Education

Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University (1960)

Research Interests

My current research is focussed on volcanoes in Japan and Hawaii. My work is exciting and I think important. Briefly:

Japan: In collaboration with scientists of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC), I have been studying a submarine caldera volcano, similar to the familiar Crater Lake structure in Oregon. This caldera volcano is located 400 km south of Tokyo at an ocean depth of about 1400 m. I and Japanese colleagues have made a total of 15 manned submersible dives into this volcano and have discovered the following:

• Huge volumes of lightweight pumice (literally cubic miles of it) can be erupted from submarine volcanoes, a concept heretofore denied by most volcanologists. Besides expanding our understanding of similar submarine volcanoes worldwide, our findings are sharpening the appreciation of the hazards posed by such volcanoes. Our work also has relevance to those many geologists studying ancient volcanoes of this type preserved in the geologic record. Now they have a present-day example for comparison.
• In the course of our work, we discovered a huge mass of metallic sulfides growing on the floor of the caldera. Somewhat akin to the familiar "black smokers" that occur along mid-ocean ridges, this newly-discovered mass is also fed by smokers, but in contrast these are extraordinarily rich in gold and silver. Crude estimates of the in situ value of this deposit range from $1 to 2 billion (no typo- billion!). The Japanese are currently carrying out a program of sea-floor drilling to quantify the full dimensions and metals content of the mass, and it is quite possible that the deposit will eventually be mined. I believe our work is a good example of quality basic research that has led to a discovery of great potential value.
• Our findings have been published in Science (v. 283, 1999), the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America (v. 113, 2001), and in several Japanese language journals.

Hawaii: In collaboration with the Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, I and an NMNH colleague are about mid-way through a study of explosive eruptive activity at Kilauea Volcano that took place about 1200 years ago.

• We have discovered abundant evidence for an explosion from this supposedly gentle volcano that hurled dense pieces of rock as large as grapefruit for distances of 10-12 km. Many of these rocks were torn from several km deep within the volcano, and we think they may have been carried to heights of 15-20 km before falling back to earth. Such events have never been imagined, much less documented, but our evidence (gathered over the past 6 years) is compelling.

• Our results are expanding understandings of large shield volcanoes, and they will reveal for the first time some of the extreme hazards they can pose.

• Our research is ongoing, and to date we have only published abstracts of our findings. In the near future we'll begin to prepare articles for publication in various earth science journals.

Publications:

Fiske, R.S., 1963, Subaqueous pyroclastic flows in the Ohanapecosh Formation, Washington: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 74, p. 391-406.

Fiske, R.S., Hopson, C.A., and Waters, A.C., 1963, Geology of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 444, 93p.

Fiske, R.S., and Matsuda, Tokihiko, 1964, Submarine equivalents of ash flows in the Tokiwa Formation, Japan: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 262, p. 76-106.

Fiske, R.S., Hopson, C.A., and Waters, A.C., 1964, Geologic map and section of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map I-432.

Fiske, R.S., and Koyanagi, R.Y., 1968, The December 1965 eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: U.S. Geological Survey Prof. Paper 607, p. 1-21.

Fiske, R.S., 1969, Recognition and significance of pumice in marine pyroclastic rocks: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 80, p. 1-8.

Moore, J.G., and Fiske, R.S., 1969, Volcanic substructure inferred from dredge samples and ocean-bottom photographs, Hawaii: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 80, p. 1191-1202.

Fiske, R.S., and Kinoshita, W.T., 1969, Inflation of Kilauea Volcano prior to its 1967-68 eruption: Science, v. 165, p. 341-349.

Kinoshita, W.T., Koyanagi, R.Y., Wright, T.L., and Fiske, R.S., 1969, Kilauea Volcano: the 1967-68 summit eruption: Science, v. 166, p. 459-468.

Wright, T.L., and Fiske, R.S., 1971, Origin of the differentiated and hybrid lavas of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: Jour. Petrology, v. 12, p. 1-65.

Fiske, R.S., and Jackson, E.D., 1972, Orientation and growth of Hawaiian volcanic rifts: the effect of regional structure and gravitational stresses: Proc. Royal Society of London, v. 329, p. 299-326.

Swanson, D.A., Duffield, W.A., and Fiske, R.S., 1976, Displacements of the south flank of Kilauea Volcano: The result of forceful intrusions of magma into the rift zones: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 963, 39p.

Tobisch, O.T., and Fiske, R.S., 1976, Significance of conjugate folds and crenulations in the central Sierra Nevada, California: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 87, p. 1411-1420.

Tobisch, O.T., Fiske, R.S., Sacks, S., and Taniguchi, D., 1977, Strain in metamorphosed volcaniclastic rocks and its bearing on the evolution of orogenic belts: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 88, p. 23-40.

Fiske, R.S., and Tobisch, O.T., 1978, Paleogeographic significance of volcanic rocks of the Ritter Range pendant, central Sierra Nevada, California: in Mesozoic Sympos. Vol. 2, Soc. Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, p. 209-221.

