100th anniversary of Novarupta-Katmai eruption lecture April 25

April 13, 2012

Marmian Grimes

Speaker Judy Fierstein, research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, will present a lecture titled, The Novarupta-Katmai Eruption of 1912 – Largest Eruption of the 20th Century: A Centennial Perspective.

This event will take place at 7:30 p.m., April 25, in the Boyd Room, 201 Reichardt Building, and is free to the public.

One hundred years ago this June, a three-day explosive eruption at Novarupta on the Alaska Peninsula near King Salmon became one of the
five largest eruptions in recorded history. It created the spectacular Katmai caldera and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, which early explorers called the eighth wonder of the world. Preserved as a National Monument in 1918, and now part of Katmai National Park, the eruption created an outdoor laboratory that has captivated scientists and sightseers alike for 100 years.

Katmai expert Judy Fierstein will tell the story of those three dramatic days and what has been learned from the 1912 eruption about large explosive events. Fierstein will explain how geologist “volcano detectives” explored and examined the eruption’s aftermath, how the eruption has remained scientifically important for 100 years, and why Katmai still offers insights about earth processes that shape our world.

This presentation is sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service and the Alaska Historical Society. For more information contact Jessica Larsen, Geophysical Institute, at 474-7992.