Dr. Johan
Gilchrist
Dartmouth College · Earth and Planetary Sciences
(he/him/his) · Yoshi
I use field, laboratory, remote-sensing and numerical methods to understand volcanic eruptions, landslides, glaciers, and wildfires. My expertise is in multiphase turbulent flow and explosive eruption dynamics, with growing interests in landslides, wildfire plumes, and methane river flows on Titan.
What would you like to know?
Who I am, what inspires me, and my journey from New Jersey to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
Volcanoes, landslides, glaciers, wildfires and planetary science — my publications, methods, and current projects.
Climate advocacy, museum education, and communicating science to the public.
Mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing, and life beyond the lab.
Research Highlights
Submarine Caldera Eruptions & Terraced Deposits
Nature Geoscience · May 2023 · Vol. 16 No. 5
Our research explores how terraced slopes of submarine caldera volcanoes, such as Santorini, Greece, can be used to estimate elusive eruption source conditions. Fountain physics causes caldera-forming eruption columns to collapse periodically as doughnut-shaped sedimentation waves, generating tsunamis, surfing hot rock avalanches, and submarine pyroclastic density currents — helping explain why large eruptions like Hunga Tonga (Jan 2022) can have surprisingly little climate impact.
Volcanic Vortex Ring Rise Model
Interactive Tool · Runs In-Browser
A 1D variable-entrainment vortex-ring / thermal rise model for natural volcanic vortex rings, adapted for rise through a real, stratified atmosphere. Set the vent conditions and atmosphere, then run the model directly in your browser — no installation required.
Contact
Dr. Johan T. Gilchrist (he/him/his)
Obering Postdoctoral Fellow
Earth and Planetary Sciences Department
Dartmouth College
226A Fairchild Hall
Hanover, NH
