Michelle Lynn Coombs is a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

at the

Alaska Volcano Observatory The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS). AVO ...

(AVO). She was the Scientist-in-Charge from 2016 to 2023. Coombs is a fellow of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

Education

* 1994:

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Geology (

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

) * 2001:

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Geology (

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

)

Personal life

Coombs is married to

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

geologist Evan Thoms. Michelle is originally from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, where

Coombs Coombs is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Coombs (politician) (born 1952), British politician * Anthony Coombs (Canadian football) (born 1992), Canadian football player * Bobby Coombs (1908–1991), America ...

is a common last name.

Career

Coombs was the Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) of AVO from 2016 to 2023. As the SIC, she was in charge of coordinating emergency responses to volcanic eruptions, and guides the process of monitoring volcanic activity in Alaska. She is frequently quoted in the news as a subject-matter expert on volcanoes in and around Alaska. As the SIC, she was also the main contact from the media to AVO. Dr. Matthew Haney became the new SIC of AVO in August 2023, succeeding Coombs.Alaska Volcano Observatory
Retrieved Aug. 15, 2023.United States Geological Survey, Staff Profiles, Dr. Matt M. Haney
Retrieved Aug. 15, 2023. She is the second woman in AVO history to serve as the Alaskan SIC, as Terry Keith held the position from . When she became SIC in 2016, she was one of 3 women serving as a Scientist-in-Charge of a USGS-operated

Volcano Observatory A volcano observatory is an institution that conducts research and monitoring of a volcano. Each observatory provides continuous and periodic monitoring of the Seismology, seismicity, other geophysical changes, ground movements, volcanic gas chemis ...

, but as of March 2023, she was the only one. She has worked with the AVO since 2004, before which she worked for the USGS's

Volcano Hazards Program The Volcano Hazards Program is a program directed by the USGS that monitors the activity of volcanoes and the public awareness of eruptions. Under the mandate of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), the ...

out of

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; ...

; which she joined after completing her Ph.D. While Coombs was in college, she was a field assistant to Judy Fierstein. Once she began working at AVO, she became a mentee of Terry Keith and Tina Neal. Coombs was the advisor to a 2011 internship studying the 2006 eruption of

Augustine Volcano Augustine Volcano (Sugpiaq: ''Utakineq'';https://uafanlc.alaska.edu/Online/G977K1985a/G977K1985a_02.PDF Dena'ina: ''Chu Nula'') is a lava dome volcano in Alaska consisting of a central complex of summit lava domes and flows surrounded by an a ...

. She had previously co-edited a 2010 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper on the eruption. Coombs has also been a participant of a volcanic eruptions workshop from the

National Academies A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

Research

Coomb's main research focus is

volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word ''vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...

. Much of her research is on volcanic geology in Alaska, but she has also published research on volcanoes in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, and her doctoral dissertation was on

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

, Maine. Coombs is an expert on the geology of the

Aleutian Arc The Aleutian Arc is a large volcanic arc in the U.S. state of Alaska. It consists of a number of active and dormant volcanoes that have formed as a result of subduction along the Aleutian Trench. Although taking its name from the Aleutian Islands ...

, having published extensively on it. In 2019, Coombs and a group of collaborators were awarded a

NSF NSF may stand for: Political organizations *National Socialist Front, a Swedish National Socialist party *NS-Frauenschaft, the women's wing of the former German Nazi party *National Students Federation, a leftist Pakistani students' political gr ...

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

to model eruptions of Alaskan volcanoes.

Affiliations

As well as currently being a fellow to the Geological Society of America (GSA), she stood on the Student Awards Committee for the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

(AGU) from 2011–2015. Coombs was an Associate Editor for the ''

Bulletin of Volcanology The ''Bulletin of Volcanology'' is a peer reviewed scientific journal that is published ten times per year by Springer Science+Business Media. It is the official journal of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth' ...

'' (2013–2016), and was on the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, a ...

of ''

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research ''Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research'' is a scientific journal that publishes recent research on the fields of volcanology and geothermal activity, as well as the societal and environmental impact of these phenomenon. Abstracting and ...

'' (2007–2018). She has also served as a Steering Committee member for the Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Michelle Date of birth missing (living people) American volcanologists Date of birth unknown American women geologists United States Geological Survey personnel Living people Fellows of the Geological Society of America Williams College alumni University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty