About

Einat Lev is a Lamont Associate Research Professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. She began her role as a Lamont-Doherty Postdoctoral Fellow in 2009. Her research focuses on the fluid mechanics and physical processes that control volcanic eruptions. Specifically, she studies how the complex properties of magma and lava, along with variable eruption conditions, influence the outcomes of eruptions. Her methodological approach includes numerical modeling, fluid mechanics experiments using materials analogous to magma and lava, field surveys, and aerial photography. Einat holds a B.Sc. in Geophysics and Computer Science from Tel-Aviv University in Israel and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT. She has published extensively in scientific journals and has contributed to popular science blogs and radio interviews. Beyond her research, she is passionate about science education and aims to bring insights from basic research into applications that benefit society, as well as expanding the reach of science education to all sections of society.

Research topics

• Geology
• Mechanics
• Computer science
• Seismology
• Geophysics

Selected publications

• Soil CO ₂ Degassing and Temperature at Poás Volcano: Evidence From the 2025 Eruptive Phase

  Geofluids · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Soil carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) degassing provides valuable insights into volcano–hydrothermal systems, especially during their active phases. Soil CO 2 flux and temperature surveys are particularly useful where direct access to vents is limited, providing information on subsurface magmatic dynamics. This multidisciplinary study presents new heat and soil degassing data from Poás Volcano, which entered an active phase in early 2025 with frequent phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions. Between March 9 and 15, 2025, we conducted soil CO 2 flux and temperature surveys along the northeastern part of the crater rim and the crater upper terrace to investigate the spatial extent of soil degassing beyond the main fumarolic fields. Despite limited access, we obtained 251 flux and temperature measurements, using three portable accumulation chambers, complemented by seven samples for carbon isotopic analyses. Soil CO 2 fluxes were generally low in the study area, with a mean value of 1.89 ± 0.05 g m −2 day −1 at the crater rim, reaching a maximum of 624.31 ± 4.65 g m −2 day −1 near fumaroles on the upper terrace. Interestingly, we also detected a localized thermal anomaly of approximately 2–5°C above background levels in the crater rim, possibly associated with fumarolic activity on the upper terrace. The soil CO 2 flux along the crater rim exhibits minor contributions from biogenic and magmatic CO 2 (≤3%). At the Poás crater rim, low CO 2 fluxes, near‐atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, and δ 13 C–CO 2 isotopic fractionation patterns indicate that gas transport is dominated by diffusion in the very shallow subsurface, as confirmed by Fick’s model, with negligible advection due to the absence of measurable pressure gradients.

  PublisherDOI

• Sustained High-Magnitude H2O Flux: Quantifying Exceptional Water Vapor Emission and Shallow Fluid-System Dynamics at the 2021 La Palma Eruption

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  The 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma, Canary Islands, was a prolonged event characterized by high intensity and significant emission of volcanic gases. Water vapor (H2O), the most abundant volcanic volatile, is often significantly under-measured due to challenges associated with plume measurement and atmospheric entrainment. This study applies and validates a novel methodology using a portable thermal infrared (TIR) camera combined with a mass and energy conservation model to quantify the H2O mass flux throughout the 85-day eruption. We estimate the total H2O released at 597.9 ± 24 Mt, classifying Tajogaite as one of the highest sustained high-flux tropospheric degassing events recorded globally. An exceptional peak rate of 156 Mt/d was observed on September 22, 2021, shortly after the eruption onset. The temporal evolution of the H2O flux shows a strong correlation with long-period (1–5 Hz) seismic tremors, suggesting a direct link between shallow magmatic/fluid processes and gas release dynamics. We calculate an H2O/CO2 mass ratio of 21.3, which is consistent with the high CO2 signature of the island's intra-plate alkaline magmatism (Burton et al., 2023). However, the resulting H2O/SO2 ratio (373.7) is significantly higher than previous estimates and global basaltic analogues (e.g., Miyakejima approx 10), underscoring the dominance of a shallow, hydrothermal-driven H2O component, which decoupled from the exponentially decaying SO2 flux in the final stages of the eruption.

  PublisherDOI

• Dynamics and evolution of the Kılauea lower East Rift Zone 2018 fissure 8 lava flow and implications for multiphase magma properties

  Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research · 2026-03-12 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A drone-based prototype technique for monitoring soil degassing at active volcanic craters

  Earth Planets and Space · 2025-10-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Developing techniques to monitor volcanic activity from safe distances is crucial for advancing scientific knowledge while protecting the safety of field personnel. One of the most demanding tasks in this context is the measurement of soil gas emissions, which offer valuable insights into fluid migration through the shallow crust and act as an early indicator of volcanic unrest and potential eruptive activity. Traditional soil degassing measurements commonly require two operators to be physically present with the instrument, sometimes exposing them to hazardous conditions. In this study, we present a new method for performing soil degassing measurements from a safe distance, using a customized Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS). This drone-based approach was designed to carry out accumulation chamber measurements in hazardous or otherwise inaccessible areas. We tested the system at four locations around the active crater of Poás Volcano in Costa Rica, where we collected data on CO 2 and H 2 O fluxes, along with soil temperature and moisture. Our results reveal spatial variability in gas emissions and surface conditions across the study sites. A site located on the crater rim (Site 1) showed the highest CO 2 and H 2 O fluxes, indicating active gas release possibly associated with structural features. A second site, located within the crater (Site 2), exhibited elevated H 2 O flux without detectable CO 2 , suggesting localized processes related to moisture transport. Our experiment on another crater site (Site 3) produced a complete and high-quality dataset, demonstrating the operational success of the method. In contrast, measurements at the last crater site (Site 4) were affected by chamber sealing issues and potentially by the influence of volcanic gas plumes. While the experiment faced several challenges, including imperfect ground-sensor contact as well as occasional telemetry interruptions, it successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using drones for soil degassing surveys. Based on these findings, we identify specific areas for improvement and propose future directions to enhance the system reliability and performance. Overall, this method offers a promising tool for extending soil gas measurements to hazardous or hard-to-reach environments, contributing to safer and more comprehensive monitoring of active volcanic systems. Graphical Abstract

