In the Company of Volcanoes

-Alison When I am asked what I do, whether it be by a store clerk, a customs officer, or by a student, I have several options to describe my job. I am a volcanologist, I am a postdoc, I am a researcher, I am a geologist, I am a scientist, I pretend to be a professor, I am a doctor (of philosophy). In that list, the one that most people do not recognize is a postdoc (and I've had some entertaining responses to volcanologist). You can think about postdoctoral scholars/fellows as stuck in career limbo. We have finished our PhD's, but have not yet secured a permanent position. Some of us don't yet know what we want to be, or what sort of jobs are even feasible. The expectations of a postdoc may vary dramatically by subject, institution and funding situation. The things that are consistent are that postdocs are typically funded on short term contracts (even if those contracts get renewed regularly in some fields) and t...

- Dr. Janine Krippner On the afternoon of the 22 nd of April I was working on my PhD research and I distracted myself for a second to check twitter (which is all volcano and remote sensing tweets, so it counts as work for a volcanologist, right?). SERNAGEOMIN had just posted that Calbuco volcano was now on Red Alert (from green) and incredible photos and videos of the ash column exploded onto the internet. Social media gave me a window, not only into the volcanic eruption, but into the lives of those who were affected. (Translations are indicated in italics, please excuse any mistakes, I rely on the internet for help.) To be honest I hadn’t even heard of Calbuco volcano before this moment: #VolcánCalbuco pasa desde este momento a alerta Roja. 22 de abril de 2015: 18: 10 horas. pic.twitter.com/JEAEuiXDep — Sernageomin (Chile) (@Sernageomin) April 22, 2015 (#VolcánCalbuco now on Red Alert. April 22, 2015: 18:10 hours.) That short distraction turned into hours on the ...

- Dr. Janine Krippner I have been a little obsessed with Mount St Helens for the majority of my life. The volcano, the precursory activity, the eruption, the science, and the stories of the people whose lives were affected. The May 18, 1980 (and onwards) eruption is a major part of volcanology history and the 35th anniversary is a day to remember the events and the people whose lives ended or were changed that day. I have included a list of resources below that show different aspects of the eruption. I finally visited the volcano in 2013. Driving up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory I stopped to look at deposits along the way, impressed by the protruding trees that were blown down and transported by pyroclastic density currents. Trees removed during the 18 May 1980 eruption sticking out of the eruption deposits. Instead of jumping around excited like I thought I would, when I came face to face with the volcano, with her collapse scar, dome, and deposits I just sto...