[ES_JOBS_NET] MS and Ph.D. opportunity for two volcano science projects at Univ. of New Mexico

[Tobias P Fischer]

Greetings,

I would like to request posting of the message below:

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences has two positions for MS and/or Ph.D. students in the field on volcano science with emphasis on volcanic gases and volcanic emissions. Both projects are within interdisciplinary research teams and supervised by Prof. Tobias Fischer. For information on how to apply to UNM EPS see https://eps.unm.edu/graduate/how-to-apply.html.

1. Developing and utilizing drones to measure volcanic emissions:
Interested in developing, testing and using drone swarms to measure volcanic gases? The National Science Foundation National Robotics Initiative (NRI) is funding an interdisciplinary 3-year research initiative on advancing volcanic gas measurements using Volcano Co-robots with Adaptive Natural algorithms (VolCAN). The project is housed at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque with investigators from the Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Computer Science, and Electrical and Computer Engineering forming the VolCAN research group. A major goal of this project is to improve our ability to measure gases in volcanic plumes, fumaroles and diffuse degassing areas using drones that operate in swarms. Hardware and software will be developed to generate 3D chemical concentration maps, detect volcanic gas sources and determine gas emission rates. Extensive field testing on volcanoes and hydrothermal systems is an integral part of the project. Obtained data will be used to advance our understating of volcanic processes leading to eruptions.
There is a current opening for one PhD student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico under the supervision of Prof. Tobias Fischer and Dr. Scott Nowicki with a start date of August 2021. Please contact Tobias Fischer (fischer at unm.edu<mailto:fischer at unm.edu>) for further information on VolCAN, consult the UNM graduate application website (https://eps.unm.edu/graduate/how-to-apply.html) for application procedures and visit UNM EPS (https://eps.unm.edu<https://eps.unm.edu/>) for information about the department.

2. Excess volatiles in volcanic systems

Exciting times are ahead for volcano science in the US. Through its Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS) program, NASA is funding four large research projects on the theme of Volcanoes in the Earth System over the next three years. The overarching goal of these NASA IDS projects is to link teams of volcanologists and atmospheric scientists and bridge ‘top-down’ perspectives of atmospheric processes with geological and geophysical constraints on volcanic systems and erupted products, to further explore the couplings between magmatic systems and the atmospheric and climatic impacts of volcanism.

We announce here a NASA IDS project focused on ‘excess’ volatiles in volcanic systems, including their potential role in generating eruption precursors and influencing magma ascent, plume dynamics and subsequent atmospheric dispersion and impacts. A major goal of this project is to couple models of discrete aspects of volcanic eruptions (volatile solubility, conduit flow, eruption plumes and atmospheric dispersion) to advance predictive capabilities for simulation of the large (VEI 6+) explosive eruptions expected to impact climate. This will prepare NASA and the wider scientific community to better respond to the next major volcanic eruption.

The project is a collaborative effort between several institutions with different research foci:

Michigan Technological University (Simon Carn) – satellite remote sensing
University of Oregon (Joe Dufek) - petrological, gas solubility and plume modeling
Rice University (Helge Gonnermann) - conduit flow modeling
University of New Mexico (Tobias Fischer) – volcanic gas sampling/ground-based sensing, eruption response
American University (Valentina Aquila) – atmospheric general circulation modeling (GCM)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Peter Colarco, Paul Newman, Nickolay Krotkov, Can Li) – atmospheric GCM, satellite measurements, NASA eruption response

We anticipate several openings for graduate students and post-docs during the 3-year project, in the research areas listed above. There may be opportunities for fieldwork at restless volcanic systems (e.g., Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia) or to respond to future eruptions. Prospective candidates are welcome to contact the relevant potential advisor. Any general inquiries about the project can be sent to the PI (Simon Carn).



Thank you for considering posting this message.

Best regards,

Tobias




Tobias Fischer
Professor
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Northrop Hall
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
USA
fischer at unm.edu<http://unm.edu>
Tel: +1 (505) 277 0683

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