UNC Department of Geological Sciences

Xiaoming Liu

December 11, 2019

Xiaoming Liu is an assistant professor of geochemistry in the Department of Geological Sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies old rocks to better understand Earth's elemental and isotope behavior and, ultimately, its history.

A Volcanologist’s Vigilance

May 11, 2017

As director of Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute, Mario Ruiz has monitored some of the most active (and potentially destructive) volcanoes in South America. After earning his PhD at UNC 10 years ago, Ruiz has come back to Carolina to sift through data from the recent eruption of the Cotopaxi volcano.

The Cotopaxi volcano erupted on August 14, 2015 and continued to emit a mixture of ash and steam until December of 2015.

From their analysis of the data thus far, Ruiz and his colleagues have uncovered an abnormal series of seismic events three months ahead of the eruption.