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Whether investigating lava streams on Mount Hood, studying magma from Mount St. Helens, or analyzing the active life of the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, PSU professor Martin Streck and his student researchers hope to understand when and why volcanic eruptions take place.

“Mount St. Helens and the volcanic rocks covering much of Oregon make a fabulous laboratory for my research,” said Streck, a volcanologist in Portland State's Department of Geology.

The volcano-dominated landscape in the Pacific Northwest and the unprecedented access to a live volcano also allows students to research the unknown factors behind these awesome geological forces.

Currently, Streck and a graduate student are collaborating with the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory to compare mineral and chemical changes in the magma samples from Mount St. Helens' 1980 eruption with current samples. By using new advanced technologies, such as an electron microprobe, Streck hopes to decipher the inner volcanic processes involved in making the magma.