Shepherd, J.B., Aspinall, W.P., Rowley, K.C., Pereira, J., Sigurdsson, H., Fiske, R.S., and Tomblin, J.F., 1979, The eruption of Soufriere Volcano, St. Vincent, April-June 1979: Nature, v. 282, p. 24-28.

Fiske, R.S., 1980, Volcano hazards: Lessons learned in the eastern Caribbean: Earthquake Research Bull., U.S. Geol. Survey, v. 12, no. 4, p. 150-153.

Ryan, M.P., Koyanagi, and Fiske, R.S., 1981, Modeling the three- dimensional structure of macroscopic magma transport systems: Applications to Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: Jour. Geophys. Research, v. 86, p. 7111-7129.

Fiske, R.S., 1982, Volcano hazards- Lessons learned in the eastern Caribbean: in Resources for the twenty-first century- -Proceedings of the International Centennial Symposium of the U.S. Geological Survey, Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 1193, p. 256-260.

Tobisch, O.T., and Fiske, R.S., 1982, Repeated parallel deformation in part of the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, and its implications for dating structural events: Jour. Struct. Geol., v. 4, p. 177-195.

Fiske, R.S., and Sigurdsson, H., 1982, Soufriere Volcano, St. Vincent: Observations of its 1979 eruption from the ground, aircraft, and satellites: Science, v. 216, p. 1105- 1106.

Fiske, R.S., and Shepherd, J.B., 1982, Deformation studies on Soufriere, St. Vincent, between 1977 and 1981: Science, v. 216, p. I 125- 1126.

Simkin, T., and Fiske, R.S., 1983, Krakatau 1883- The volcanic eruption and its effects: Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 470 p.

Simkin, T., and Fiske, R.S., 1983, Krakatau 1883: Earthquake Information Bull., U.S. Geol. Survey, v. 15, no. 4, p. 128-133.

Simkin, T. and Fiske, R.S., 1983, Krakatau 1883: A classic geophysical event: EOS, v. 64, no. 34, p. 513-514.

Fiske, R.S., 1984, Volcanologists, journalists, and the concerned local public: A tale of two crises in the eastern Caribbean: in Studies in Geophysics Explosive Volcanism: Inception, Evolution and Hazards , National Academy Press, Washington, p. 170-176.

Fiske, R.S., and Nielsen, E., 1985, Church's Cotopaxi- A modern volcanological perspective: in exhibition catalog Creation and Renewal- Views of Cotopaxi by Frederic Edwin Church National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, p. 1-6.

Tobisch, O.T., Saleeby, J.B., and Fiske. R.S., 1986, Structural history of continental volcanic arc rocks, eastern Sierra Nevada, California: A case for extensional tectonics: Tectonics, v. 5, no. 1, p. 65-94.

Fiske, R.S., Simkin, T., and Nielsen, E., [eds.], 1987, The Volcano Letter: Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1500 p.

Fiske, R.S., 1988, Obituary for Kazuaki Nakamura: Bull. Volcanology, v. 50, p. 65-68.

Fiske, R.S., 1988, Volcanoes and society-- challenges of coexistence: Kagoshima Intl. Conf. on Volcanoes Proceedings, p. 14-21.

Duffield, W.A. and Fiske, R.S., 1989, A teacher's guide to the film INSIDE HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES: U.S. Geol. Survey Open File Rept. 89-685, 22 p.

Fiske, R.S. and Shepherd, J.B., 1990, Twelve years of ground-tilt measurements on the Soufriere of St. Vincent, 1977-1989: Bull. Volcanology, v. 52, p. 227-241.

Delaney, P.T., Fiske, R.S., Miklius, A., Okamura, A.T., and Sako, M.K., 1990, Deep magma body beneath the summit and rift zones of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: Science, v. 247, p. 1311-1316.

Cashman, K.V. and Fiske, R.S., 1991, Fallout of pyroclastic debris from submarine volcanic eruptions: Science, v. 253, p. 275-280.

Fiske, R.S., 1991, Under the volcano: Nature, v. 353, p. 307.

Fiske, R.S., 1991, Krakatau: Nat. Geog. Soc. Res. and Explor., v. 7, p. 498.

Fiske, R.S., 1991, Gravitational instability of large oceanic volcanoes: in Oceans and Islands, F.H. Talbot and R.E. Stevenson, Eds., Smithmark, New York, p. 136-139.

Tamura, Y., Koyama, M., and Fiske, R.S., 1991, Paleomagnetic evidence for hot pyroclastic debris flow in the shallow submarine Shirahama Group (Miocene-Pliocene), Japan: Jour. Geophys. Res., v. 96, p. 21,779-21,787.

Hanson, R.B., Sorensen, S.S., Barton, M.D., and Fiske, R.S., 1993, Long-term evolution of fluid-rock interactions in magmatic arcs: Evidence from the Ritter Range Pendant, Sierra Nevada, California, and numerical modeling: Jour. Petrology, V. 34, P. 23-62.

Fiske, R.S. and Tobisch, O.T., 1994, Middle Cretaceous ash-flow tuff and caldera- collapse deposit in the Minarets Caldera, east-central Sierra Nevada, California: Geological Soc. America Bulletin, v. 106, p. 582-593.

