Me walking the bike trail to campus from my apartment
Kyle Kim, PhD Student
University of Maryland, College Park
Pre-Candidacy
Hi, My name is Kyle Kim, I am a first year PhD student at the University of Maryland, College Park, working with Dr. Megan Newcombe. I completed my Bachelor's of Science in Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2019. I have been working at the University of Maryland, College Park, since July 2021. My current project is focused on the magma ascent rate of Cinder Cone, and how a varying ascent rate across multiple eruptions influences the explosivity of those eruptions.
Research Interests
My current research interests include:
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Magma ascent rate and how a shift in ascent rate affects the eruption style of a volcanic eruptions.
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The sources and volatile budgets that describe the internal structure of the Earth.
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How volcanism on exoplanets and other solar system bodies compare to the volcanic processes we see on Earth.
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My current research project is centered around Cinder Cone, Lassen Volcanic National Park. This specific volcano has had previous eruptions that are documented in very well preserved tephra layers. These layers are distinct, well preserved, and can be linked back to the eruption that generated them.
There are two eruptions in particular that happened subsequently and varied from a Hawaiian/Strombolian eruption type to a Strombolian/Violent Strombolian type.
By utilizing a water in olivine diffusion rate model, I am able to constrain the magma ascent rate that corresponds to these two eruptive events and see how that rate potentially varied between the two eruptions.
This work would be experimental data that links how the magma ascent rate of an eruption could be a major factor in the explosivity of the eruption itself.
Sadly, the field work that was planned for September, 2021, was cancelled due to wildfires coming dangerously close, and eventually reaching the campsite we had chosen.
Samples were generously given to us by Dr. Michael Clynne, and while I am analyzing these samples, we do intend to reschedule field work when it is safe to do so.