The American Geophysical Union honored five 天美影视传媒 faculty and researchers from the Earth and space sciences and atmospheric and climate science departments this week at the annual meeting in New Orleans.

Each year, the meeting draws thousands of scientists, educators and policymakers to discover emerging research, discuss hurdles and network. Prior to the meeting, AGU announces awards for individuals who have made significant contributions to Earth and space science and presents them in person during the week.

The theme is, 鈥淲here Science Connects Us,鈥� and the UW awardees were recognized for research that advances understanding of natural hazards, the history of Earth, weather and climate change.

Here are the UW鈥檚 five recipients and their respective awards:

, a UW assistant professor of Earth and space sciences, studies how magmas form beneath volcanoes. She specializes in work that involves using samples from past volcanic eruptions to examine the behavior of volcanic gases like water, carbon, and sulfur, which can help researchers monitor active volcanoes. Muth received the for early career scientists who have made outstanding contributions to fields of volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology.

, a UW professor of atmospheric and climate science, studies predictability, mountain meteorology and numerical weather prediction. Durran鈥檚 recent research focuses on using deep learning to change our current paradigm for numerical weather prediction, seasonal forecasting and climate modeling. He holds a joint position with NVIDIA. Durran received the award for prominent scientists who have made exceptional contributions to the understanding of weather and climate.

, a UW postdoctoral researcher of atmospheric and climate science, studies the formation and evolution of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, which play a pivotal role in both air pollution and climate change. By identifying and characterizing the fundamental chemical processes governing aerosol behavior, his research supports efforts to predict current atmospheric conditions and the trajectory of air quality and climate moving forward. Kenseth received the recognizing outstanding science and accomplishments by researchers that are within three years of receiving their doctorate.

, a UW assistant professor of Earth and space sciences, uses simulations to study the interactions between planetary atmospheres, interiors and biospheres to better understand the long-term evolution of Earth, Venus and rocky exoplanets. By building a holistic understanding of planetary evolution, this work will help enable scientists to search for life on other planets. Krissansen-Totton received the recognizing significant contributions to planetary science by early career researchers

, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences, studies the ratio of elements and their isotopes in rocks and minerals to understand how planets form and evolve. His research introduced a new method for analysis involving isotopic 鈥渇ingerprints鈥� that allows scientists to learn about Earth鈥檚 crust, the composition of the mantle, the origins of magma and even the early solar system. Teng was inducted as a , a program that recognizes AGU members who have made exceptional contributions to Earth and space science through a breakthrough, discovery or innovation in their field.

For now, such warning signs can only rely on external clues, like earthquakes and gas emissions. But a 天美影视传媒 simulation has managed to demonstrate what’s happening deep inside the volcano. The study, published Sept. 7 in , is the first to simulate the individual crystals’ movement in the magma chamber to better understand the motion of the magma and buildup of pressure.

“The thing about studying volcanoes is we can’t really see inside of them to know what’s going on,” said co-author , a UW doctoral student in Earth and space sciences. “Whenever there’s unrest, like earthquakes, gas emissions or surface deformation, it’s really difficult to know what processes are taking place inside the volcano.”

Each volcano has a unique personality. Volcanologists use the remains of past eruptions and previous warning signs to predict when it might blow. But those predictions are based on only vague understanding of the system’s inner workings.

The idealized UW computer simulation could help volcanologists better understand how energy builds up inside a system like Mauna Loa, which is a focus of the UW group’s research, to predict when it will erupt.

“This tool is novel because it lets us explore the mechanics,” said first author , a UW professor of Earth and space sciences. “It creates an interpretive framework for what controls the movement, and what might produce the signals we see on the outside.”

The team used a computer model originally developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to model fuel combustion. The UW group previously adapted the code to simulate volcanic eruptions and ash plumes; this paper is the first time it’s been used to go down inside the volcano and examine the movement of each individual crystal.

A volcano is filled with “magma mush,” a slushy material that is part magma, or liquid rock, and part solid crystal. Previous studies approximated it as a thick fluid. But capturing its true dual nature makes a difference, since the crystals interact in ways that matter for its motion.

“If we see earthquakes deep inside Mauna Loa, that tells us that there’s magma moving up through the volcano,” Bergantz said. “But how can we better understand its progress up through that plumbing system?”

The simulation shows the magma has three circulation states: slow, medium and fast. In the slow state, new magma just percolates up through the crystal pores. As the rate of injected magma increases, however, it creates a “mixing bowl” region where older crystals get mixed in with the new material.

“In these crystal-rich mushes, we know that we have magma going in and sometimes it might punch through [the layer of crystals at the bottom],” Schleicher said. “But we don’t know how the mixing is happening or the timescales involved.”

https://youtu.be/hT2_eLYzXmw

The current model is an idealized magma chamber, but with more computing power it could be expanded to reproduce a particular volcano’s internal structure.

Now that researchers can simulate what happens inside a magma chamber, Schleicher will look at rock samples from Mauna Loa and analyze the layers in the crystals. Crystals preserve chemical clues as they grow, similar to tree rings. Matching the model with the crystals’ composition will help recreate the rock’s history and track how magma has moved inside Mauna Loa.

“Mauna Loa is a terrific place to study because it’s very active, and the rocks contain a single type of crystal,” Bergantz said. “What we learn at Mauna Loa will allow us to make headway on other places, like Mount St. Helens, that are intrinsically more difficult.”

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation. The other co-author is at the University of Savoy Mont Blanc in France.

###

For more information, contact Bergantz at 206-685-4972 or bergantz@uw.edu and Schleicher at jmschl@uw.edu. Click for more photos.

NSF grants: EAR-1049884, EAR01447266, DGE-1256082, TG-EAR140013