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• VICTOR—A new cyberinfrastructure for volcanology

  Volcanica · 2025-12-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We introduce the Volcanology Infrastructure for Computational Tools and Resources (VICTOR), a cloud-based cyberinfrastructure designed to modernize computational workflows and data access in volcanology. Built around a scalable JupyterHub environment, VICTOR provides users with an array of pre-installed modeling tools, remote sensing data access workflows, geochemical calculators, and the pyVICTOR utility library for geospatial and visualization tasks. The platform drives educational efforts through courses, modular teaching materials, and multilingual documentation. VICTOR promotes open science by making tools findable, accessible, interoperable, and reproducible (FAIR) and enables innovative workflows including multi-model intercomparisons and inversion schemes. We describe its architecture, current tool suite, community engagement activities, and plans for model coupling, machine learning integration, and expanded observatory support. VICTOR exemplifies a community-driven approach to infrastructure that empowers researchers, educators, and stakeholders in volcanic hazard science.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dynamics and Evolution of the Kīlauea Lower East Rift Zone 2018 Fissure 8 Lava Flow and Implications for Multiphase Magma Properties

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Numerical simulation of the effect of solidifying crusts on lava propagation and arrest

  2024-03-11

  preprintOpen accessCorresponding

  Silicate melts have highly temperature-dependent viscosity and at low temperatures, crystalize and/ or vitrify. The development of a solid rind or carapace results in a transition in deformation mechanism from dominantly viscous to elastic or plastic. This transition has a significant impact on the rate and style of emplacement of lava flows and domes, including on the construction of channelized flows, over-steepened margins, and advance due to lava flow breakouts. These processes are especially important in subaqueous, subglacial, and extraterrestrial environments in which cooling is accelerated, resulting in a current lack of models specifically calibrated for these environments.We develop a numerical model, Viscous-Elastic Numerically Unified Solver for Solidifying flows (VENUSS), for cooling and solidifying free surface flows. The model couples a viscous fluid interior with an elastic shell whose thickness grows in response to cooling. We use a numerically unified approach that solves for the velocity field in the viscous and elastic fields together. Interface tracking is provided using the level set method combined with an extended finite element (XFEM) approach to avoid costly remeshing. Simulations are performed in two-dimensional planar or axisymmetric conditions which allows for modeling natural geometries such as lava flows and lava domes. This approach presents an improvement upon existing models of lava flow and dome evolution that either neglect or greatly simplify the mechanical effects of a crust.As a validation/test of our model, we simulate the advance of meter-scale experimental lava flows from the Syracuse Lava Project. We find the flow propagation is highly sensitive to the boundary conditions applied at the flow base. Under no-slip conditions, the simulated flow arrests more quickly than the experiments. No-stress conditions at the flow base produce plug-like flow that propagates too quickly. Adding an imposed ruptured condition (no solidification and viscosity appropriate to the flow interior) in a thin layer at the flow base produces a lobate morphology that qualitatively resembles observations of natural and experimental flows.In our models, flows are slowed and stopped by the development of a coherent crust at the flow front, whereas natural flows would continue to propagate via rupture of the skin or crust, highlighting the importance of including these mechanisms in models. However, crust development and rupture are usually omitted from lava flow models, in which propagation and arrest are usually controlled by an increase in viscosity through the entire flow thickness. Our new model allows for investigation into the development and arrest of lava flows that depends on geometry, the competition between flow advance and cooling, and the mechanical properties of a solidified skin or crust. Such insight can be embedded into flow field scale models and allow for physics-based, complex flow fields impacted by breakouts, ooze-outs, channelization, and other critical crust-dominated processes.

  PublisherDOI

• Magnetic resonance imaging of a stream of bubbles injected into liquid suspensions

  Chemical Engineering Journal · 2024-06-18 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• JanineBirnbaum18/VENUSS

  Open MIND · 2023-09-11

  otherOpen access

  Release of v1.0 of Viscous-Elastic Numerically Unified Solver for Solidifying flows (VENUSS).

  PublisherDOI

• AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF GEYSER GEOMETRY ON ERUPTION DYNAMICS

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2023-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Investigating the Impact of Temporal and Spatial Variations on Lava Emplacement Through Numerical and Physical Models

  NSF · $597k · 2017–2024

• NSF/GEO-NERC: Collaborative Research: Multi-scale investigation of rheology and emplacement of multi-phase lava

  NSF · $374k · 2019–2024

• Active Lava Lakes as a Window into Magma and Volcano Dynamics

  NSF · $310k · 2014–2018

• Connecting Lava Rheology and Flow Dynamics Using Novel Field and Modeling Techniques

  NSF · $150k · 2012–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Janine Birnbaum

  Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

  56 shared

• Julie Oppenheimer

  European Research Council

  47 shared

• B. B. Carr

  21 shared

• Alison Graettinger

  18 shared

• Jacopo Taddeucci

  Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia

  17 shared

• Greg A. Valentine

  University at Buffalo, State University of New York

  17 shared

• Tracianne B. Neilsen

  Brigham Young University

  17 shared

• Ingo Sonder

  University at Buffalo, State University of New York

  17 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Earth, atmospheric and Planetary Science

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  2009

• B.Sc., Geophysics

  Tel-Aviv University

  2001

Awards & honors

• Columbia SPS CUNY Fellowship
• Columbia HBCU Fellowship Program