Elisa Klein
is a Doctoral Researcher in the PRE-COLLAPSE project since April 2021.
In her part of the project, Elisa is working with freely available bathymetric data of volcanic islands around the world.
The majority of the volume of a volcanic island lies beneath the sea surface and is often overlooked. However, the high resolution of topographic satellite data on land is not easily achievable in a marine environment and the outskirts of volcanic islands are often not mapped entirely.
Elisa is combining topographic and bathymetric information in order to create shoreline-crossing datasets of both stable and instable volcanic flanks. From these datasets she is creating a database, containing geomorphological parameters, such as geometry, slope gradients or roughness.
Which are the parameters that are likely to promote or restrict the collapse of a volcanic flank?
To understand this, Elisa will compare the data of stable and instable flanks on a single volcanic island, as well as across volcanos of different geology and sizes around the world.
Additionally, Elisa is involved in the analysis of the Multi-Channel-2D Seismics (MCS) of the REET cruise to the Krakatau archipelago.
Mass movements and instable volcanic flanks build a red thread in Elisa’s CV. It started with her studies of the morphology of sediments offshore Etna, Italy for her Bachelors’ thesis at the University of Kiel where she worked with high resolution 2D reflection seismic, as well as bathymetric data. As a student assistant in the working group “Marine Geophysics and Hydroacoustics”, she had the privilege to participate
in several research cruises, during which she gained knowledge in multi-channel 2D seismic reflection data acquisition and processing. For her Master’s thesis, Elisa chose one of the acquired datasets offshore Fogo, Cape Verdes, which enabled her to do more sophisticated seismic processing and interpretations.
Research Interests
Volcanic flank instability
Quantitative DEM interpretation with QGIS
Marine Volcanic Base Delineation
Geomorphometry of volcanic islands
2D seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation
Geomorphology of Mass Movement Deposits (MTDs)
Science Communication
Contact:
RD4 Dynamics of the Ocean Floor - Marine Geodynamics
phone: 0049-431 600-2660
email: eklein@geomar.de
room: 8C-212
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Wischhofstr. 1-3
24148 Kiel
Germany
CV
Elisa Klein
Education
4/2017 – 11/ 2020
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel: M. Sc. Geophysics
Thesis: Architecture of the Monte Amarello flank collapse deposits offshore Fogo, Cape Verde
7-12 2015
Universitetet i Bergen, Norway: Semester abroad
11/2013 –3/2017
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel: B.Sc. Physics of the Earth system: Meteorology, Oceanography, Geophysics
Thesis: Reflection seismic investigation of tectonic and sedimentary processes south of Messina Strait, Italy
Student Work and Internships
9/2017 – 9/ 2020
Student assistant: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Institute of Geosciences, Geophysics, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krastel Working Group “Marine Geophysics and Hydroacoustics”
Reflection seismic processing with Schlumberger Vista on multiple data sets
2/2017-7/ 2017
Student assistant: Integrated School of Ocean Sciences (ISOS) within the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Dr. Felix Gross.
Modelling of landslide induced tsunami propagation
2/ 2016
Internship: Grundbauingenieure Steinfeld und Partner mbB, Hamburg; i.a. assistance in the geological laboratory, work with sediment cores and samples
Expeditions
August 2023 SO299-2: Hydroacoustic lead (18 days at sea), Sunda Straight, Indonesia
Sep.-Nov. 2022 SO294: 2D reflection seismic processing (49 days at sea), Pacific, Canada
Sep.-Nov. 2021 MSM103: Student assistant for hydroacoustic, 2D reflection seismic and EM surveys on Board RV Maria S. Merian (65 days at sea), Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada
July-Sep. 2019 SO269: Student assistant and second in charge of hydroacoustic survey on Board RV Sonne, assisting with sediment coring. (31 days at sea), South China Sea
May-July 2019 M155: Student assistant on board RV Meteor, reflection seismic and hydroacoustic survey (35 days at sea), Cape Verde Islands
Aug. 2018 AL514: Student assistant at educational marine expedition on board RV Alkor, assisting in teaching B.Sc. students (8 days at sea), Baltic Sea
May-June 2018 CE18008: Student assistant and second in charge of reflection seimic survey on board RV Celtic Explorer (25 days at sea), Charlie-Gibbs-Fracture-Zone, North Atlantic
Jul. 2017 AL496: Student assistant on board RV Alkor, reflection seismic survey, sediment coring (10 days at sea), North Sea
Oct. 2016 AL487: Participant of educational marine expedition embedded in the study program on board RV Alkor (4 days at sea), Baltic Sea
Further Qualifications and Awards
Award: Annual Award 2018 of the friends of the faculty of maths and natural science, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel for a very good study performance and long lasting social engagement
Publications
Klein, E., Hadré, E. Urlaub, M. and Krastel, S. An evaluation of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean in shoreline-crossing geomorphometric investigations of volcanic islands; Frontiers in Marine Science, Section Ocean Observation, Volume 10 - 2023 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1259262
