Skip to content

Erik Klemetti

Volcanologist, Denison University

I write the Eruptions blog on Big Think. I've been mesmerized with volcanoes (and geology) all my life. It helps that part of my family comes from the shadow of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, where I could see first hand the deadly effects of volcanic eruptions. Since then, I've taken a bit of a winding path to become a volcanologist. I started as a history major at Williams College, almost went into radio, but ended up migrating to geology, including an undergraduate thesis on Vinalhaven Island, Maine. I followed this up by changing coast to get my Ph.D. from Oregon State University. Then I ran a MC-ICP-MS lab at University of Washington for a spell (and wrote for an indie rock website). I spent three years as a postdoctoral scholar at University of California - Davis studying the inner workings of magmatic systems. I am now an assistant professor at Denison University and have projects in New Zealand, Chile and Oregon.

I am fascinated by volcanoes, their eruptions and how those eruptions interact with the people who live around the volcanoes. I started this blog after getting frustrated with the news reports of volcanic eruptions. Most of them get the information wrong and/or are just sensationalistic. I will try to summarize eruptions as they occur, translate some of the volcanic processes that are happening and comment on the reports themselves.

And no matter what people tell you, I definitely do not have a cat named Tephra. (OK, I do).

You can find out more about my research by visiting my website. If you have any comments, questions or information, feel free to contact me at eruptionsblog at gmail dot com.

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 8/12-18/2009

The weekly update on volcanic activity presented by the Smithsonian and the USGS.

I chime in on some of the discussions about caldera-forming eruptions and inflation of volcanoes in the Andes. Also, news on the stimulus money to volcano monitoring and “our island blew up.”

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 8/5-11/2009

The weekly Smithsonian / USGS Volcano Report brings us news from Indonesia, Philippines, Russia and more.

Getting insured on an active volcano

On second thought, living on an active volcano might be problematic.

Monday Musings, Part 2 (UPDATED)

Mystery volcano in Kamchatka is disrupting flights to Asia and the local residents around Kelud in Indonesia refuse to heed the warnings of an imminent eruption. UPDATE: Erroneous news feeds got me … this is old news (but still illustrates an important point).

The continuing effects of eruptions past at two volcanoes and the best of volcano-inspired literature.

Some new NASA Earth Observatory Images

A roundup of the latest volcanically-related NASA Earth Observatory images, including Rabaul, Shiveluch and a great panorama of the Canary Islands.

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/29-8/4/2009

The latest volcano news from the USGS and Smithsonian.

Eruption occuring on Venus?

Is there a volcanic eruption occurring on Venus?

Mailbag, pictures and networking

Send me your questions, pictures or whatever volcanically-related news!

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/22-28/2009

Volcanoes are making noise around the globe and you can read about it in this week’s SI/USGS Volcano Report.

Vote for the next Volcano Profile

Vote for the next volcano to be examined in my “Volcano Profile” series.

Volcano Profile: Mt. Erebus

The fourth in my ongoing “Volcano Profile” turns our attention to the southernmost (known) active volcano, Mt. Erebus in Antarctica.

Shiveluch continues its noisy summer, we hope to avoid unnecessary noise at Crater Lake National Park and former noise spotted on Mars.

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/15-21/2009

Thermal images of the dome at Shiveluch, things quieting down at some volcanoes in Indonesia and the alert level is raised at Sakurajima – all this and more in this week’s GVP update.

Servers and software upgrades at sB

The servers and software behind the scenes here at ScienceBlogs will be getting upgraded tonight (7/21). After 7 PM (Eastern), commenting will be turned off (even though the comment form […]

Inside you’ll find a Q&A on Martian volcanoes, some new details on the Ethopian eruption, the innards of Halema`uma`u and Nyiragongo from space.

A look at “folk volcano monitoring” in the Philippines, Kilauea takes out another piece of the doomed Royal Gardens subdivision and another great images of an active volcano from NASA.

Is something up at Shishaldin?

The thermal anomaly at the crater on Shishaldin in Alaska appears to be increasing in intensity and now there appears to be some indications that seismicity is following suit. Is something up?

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/8-14/2009

The weekly USGS/SI volcano report is out, with some eyewitness description of the recent eruption in Ethiopia, Shishaldin in the Aleutians going on Yellow Alert and two volcanoes in Guatemala making noise.

Tuesday Tidbits

Every once in a while, the Astronomy Picture of the Day throws in a volcano with all the space imagery. July 13’s image was one of the best. Plus, oil production will resume next month in the Cook Inlet, Alaska.

Evacuations extended around Mayon

If the activity at Mayon continues to increase, over 75,000 people could be evacuated from the region near the volcano. As usual, there are also those who don’t want to believe the volcano is a threat.

Interview on the Reef Tank

Water and volcanism! Read what I have to say about this and other matters in my interview in ‘The Reef Tank’.

Two volcanoes headed in opposite directions: the Alert level was raised at Mayon in the Philippines, while 24/7 staffing of the AVO operations center has ceased now that Redoubt seems to have quieted down.

New geyser appears in Kamchatka

Its not every day that a new geyser appears out of the blue, but that is exactly what appears to have happens in Kamchatka, as the Prikolny (“Peculiar”) Geyser has appears near Uzon caldera.

SI/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report for 7/1-7/2009

The latest round-up of volcano news, including the potential spotting of a dome growing at Sarychev Peak, rumblings in El Salvador and small ash plumes at Anak Krakatau.

Wednesday Whatzits

A brief update on the monitoring of Mayon, more great pictures of volcanoes from space and the news that the Toba eruption might have caused a decade of volcanic winters (but didn’t try to kill all the humans).

Halema`uma`u rockfall update: Lava wins again!

After all the concern about the rockfall “snuffing out” the vent at Halema`uma`u Crater in Kilauea, lava is already bubbling and pooling in the vent.

Increasing concern about Mayon

The alert level hasn’t been changed, but increasing signs of activity at Mayon in the Philippines is cause for concern.

Rockfall “snuffs out” the Halema’uma’u vent?

The glow at Halema’uma’u Crater on Kilauea’s summit has been blocked by a rockfall that has clogged the vent with debris. Now, the question is what caused the rockfall and what effect it might have activity at the summit of the volcano.