In 1943 in the middle of a corn field in central Mexico, a volcano was born. Near the village of Paricutin, this volcano erupted intermittently for nearly a decade before ceasing. Paricutin is the youngest volcano in a region of hundreds of cinder cones - single use volcanoes that erupt fountaining lava before activity migrates to a different location. In 2006, two seismic networks supported by the IRIS/PASSCAL instrument program were deployed in the region with other objectives. During June of 2006, these networks recorded a vigorous earthquake swarm approximately 15 km from Paricutin. Earthquakes in this area are well known but rarely has there been a research-grade network to help unravel the origin and possible volcanic implications of these earthquake swarms. Using data from the CODEX and MARS networks, we will apply a suite of standard seismology tools to address why this swarm occurred and what it may imply for this volcanic region. This internship will be based at the Geophysical Institute on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In addition to the various PASSCAL projects currently based at UAF, the seismic lab at the GI hosts part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the Alaska Earthquake Information Center. Through these facilities, this internship will provide exposure to the working of real-time seismic networks. In addition to the Paricutin data project, the internship will include an opportunity to participate in one of a number of field projects currently taking shape for the summer.

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