Fiske, R.S., Naka, J., Iizasa, K., and Yuasa, M., 1995, Caldera-forming submarine pyroclastic eruption at Myojin Knoll, Izu-Bonin Arc: JAMSTEC Jour. of Deep Sea Research, p. 315-322.

IIzasa, K., Fiske, R.S., Naka, J, and Tsunogai, U., 1995, Hydrothermal mineralization of the Myojin Knoll (Kita-Bayonnaise Submarine Caldera), Shichito-Iwojima Ridge, Izu-Ogasawara Arc: JAMSTEC Jour. of Deep Sea Research, p. 341-350.

Naka, J., Fiske, R.S., Taira, A., Yamamoto, F., Iizasa, K., and Yuasa, M., 1995, Geology of Myojin Knoll, Izu-Bonon Arc, Japan: JAMSTEC Jour. of Deep Sea Research, p. 323-331.

Tsunogai, U., Ishibashi, J., Wakita, H., Gamo, T., Iizasa, K., Fiske, R.S., and Naka, J., 1995, Hydrothermal activity in the Kita-Bayonnaise submarine caldera, Izu-Bonin Arc: JAMSTEC Jour. of Deep Sea Research, p. 333-339.

Fiske, R.S. and Avery, V.F., 1996, Use of SCUBA in the study of explosive submarine volcanism: in Lang and Baldwin, Proced. of Am. Academy of Underwater Sciences Scientific Diving Symposium, p. 121-126.

Iizasa, K., Naka, J., Yuasa, M., and Fiske, R. S., 1997, Sulfide Chimneys and Massive Sulfides at Myojin Knoll Caldera, Izu-Ogasawara Arc: JAMSTEC J. Deep Sea Res., 13, 443-450.

Sorensen, S.S., Dunne, G.C., Hanson, R.B., Barton, M.D., Becker, J., Tobisch, O.T., Fiske, R.S., 1998, From Jurassic shores to Cretaceous plutons: Geochemical evidence for paleoalteration environments of metavolcanic rocks, eastern California: Geological Soc. America Bulletin, v. 110, p. 326-343.

Fiske, R.S., Cashman, K.V., Shibata, A., Watanabe, K., 1998, Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953: Bull. Volcanology, v. 59, 262-275.

Iizasa, K., Fiske, R.S., Ishizuka, M., Yuasa, M., Hashimoto, J., Ishibashi, J., Naka, J., Horii, Y., Fujiwara, Y., Imai, A., Koyama, S, 1999, A Kuroko-type polymetallic sulfide deposit in a submarine silicic caldera: Science, v. 283, 975-977.

Tobisch, O.T., Fiske, R.S., Saleeby, J.B., Holt, E., Sorensen, S.S., 2000, Steep tilting of metavolcanic rocks by multiple mechanisms, central Sierra Nevada, California: Bull. Geological Society America, v. 112, 1043-1058.

Fiske, R.S., Naka, J., Iizasa, K., Yuasa, M., Klaus, A., 2001, Submarine silicic caldera at the front of the Izu-Bonin arc, Japan: Voluminous seafloor eruptions of rhyolite pumice: Geological Soc. America Bulletin, v.113, 813-824.

Avery, V.F., Fiske, R.S., Swanson, D.A., 2002, Leveling, EDM, and crack-monitoring networks in the Koae fault system, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: U.S. Geol. Survey Open-File Report 02-129, 45 p.

Stix, J., Kennedy, B., Hannington, M., Gibson, H., Fiske, R., Mueller, W., Franklin, J., 2003, Caldera-forming processes and the origin of submarine volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits: Geology, v. 31, p. 375-387.

Simkin, T. and Fiske, R.S., 2003, Clouded picture of a big bang: Science, v. 301, p. 50-51.

Tamura, Y., Tani, K., Ishizuka, O., Chang, Q., Shukuno, H., Fiske, R.S., 2005, Are arc basalts dry, wet, or both? Evidence from the Sumisu Caldera volcano, Izu-Bonin Arc, Japan: Jour. Petrology, v. 46, p. 1769-1803.

Fiske, R.S, Tani, K., Tamura, Y., Naka, J., Shukuno, H., Kido, Y, 2005, Sumisu Volcano, Izu-Bonin Arc, Japan: Site of a Rhyolitic Caldera-Forming Eruption From a Small Open-Ocean Island [abs.]: EOS, AGU.

Swanson, D.A., Rose, T.R., Fiske, R.S. 2006, The Layer 6 Scoria Fall About 400 Years ago at Kilauea [abs.] EOS, AGU.

Fiske, R.S, Rose, T.R., Swanson, D.A., 2005, Kulanaokuaiki 3: Product of an Energetic, Diatreme-Like Eruption at Kilauea [abs] EOS, AGU.

Tani, K., Fiske, R.S., Tamura, Y., Naka, J., Shukuno, H., Kido, Y, 2005, Sumisu Volcano, Izu-Bonin Arc, Japan: Site of a Rhyolitic Caldera-Forming Eruption From a Small Open-Ocean Island: in press, Bull. Volcanology