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Colgate geology professor Karen Harpp, wearing a protective gas mask and hard hat, observes the eruption of the Sierra Negra volcano.

The minute she heard of a plume of steam and rivers of lava pouring from Ecuador’s Sierra Negra volcano, Colgate’s Karen Harpp did what any dedicated volcanologist would do: She dropped everything and embarked on the long journey to South America.

Five days of plane rides, a boat trip, a horse trek, and a hike later, she and researchers from the University of Idaho and the University of Alaska arrived at the rim of the volcano, about 2.5 kilometers from what had become a significant eruption.

“It was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience to observe an eruption of a volcano on which we’ve been doing research, so we decided to go down and see it for ourselves,” she said.

After the Oct. 22 eruption, Harpp spent several days measuring ground movements and gathering samples on Sierra Negra, which is located on Isabela Island of the famous Galapagos Island chain.

In her 15-year career studying volcanoes, Harpp has traveled numerous times to the Galapagos and to other “hot spots” around the world with fellow scientists as well as Colgate undergraduates.

In 2002, for example, she participated in a global positioning systems campaign on a then-dormant Sierra Negra (it last erupted in 1979). That study measured the volcano’s inflation and deflation, the accumulation and flow of magma (molten rock) beneath the surface of the Earth.

On this visit, though, she and the two other researchers got the chance to collect samples of lava that they witnessed being erupted. Doing so enabled them to pinpoint the time, place, and how long into the eruption they were released.

Karen Harpp works at a GPS station about 300 meters from the eastern vent of the volcano.

“This is really important for our research,” she explained. “We’re interested in how volcanoes evolve and change over time, because it tells us a lot about what’s going on beneath the surface in the magma chamber.”

While there, she dodged high fire fountains (lava being spewed up to 50 meters in the air in little molten droplets), and watched as the vigor of the eruption gradually increased, at several points blowing lava and gas toward the team and forcing them to don hard hats and gas masks.

She also experienced two earthquakes about three minutes apart, which is usually a sign of magma moving underfoot.

“The feeling of not knowing whether this was just a minor increase in activity or a build-up to a brand new vent opening beneath our feet was pretty unnerving to say the least,” said the geology professor.

Still, with all of the danger involved, Harpp said the trip was a dream come true.

“It was incredibly exciting, awe-inspiring, and magnificent to witness it so close,” she said. “Seeing something you’ve been imagining for years finally happen in real life — actually catching it in action — was definitely about as cool as it gets.”