Volcanic eruptions underwater, on land, and on other planets
Michael Manga, Professor
Earth and Planetary Science
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
The overall goal of this project is to understand how and why volcanoes erupt. This includes what happens when volcanoes erupt under the sea, how changes in sea-level and lake-level affect eruptions, and how eruptions evolve on ocean worlds (e.g., Saturn's moon Enceladus). For the first topic, students would study how pumice recovered from historical eruptions interacts with water. For the other topics, the studies are primarily based on developing and solving equations for the relevant physics.
Role: Students will do some combination of developing numerical simulations of eruptions on Saturn's moon Enceladus, study experimentally how long pumice floats on water, and how lake level changes at Mono Lake have influenced volcanic eruptions. The latter would involve a field trip and safety training.
Qualifications: Familiarity with Earth science. Experience with handling data would be useful. Using some type of coding language.
Hours: to be negotiated
Related website: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/~manga/
Mathematical and Physical Sciences