University of Nevada, Reno

The exchange opportunity at the University of Nevada-Reno would enable a Chilean student to be part of an ongoing NSF-Frontier in the Earth Sciences Project entitled “The interplay of surface evolution, shallow magmatism, a large hydrothermal system, and hazards at Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcanic Complex, Chile” which is a collaborative project between five US institutions and four collaborating institutions in Chile. The ongoing project takes a multi-disciplinary approach to study the emplacement and evolution of near surface magma during the 2011-12 Cordón Caulle eruption. Recent field work has led to a first set of preliminary data that are currently being processed and interpreted, including volcanological, geophysical, and hydrological data. The group at the University of Nevada-Reno is the lead institution of this project that also serves as pilot study for volcano-focused SZ4D research. There will be three lines of potential research involvement at UNR as part of this project: 1) The visiting student will be involved in data collection and sample preparation related to the transitional volcanic activity as Plinian activity ceased and the effusive eruption of silicic lava commenced. 2) Analysis of the surface evolution since the eruption and potential quantification of the hydrological system that currently discharges the area associated with the near-surface intrusion. 3) processing and analysis of the gas chemistry data collected during the austral summer of 2024. In light of additional field seasons in 2025 and beyond a potential involvement during future field campaign may be possible.
The emplaced magma represents a major hazard in this region that may be triggered by future volcanic activity, by shaking associated with earthquakes (the nearby 1960 eruption is the best example of earthquake triggered volcanism), or by mass unloading associated with landslides and other surface processes.
As this project has a built in component of inviting research participation from outside the PI and collaborator team (primarily in field season of 2026 and onward), we consider this an additional opportunity for network building across the already strong US-Chile collaboration. This project may serve an important test bed to see how SZNet can be incorporated into ongoing research activities.