor can be a useful method to reduce stress and increase compassion, connection, and empathy between agencies and people they serve during times of crisis. Despite this growing evidence base, humor's use during a geohazard (earthquake, volcanoes , landslides, and tsunami) to aid scientific agencies' crisis communication response has been rarely studied. A broad literature review of humor in crisis and an exploratory examination of several case studies reveal that scientific organizations, specifically those that respond to geohazards, can harness the power of humor to help create connection and empathy with the publics they seek to serve. We find evidence that supports our argument that the use of humor acknowledges a shared human experience, reducing the barriers between public officials, scientists, and the people most impacted by crisis. Public statements made by scientists and public officials during the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) response to the Kīlauea eruption in 2018 in Hawai'i, United States, and GNS Science/GeoNet (GeoNet) response to the M7.8 Kaikōura/North Hurunui earthquake in 2016 in Aotearoa New Zealand, are used to inform the development of this conceptual model. We then posit a conceptual model which unifies concepts from the literature with our case studies to provide potential guidelines for those crisis communicators working for science agencies on how best to use humor to help people cope during times of crisis. This model can be further tested for future research to determine its effectiveness and utility for scientific agencies responding to geological crises.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction↗

USGS2019

The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano

In 2018, Kīlauea Volcano experienced its largest lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption and caldera collapse in at least 200 years. After collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent on 30 April, magma propagated downrift. Eruptive fissures opened in the LERZ on 3 May, eventually extending ~6.8 km. A 4 May earthquake (M6.9) produced ~5 m of fault slip. Lava erupted at rates exceeding 100 m3/s, eventually covering 35.5 km2. The summit magma system partially drained, producing minor explosions and near-daily collapses releasing energy equivalent to M4.7-M5.4 earthquakes. Activity declined rapidly on 4 August. Summit collapse and lava flow volume estimates are roughly equivalent--about 0.8 km3. Careful historical observation and monitoring of Kīlauea enabled successful forecasting of hazardous events.

Hawaii↗

USGS2018

Combining multiphase groundwater flow and slope stability models to assess stratovolcano flank collapse in the Cascade Range

Hydrothermal alteration can create low‐permeability zones, potentially resulting in elevated pore‐fluid pressures, within a volcanic edifice. Strength reduction by rock alteration and high pore‐fluid pressures have been suggested as a mechanism for edifice flank instability. Here we combine numerical models of multiphase heat transport and groundwater flow with a slope‐stability code that incorporates three‐dimensional distributions of strength and pore‐water pressure to address the following questions: (1) What permeability distributions and contrasts produce elevated pore‐fluid pressures in a stratovolcano? (2) What are the effects of these elevated pressures on flank stability? (3) Finally, what are the effects of magma intrusion on potential flank failure in an edifice? Simulation results show that under a range of plausible parameters, water tables in a stratovolcano can be elevated or perched. These elevated water tables result in universally lower stability (lower factor of safety) compared with equivalent dry edifices, indicating a higher likelihood of flank collapse. Low‐permeability (<1 × 10 −17 m 2 ) layers such as altered pyroclastic deposits or breccias can result in locally saturated regions (perched water) and lower factors of safety near the ground surface but may actually reduce liquid water saturation and pore pressures in the core of the edifice and thus may favor small, shallow collapses over larger, deeper collapses. Magma intrusion into the base of the edifice increases pore‐fluid pressures and decreases the factor of safety. However, the shear strength of edifice rocks also exerts a significant control on stability, so both mechanical properties and pore‐fluid pressures are important for stability assessments.

Washington↗

USGS2018

Three-dimensional geophysical mapping of shallow water saturated altered rocks at Mount Baker, Washington: Implications for slope stability

Water-saturated hydrothermal alteration reduces the strength of volcanic edifices, increasing the potential for catastrophic sector collapses that can lead to far traveled and destructive debris flows. Intense hydrothermal alteration significantly lowers the resistivity and magnetization of volcanic rock and therefore hydrothermally altered rocks can be identified with helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic measurements. Geophysical models constrained by rock properties and geologic mapping show that intensely altered rock is restricted to two small (500 m diameter), >150 m thick regions around Sherman Crater and Dorr Fumarole Field at Mount Baker, Washington. This distribution of alteration contrasts with much thicker and widespread alteration encompassing the summits of Mounts Adams and Rainier prior to the 5600 year old Osceola collapse, which is most likely due to extreme erosion and the limited duration of summit magmatism at Mount Baker. In addition, the models suggest that the upper ~300 m of rock contains water which could help to lubricate potential debris flows. Slope stability modeling incorporating the geophysically modeled distribution of alteration and water indicates that the most likely and largest (~0.1 km 3 ) collapses are from the east side of Sherman Crater. Alteration at Dorr Fumarole Field raises the collapse hazard there, but not significantly because of its lower slope angles. Geochemistry and analogs from other volcanoes suggest a model for the edifice hydrothermal system.

Washington↗

USGS2013

An assessment of hydrothermal alteration in the Santiaguito lava dome complex, Guatemala: implications for dome collapse hazards

A combination of field mapping, geochemistry, and remote sensing methods has been employed to determine the extent of hydrothermal alteration and assess the potential for failure at the Santiaguito lava dome complex, Guatemala. The 90-year-old complex of four lava domes has only experienced relatively small and infrequent dome collapses in the past, which were associated with lava extrusion. However, existing evidence of an active hydrothermal system coupled with intense seasonal precipitation also presents ideal conditions for instability related to weakened clay-rich edifice rocks. Mapping of the Santiaguito dome complex identified structural features related to dome growth dynamics, potential areas of weakness related to erosion, and locations of fumarole fields. X-ray diffraction and backscattered electron images taken with scanning electron microscopy of dacite and ash samples collected from around fumaroles revealed only minor clay films, and little evidence of alteration. Mineral mapping using ASTER and Hyperion satellite images, however, suggest low-temperature (<150 °C) silicic alteration on erosional surfaces of the domes, but not the type of pervasive acid-sulfate alteration implicated in collapses of other altered edifices. To evaluate the possibility of internal alteration, we re-examined existing aqueous geochemical data from dome-fed hot springs. The data indicate significant water–rock interaction, but the Na–Mg–K geoindicator suggests only a short water residence time, and δ18O/δD ratios show only minor shifts from the meteoric water line with little precipitation of secondary (alteration) minerals. Based on available data, hydrothermal alteration on the dome complex appears to be restricted to surficial deposits of hydrous silica, but the study has highlighted, importantly, that the 1902 eruption crater headwall of Santa María does show more advanced argillic alteration. We also cannot rule out the possibility of advanced alteration within the dome complex interior that is not accessible to the methods used here. It may therefore be prudent to employ geophysical methods to make further assessments in the future.

Bulletin of Volcanology↗