I am very pleased to announce that the volcano forecasting project TEFRA (Testing Eruption Forecasting through Research and Assimilation) has been approved by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The core of TEFRA will be an open volcano forecasting competition. Please roll up your sleeves and get ready to build a model! There will be a few competition volcanoes with fully open, multiparameter data that span a range of subduction volcano behavior, e.g., open, closed, and phreatic. The research teams will compete to produce hindcasting models that can ingest the extant data and predict a variety of parameters, including eruption onset and progression. Models will be assessed on both accuracy and portability across systems. The final product of the project will be a suite of open-source, quantitative models that have been fully vetted and are ready for use in future eruptions.

There are TEFRA funds available to support research teams. These will be distributed through an open call in the second quarter of 2027 with no restrictions on participant nationality. If you want to learn more or help craft the competition to maximize the utility of the final models, please apply to attend the launch meeting on Dec. 6, 2026 in San Francisco (the Sunday before AGU). Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and travel support is available if you need it, so applying early is to your advantage. Please join us. This should be fun.

If volcano forecasting is not your thing (or even if it is), please take a look at our other upcoming opportunities. The final funded round of the Chile-US exchange program for early career scientists from either country is currently accepting applications through Oct. 12. Spend a month working with an expert in the partner country!

The Chile-Argentina pilot project in March 2027 will focus on differentiating the geological and geohazard signatures of flat slab and ordinary subduction. This SZNet opportunity to explore the Andes is open to any nationality or career stage and applications are due Nov. 2. The Chile-Argentina project is structured like the recent Mt. Hood pilot project where we assembled a group of scientists in the field to focus on the volcano hazard cascade from surge through debris flows. As you can read below, the project produced fundamental new datasets and launched multiple collaborations on subjects ranging from the long-term magma emplacement history to the armoring of the rivers. Come see our presentations at AGU, GSA, IRAVG and GSEV-L and stay tuned for the papers.

That’s it for now. There is plenty going on. Keep reading below for more and don’t miss the “Current Open Calls” section at the bottom of the newsletter.

Take care,

Emily