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Mary C. Benage, Ph.D.

(She/her)

I am a Volcanologist at the Cascades Volcano Observatory. My research focus is explosive volcanic processes such as lahar transport, physics of turbulent flows in eruption columns, and magma ascent and eruption style. To investigate these eruption processes, I use numerical modeling, analog laboratory experiments, and petrologic studies.

Professional Experience

  • 2021-present: Research Geophysicist, Cascades Volcano Observatory

  • 2017-2021: USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, Cascades Volcano Observatory

  • 2016-2017: Smithsonian Institution Peter Buck and Secretary's Postdoctoral Fellow, National Museum of Natural History

  • 2015-2016: Postdoctoral Researcher, Georgia Institute of Technology

  • 2008-2009: Post-Baccalaureate Intern, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Geophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015

  • B.S. Geology with minor in Mathematics (summa cum laude), Colorado Mesa University, 2008

Science and Products

Explosive 2018 eruptions at Kīlauea driven by a collapse-induced stomp-rocket mechanism

Explosive volcanic eruptions produce hazardous atmospheric plumes composed of tephra particles, hot gas and entrained air. Such eruptions are generally driven by magmatic fragmentation or steam expansion. However, an eruption mechanism outside this phreatic–magmatic spectrum was suggested by a sequence of 12 explosive eruptions in May 2018 at Kīlauea, Hawaii, that occurred during the...
Authors
Joshua Allen Crozier, Josef Dufek, Leif Karlstrom, Kyle R. Anderson, Ryan Cain Cahalan, Weston Thelen, Mary Catherine Benage, Chao Liang
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Eruption of compositionally heterogeneous andesites from a complex storage region during the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano

Despite the common occurrence of heterogeneous andesitic eruptions, few studies have investigated the compositional effects on microlite crystallization and vesiculation in co-erupted natural samples. In 2006, Augustine Volcano erupted compositionally heterogeneous andesites that range from 56.4 to 63.3 wt% SiO2 and include two endmember lithologic groups: low-silica andesite (LSA) and...
Authors
Mary Catherine Benage, Heather M. Wright, Michelle L. Coombs
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Science and Products

Explosive 2018 eruptions at Kīlauea driven by a collapse-induced stomp-rocket mechanism

Explosive volcanic eruptions produce hazardous atmospheric plumes composed of tephra particles, hot gas and entrained air. Such eruptions are generally driven by magmatic fragmentation or steam expansion. However, an eruption mechanism outside this phreatic–magmatic spectrum was suggested by a sequence of 12 explosive eruptions in May 2018 at Kīlauea, Hawaii, that occurred during the...
Authors
Joshua Allen Crozier, Josef Dufek, Leif Karlstrom, Kyle R. Anderson, Ryan Cain Cahalan, Weston Thelen, Mary Catherine Benage, Chao Liang
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Eruption of compositionally heterogeneous andesites from a complex storage region during the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano

Despite the common occurrence of heterogeneous andesitic eruptions, few studies have investigated the compositional effects on microlite crystallization and vesiculation in co-erupted natural samples. In 2006, Augustine Volcano erupted compositionally heterogeneous andesites that range from 56.4 to 63.3 wt% SiO2 and include two endmember lithologic groups: low-silica andesite (LSA) and...
Authors
Mary Catherine Benage, Heather M. Wright, Michelle L. Coombs
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
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