Collapsed lava pillow at 2107m depth on Puna Ridge, the submarine extension of Kilauea's East Rift Zone, April 2001
Photo © 2001 MBARI

Equivalent lava flow on land, on Kilauea's East Rift Zone, April 2001
Photo © 2001 J. B. Paduan

We study processes that form and modify volcanoes in the sea

Volcanic eruptions and flank collapses are significant geologic hazards. Our goal is to better understand these and other volcanic processes in the deep sea environment. Through this research we hope to gain insight into potentially destructive eruptions on land or in shallow water. We are studying:

• Style of volcanic eruptions at varying depths and lava compositions
• Explosive volcanism in the deep sea
• Submarine landslides and the structure of the flanks of volcanoes
• Evolution of hydrothermal systems
• Plio-Pleistocene paleoclimatic history recorded in drowned coral reefs
• Origin and evolution of oceanic volcanoes
• Biogeography of ocean islands and submarine volcanoes

Hot spots: Hawaiian Islands and Loihi Seamount
Mid-ocean ridges: Gorda and Juan de Fuca Ridges, East Pacific Rise
Seamounts: Intraplate seamounts off California and in the central Pacific
Margins: Continental margin off Oregon and California

Our work is presented here through abstracts of our publications. Where possible, links are given to the complete papers on-line, but users will need to be subscribed to on-line library services to view them. Our most recent work is listed at the top of the Publication List page.

We send back daily cruise logs from our expeditions. These logs contain dive reports written by the scientists, images, maps, and updates from the others in the crew.
Latest cruise logs: Ridges 2009: Northern Expedition Legs 4 and 5 

How do we explore the deep sea? Here is information about the equipment we use.