PHYSICS DISSERTATION DEFENSE: Kate Coppess
Photo by Linda Cicero
Ph.D. Candidate: Kate CoppessResearch Advisor: Eric Dunham
Date: September 8, 2023
Time: 1 PM
Location: Physics and Astrophysics Building (PAB) 102/103
Zoom Link: https://stanford.zoom.us/j/93447476291?pwd=ek1OSEZ1dWNxeGFEOUx6RGFoOTBadz09
Zoom Password: 584173
Title: Seismic signatures of volcanic eruptionsAbstract: Volcanic eruptions trigger seismic activity. Can we use these vibrations in the earth to look inside a volcano? Yes, the processes that contribute to the style and explosivity of an eruption exert forces on the walls of the volcanic plumbing system that excite these seismic waves. To make reliable predictions of when and how a volcano will erupt we need to learn more about the internal mechanisms of volcanic eruptions. Since we cannot look directly into the volcano, we use physical observables at the surface — such as seismicity — to learn about a volcano’s inner workings.
My research has focused on understanding how to translate the internal fluid dynamics of a volcano into seismic forces acting on the surrounding earth. I have developed a workflow, based on my theoretical work, that directly links eruptive processes to their seismic signatures. In addition to describing this workflow, I will present work exploring the effect of magma heterogeneity on internal flow dynamics and expanding upon previous work studying turbulence/particle-impacts inside the volcano. These contributions mark some of the very few theoretical studies of potential sources of volcanic eruption tremor – a seismic signal universally observed during explosive eruptions.