Written by: Amanda Florea, WWU graduate student

Summer 2022: I traveled to Lassen Volcanic National Park in California to study Cinder Cone. The overall goal of my work was to determine magma ascension rates throughout the cone’s eruption. The goals of this trip were to sample changes in the tephra throughout the eruption and hopefully find the elusive first eruptive unit. This meant digging some pits to expose the entire stratigraphic section produced by Cinder Cone. Being in the field really helped everything “click” for me. I had seen the map of Cinder Cone plenty of times, but never truly appreciated the difference between the lava flows or how thick the tephra deposits are. Being able to see the beautifully preserved stratigraphy in situ and being able to ask questions as the section was being described helped me make connections about the eruptive processes. One of the most valuable parts of working in the field, for me, is being able to collaborate with other scientists. I was able to gain insight from others in our group. Learning how their research relates to what I was working on as well as the bigger picture for the eruptive history was so exciting. I can’t wait to see what we learn from the samples we were able to collect!