Dr. John Stix
I like working on active volcanoes, because they really do represent “geology in action”! Pretty much anything in volcanology interests me. I study the petrology and geochemistry of intermediate and felsic magmas, because they are viscous, volatile-rich, and tend to erupt explosively. I like to use various analytical techniques to analyze rocks and melt inclusions, such as SIMS and FTIR. I am particularly interested in understanding magmatic-hydrothermal processes and forecasting eruptions at arc volcanoes. I also look at volcanic gases, measuring them in the field and in the lab by various techniques. I am actively developing new tools and instruments for use on volcanoes. I also am interested in caldera systems and their enigmatic restless nature. Finally, I also like underwater volcanoes!
I like working on active volcanoes, because they really do represent “geology in action”! Pretty much anything in volcanology interests me. I study the petrology and geochemistry of intermediate and felsic magmas, because they are viscous, volatile-rich, and tend to erupt explosively. I like to use various analytical techniques to analyze rocks and melt inclusions, such as SIMS and FTIR. I am particularly interested in understanding magmatic-hydrothermal processes and forecasting eruptions at arc volcanoes. I also look at volcanic gases, measuring them in the field and in the lab by various techniques. I am actively developing new tools and instruments for use on volcanoes. I also am interested in caldera systems and their enigmatic restless nature. Finally, I also like underwater volcanoes!
Emily Mick (PhD Candidate)
Originally from a small mining town in Northern Ontario I’ve been surrounded by geology my whole life. As a child I collected rocks galore, but it was not until my second year of university that I discovered there was far more to geology than mining and this was something I could pursue as a career. I began my undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa studying biology but quickly realized my interests lay elsewhere and transferred to the Earth Sciences program. I stumbled upon volcanology by chance when I was offered the opportunity to study hydrothermal alteration at Campi Flegrei and Vulcano in Italy. In 2018 I began my MSc. in volcanology with Dr. Stix studying Turrialba volcano in central Costa Rica. At the time Turrialba was experiencing frequent phreatic eruptions that I found to be due to repeated instances of hydrothermal sealing. Since 2020 I have been working towards the completion of my PhD, continuing to focus on the mechanisms and triggers associated with phreatic eruptions. In particular I am seeking to understand the origin of seemingly juvenile material in phreatic eruptions, the occurrence of deformation during hydrothermal sealing and subsequent eruptions and lastly, the role of complex fracture networks in gas transport. I am now a PhD candidate and 2022 Canada Graduate Scholar.
Originally from a small mining town in Northern Ontario I’ve been surrounded by geology my whole life. As a child I collected rocks galore, but it was not until my second year of university that I discovered there was far more to geology than mining and this was something I could pursue as a career. I began my undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa studying biology but quickly realized my interests lay elsewhere and transferred to the Earth Sciences program. I stumbled upon volcanology by chance when I was offered the opportunity to study hydrothermal alteration at Campi Flegrei and Vulcano in Italy. In 2018 I began my MSc. in volcanology with Dr. Stix studying Turrialba volcano in central Costa Rica. At the time Turrialba was experiencing frequent phreatic eruptions that I found to be due to repeated instances of hydrothermal sealing. Since 2020 I have been working towards the completion of my PhD, continuing to focus on the mechanisms and triggers associated with phreatic eruptions. In particular I am seeking to understand the origin of seemingly juvenile material in phreatic eruptions, the occurrence of deformation during hydrothermal sealing and subsequent eruptions and lastly, the role of complex fracture networks in gas transport. I am now a PhD candidate and 2022 Canada Graduate Scholar.
Robert Bogue (PhD Candidate)
I took my first geology class in undergrad mostly so that I could understand what my parents, who are both geologists, talked about at the dinner table every night and why they genuinely seemed to enjoy staring at rocks all day. Much to my surprise, I discovered that geology is actually very cool and chose it as my major the next semester. I became interested in volcanoes through my undergrad thesis, which focused on volcanic CO2 emissions from Mammoth Mountain in eastern California. After graduating from Occidental College, I worked as a full-time intern at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for about a year with Josh Fisher and Florian Schwandner. During this internship I worked on a project which explored the relationship between volcanoes and trees and how we might be able to use each of them to study the other. This idea forms the foundation of my PhD research, which focuses on how volcanic CO2 emissions affect trees growing on volcanoes, and how we can use those effects to understand volcanic activity. Currently, I am studying wood samples from trees in Peru and Costa Rica to try to understand how local volcanic CO2 emissions have varied in the past decades. Volcanic and atmospheric CO2 have different carbon isotope signatures, allowing us to interpret variations in the carbon isotopes of tree rings as variations in volcanic CO2 degassing. Creating records of CO2 degassing at poorly monitored volcanoes can help us assess the hazards posed by a volcano and its likelihood of erupting. This type of study can also shed light on how trees respond to increasing exposure to CO2, which is a crucial ecological question as atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise.
I took my first geology class in undergrad mostly so that I could understand what my parents, who are both geologists, talked about at the dinner table every night and why they genuinely seemed to enjoy staring at rocks all day. Much to my surprise, I discovered that geology is actually very cool and chose it as my major the next semester. I became interested in volcanoes through my undergrad thesis, which focused on volcanic CO2 emissions from Mammoth Mountain in eastern California. After graduating from Occidental College, I worked as a full-time intern at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for about a year with Josh Fisher and Florian Schwandner. During this internship I worked on a project which explored the relationship between volcanoes and trees and how we might be able to use each of them to study the other. This idea forms the foundation of my PhD research, which focuses on how volcanic CO2 emissions affect trees growing on volcanoes, and how we can use those effects to understand volcanic activity. Currently, I am studying wood samples from trees in Peru and Costa Rica to try to understand how local volcanic CO2 emissions have varied in the past decades. Volcanic and atmospheric CO2 have different carbon isotope signatures, allowing us to interpret variations in the carbon isotopes of tree rings as variations in volcanic CO2 degassing. Creating records of CO2 degassing at poorly monitored volcanoes can help us assess the hazards posed by a volcano and its likelihood of erupting. This type of study can also shed light on how trees respond to increasing exposure to CO2, which is a crucial ecological question as atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise.
Fiona D'Arcy (PhD Candidate)
I’m Fiona - volcanologist in training, science communicator, and enthusiast of all things earth and environment. I hail from Toronto, Ontario where I was lucky to attend the Ontario Science Centre Science School and learned how to share my scientific curiosity with others. My alma maters include the University of Ottawa (BSc Geology 2015), the University of Iceland (exchange semester 2013), McGill University (MSc Volcanology 2018), and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (Field volcanology course abroad 2016). I am currently pursuing a PhD on volcanic gases and wacky isotopes at volcanoes in Costa Rica and Italy. I am a 2019 Vanier Scholar and I’m proud to share my knowledge in both official languages through my current volunteer work at the Canadian Museum of Nature in my adoptive city of Ottawa! Follow me on twitter. My research focuses on how we can interpret changes in volcanic gas chemistry to understand volcanic systems. These gases- like water, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and others- are released from magma and make their way to the surface both during eruptions AND in the quiet weeks/months/years in between activity. I am particularly interested in carbon dioxide, as this is one of the most common yet sensitive components of volcanic gas. In my PhD, I examine the geochemistry of gases, trees, and minerals in order to forecast magmatic changes at highly dynamic volcanoes. I use a variety of instrumentation in the field and in the lab to follow the life cycle of gases from their deep roots in the very minerals grown in a volcano to their far-reaching impact on the surrounding vegetation.
I’m Fiona - volcanologist in training, science communicator, and enthusiast of all things earth and environment. I hail from Toronto, Ontario where I was lucky to attend the Ontario Science Centre Science School and learned how to share my scientific curiosity with others. My alma maters include the University of Ottawa (BSc Geology 2015), the University of Iceland (exchange semester 2013), McGill University (MSc Volcanology 2018), and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (Field volcanology course abroad 2016). I am currently pursuing a PhD on volcanic gases and wacky isotopes at volcanoes in Costa Rica and Italy. I am a 2019 Vanier Scholar and I’m proud to share my knowledge in both official languages through my current volunteer work at the Canadian Museum of Nature in my adoptive city of Ottawa! Follow me on twitter. My research focuses on how we can interpret changes in volcanic gas chemistry to understand volcanic systems. These gases- like water, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and others- are released from magma and make their way to the surface both during eruptions AND in the quiet weeks/months/years in between activity. I am particularly interested in carbon dioxide, as this is one of the most common yet sensitive components of volcanic gas. In my PhD, I examine the geochemistry of gases, trees, and minerals in order to forecast magmatic changes at highly dynamic volcanoes. I use a variety of instrumentation in the field and in the lab to follow the life cycle of gases from their deep roots in the very minerals grown in a volcano to their far-reaching impact on the surrounding vegetation.
Jessica Salas-Navarro (PhD Candidate)
Hi, I'm Jessica Salas Navarro. I am from Paraiso, Costa Rica. I am a chemist by training, and I did my Bachelor's degree and Licenciatura at the Universidad Nacional in Heredia. I got my start in volcanology by washing Giggenbach bottles (and not breaking any) at the Costa Rican volcano observatory OVSICORI and it's been all uphill from there. I am currently a PhD candidate at McGill and a 2022 Vanier Scholar. I absolutely love volcanoes, and my specialty is volcanic gases. For my PhD I am working on a number of instrumental and field-based projects with a focus on Rincon de la Vieja volcano in the province of Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. My favorite volcanic gases are carbon dioxide and methane. I am working on calculating the total CO2 flux from the volcano, which is very tricky to do! Also I am learning about how methane behaves in magmatic-hydrothermal systems, and I even built a new type of MultiGAS instrument which measures the CO2/CH4 ratio! Vivan los volcanes activos!
Hi, I'm Jessica Salas Navarro. I am from Paraiso, Costa Rica. I am a chemist by training, and I did my Bachelor's degree and Licenciatura at the Universidad Nacional in Heredia. I got my start in volcanology by washing Giggenbach bottles (and not breaking any) at the Costa Rican volcano observatory OVSICORI and it's been all uphill from there. I am currently a PhD candidate at McGill and a 2022 Vanier Scholar. I absolutely love volcanoes, and my specialty is volcanic gases. For my PhD I am working on a number of instrumental and field-based projects with a focus on Rincon de la Vieja volcano in the province of Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. My favorite volcanic gases are carbon dioxide and methane. I am working on calculating the total CO2 flux from the volcano, which is very tricky to do! Also I am learning about how methane behaves in magmatic-hydrothermal systems, and I even built a new type of MultiGAS instrument which measures the CO2/CH4 ratio! Vivan los volcanes activos!
Gustavo Villarruel (PhD Student)
Profile coming soon!
Profile coming soon!
Past Members
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