Furst S, Urlaub M, Klein E and Bonanati C (2023) Are eruptions reliable precursors to marine volcano collapses?. Front. Earth Sci. 11:1130561. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1130561
Conferences
Klein, Elisa; Emma Hadré; Urlaub, Morelia and Krastel, Sebastian (2023) What GEBCO can do for us: A comparison of shoreline-crossing DEMs of volcanic islands [Talk] In: DGG Annual Meeting 2023, March 06-09, 2022, Bremen
Klein, Elisa; Emma Hadré; Urlaub, Morelia and Krastel, Sebastian (2023) Crossing the (shore) line: A geomorphometric database of volcanic islands [Poster] In: Marine Volcanism Workshop 2023, September 12-15, 2023, Kiel
Klein, Elisa; Urlaub, Morelia and Krastel, Sebastian (2022) From Summit to Seafloor – A shoreline-crossing quantitative DEM analysis on volcanic flank instability [Talk]
In: International Conference on Seafloor Landforms, Processes and Evolution,July 04-06, 2022, Valetta, Malta (in person)
Klein, Elisa; Urlaub, Morelia and Krastel, Sebastian (2022) Shoreline-crossing geomorphology of instable volcanic islands from a quantitative DEM analysis [Talk] In: EGU General Assembly 2022, May 23-27, 2022, Vienna (in person)
Klein, Elisa; Urlaub, Morelia and Krastel, Sebastian (2022) How does the geomorphometry of a volcanic island influence the stability of its flanks? [Poster] In: DGG Annual Meeting 2022, March 07-10, 2022, Munich (online)
Klein, Elisa; Lebas, Elodie; Ramalho, Ricardo; Barrett, Rachel; Krastel, Sebastian (2021) Reassessing the volume and multi-phase nature of the Monte Amarelo flank collapse based on high resolution reflection seismics, Fogo, Cape Verde [Poster]
In: 9th ISSMMTC, June 21-23, 2021, Dublin (Online)
Klein, Elisa; Lebas, Elodie; Ramalho, Ricardo; Barrett, Rachel; Krastel, Sebastian (2021) Architecture of the Monte Amarelo flank collapse deposits offshore Fogo, Cape Verdes [Poster] In: DGG Annual Meeting 2021, March 01-05, 2021, Kiel (Online)
Gross, Felix; Klein, Elisa; Urlaub, Morelia; Micallef, Aaron; Schulze, Inken; Laengner, Marieke; Krabbenhoeft, Anne; Geersen, Jacob; Gutscher, Marc-Andre; Hannemann, Katrin; Petersen, Florian; Fu, Lili und Krastel, Sebastian (2017) Patterns of seafloor morphology as a response to tectonic- and sedimentary processes south of the Messina Strait, Italy. [Poster] In: EGU General Assembly 2017. , 23.-28.04.2017, Vienna, Austria .
Klein, Elisa; Gross, Felix; Urlaub, Morelia; Micallef, Aaron; Schulze, Inken; Geersen, Jacob und Krastel, Sebastian (2017)Oberflächennahe sedimentäre und tektonische Prozesse in der Ionischen See südlich der Straße von Messina, Italien [Talk] In: DGG Annual Meeting 2017, 27.-30.03.2017, Potsdam
NEW ARTICLE in Frontiers in Marine Science:
An evaluation of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean in shoreline-crossing geomorphometric investigations of volcanic islands
he volcanic island of Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, imaged from (A) GEBCO and (B) GMRT. Only a small part of the island is subaerial. (A) has a visibly lower resolution.
Digital elevation models (DEMs) are crucial in natural hazard assessments, as they often present the only comprehensive information. While satellites deliver remote sensing information of the land surface of up to 2m resolution, only 25% of the seafloor is mapped with a minimum resolution of 400m. The acquisition of high-resolution bathymetry requires hydroacoustic surveys by research vessels or autonomous vehicles, which is time-consuming and expensive. Predicted bathymetry from satellite altimetry, on the other hand, is widely available but has a significantly lower spatial resolution and high uncertainties in elevation, especially in shallow waters. The research on volcanic islands as a source of both volcanic as well as marine hazards such as tsunamis, is greatly limited by the lack of high-resolution bathymetry. Here we compare 24 geomorphometric parameters of 47 volcanic islands derived from a) the comprehensive bathymetric data of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO) and b) high-resolution (< 250m), ship-based bathymetry. Out of 24 parameters tested, 20 show < ± 2.5% median deviation, and quartiles < ± 10%. Parameters describing the size of a volcanic island are the most robust and slope parameters show the greatest deviations. With this benchmark, we will be able to increase geomorphometric investigations to volcanic islands where little or no high-resolution bathymetry data is available.
Science Communication
Editor and main author of the Blog of the scientific cruise MSM103 https://www.oceanblogs.org/msm103-prince/
Member of the editing team and regular author at the Ocean Voices Blogs, a platform for young marine scientists to promote their work and experiences https://www.oceanblogs.org/oceanvoices/
Presenter: Popular science talks at the Ocean Science Show during the Cinemare Filmfestival and other events of the “Festival der Wissenschaft” 2022 and 2023, Co-hosting of the CAU Science show in Nov 2023
Songwriter: Re-writing Disney songs in a sciency way
Basic Motion graphics animation with Powerpoint
Listen to Elisa singing the song “Side Scan” about her research cruise, based on Moana’s How Far I’ll Go