Announcements News

September 13, 2017 at 4:34 pm

Volcanologist Patricia Nadeau Joins Geological Sciences

Dr. Patricia Nadeau, standing outside in a park

Dr. Patricia Nadeau

The Department of Geological Sciences welcomes Dr. Patricia Nadeau as a visiting assistant professor this fall.

Nadeau’s research centers on volcanic systems and includes topics from magma generation and evolution to analyzing volcanic gases.

She is excited to bring that expertise into the classroom, and students in introductory courses including GEOL 1010: How the Earth Works through geology majors will able to benefit from her extensive background in these (and many more) explosive topics.

Dr. Patricia Nadeau with a fresh pahoehoe flow at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Dr. Patricia Nadeau with a fresh pahoehoe flow at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

“My research interests lie in the field of volcanology,” Nadeau says. “During my undergraduate and master’s work at McGill University and Simon Fraser University, respectively, I focused specifically on remote sensing of volcanic sulfur dioxide emissions, as well as the environmental impact of such emissions at volcanoes in Central America. Later, during my doctoral research at Michigan Technological University, I continued work on the remote sensing of volcanic sulfur dioxide by helping to develop an ultraviolet camera to image and measure the sulfur dioxide in volcanic plumes at a high temporal resolution.

Dr. Patricia Nadeau at Mount St. Helens in Washington state

Dr. Patricia Nadeau at Mount St. Helens in Washington state

“I built on that with added integration of other geophysical datasets, including seismicity, infrasound, and ground deformation, in order to better understand shallow conduit processes and eruption mechanisms at volcanoes in Central America and Hawaii. My postdoctoral work at the American Museum of Natural History was a departure from active volcanism as I delved into the petrology and mineralogy of a large Pleistocene rhyolite from Augustine Volcano, Alaska, to investigate the origins of the magmatic system and potential modern hazards.

Dr. Patricia Nadeau taking the temperature of the fumarole (gas vent) at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

Dr. Patricia Nadeau taking the temperature of the fumarole (gas vent) at Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

“I’m currently still working on rocks from Augustine to better constrain the evolution of the volcano from early bimodal activity to the intermediate eruptions of the present time. Here at Ohio University, two senior undergraduate students will be joining me on this research project.” she says.

“When I’m not traipsing around in the field, teaching in the classroom, or in my office trying to interpret my data, you’ll usually find me playing ice hockey, volunteering at the local animal shelter, or singing as a member of a community choir.”

 

 

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