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October 10, 2016

Hannah’s summer volcanology internship

Hannah Rodger

Third year BSc Earth and Environmental Science (study abroad) student Hannah Rodger has just completed a summer Volcanology Internship at the Centro de Intercambio e Investigación en Vulcanología, Colima, Mexico. Read about Hannah’s experience and how she found out about it below.

What did you do this summer? This summer I spent 3 months in Mexico volunteering at the CIIV (Centro de Intercambio e Investigación en Vulcanología or, in English, Centre of Exchange and Research in Volcanology) in Colima. I worked alongside other volunteers, mainly from the UK, undertaking a number of projects in order to investigate the behaviour of Volcán de Colima. In particular, in the lab I was working on a project looking at the dependence of rockfalls on explosions, which involved analysing seismic data. I went on a number of field trips to the volcano where I was lucky enough to see my first eruption! On field trips we would set up equipment to collect SO2 data, thermal data, infrasound and photographs, as well as collecting ash samples and striation data caused by pyroclastic flows in 2015.

How did you find out about it? I found out about this internship when I was looking on the internet for volcanology internships. There are only a limited number of volcanology internships around the world and at first I wasn’t sure whether to apply because I am early on in my career and I didn’t think they would accept me onto the internship, but I am glad I did because my 3 months in Mexico were some of the best months of my life so far!

Did you have to apply? If so, how did you make yourself stand out? Yes, I had to apply. I think the fact that I had spent my previous year studying abroad in Iceland made me stand out!

Has it helped you think about what you want to do in the future? Volcanology has always been a passion of mine and something that I would like to pursue in the future. Completing this internship has confirmed this and I after I graduate I would like to do an MSc in Volcanology.

Any other information: If you want to find out more about this internship, the website is http://ciiv.ucol.mx/