Hazel Rymer

Rymer grew up in Reading, Berkshire^[2] and studied physics at the University of Reading.^[when?] She earned her PhD in geophysics from the Open University which studied sub-surfaces of volcanoes in Costa Rica.^[3][4] She looked at the structure of pit craters in Masaya Volcano.^[5]

Rymer's research focuses on the environmental and ecological hazards posed by active volcanoes.^[6] Rymer looked to track the volatile flux of the Mount Etna, Masaya and Poás volcanoes by monitoring the volcanic plume and environmental sinks.^[6][7] She chose these volcanoes because they have persistent, low levels of volcanic activity.^[8] Her research looks to inform evacuation strategies and crop cultivation.^[6]

Rymer developed new techniques to evaluate the size of supervolcanoes.^[9] She has worked on new microgravity meters to monitor the magma inside volcanoes.^[10] The gravity meters contain very sensitive spring balances. Rymer places these meters at hundreds of places across a volcano, developing a contour map that details how gravity varies in space.^[10] Rymer monitored the volcanoes for extended periods of time, in an effort to monitor the movement of magma, and whether eruptions will be explosive or not.^[10] She has kept one gravity meter (GM513) for thirty years.^[2] She holds several patents for low-cost gravity meters.^[11][12]

She began to study Poás Volcano, which she describes as her favourite, in 1989.^[13][14] Because she has been following it for so long, she has been able to develop forecasts about when the volcano may erupt in the future.^[14] She began a citizen science project with Earthwatch on Masaya volcano in Nicaragua in 2008, and has used this to engage members of the public in earth monitoring.^[1] Volunteers use Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors to monitor for volcanic gases and devices that collect geoelectric information.^[8] Whilst monitoring the Poás Volcano, information from the citizen scientists helped the National Park officials restrict access to the crater during the 2009 degassing.^[15] These informed operational guidelines for monitoring degassing for Nicaragua and Costa Rica.^[15] As part of her monitoring work, Rymer visited the Poás Volcano in January 2009 when there was a 6.2 magnitude earthquake.^[6] The Poás Volcano erupted in 2009 and prevented further study.^[8]

She also worked on Askja, a stratovolcano in Iceland, and observed changes in the seismic activity in 2007. She then investigated whether the magma was travelling north and whether it was accumulating below Krafla.^[16] She is interested in the environmental impact of volcanoes.^[1] She has investigated whether plants and soil are impacted by volcano-derived heavy elements, so-called "bio-indicators".^[8][14] She developed a molecular biology test to monitor the hairs of Tradescantia pallida, where volcanic pollution can cause a visible mutations of a recessive gene that can cause chromosomal damage in pollen.^[8] Her group also use inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to study the concentrations of heavy elements in plant material.^[8]

She served for six years on the council of the Geological Society of London. She is on the executive committee of the International Council for Open and Distance Education.^[17] She contributed to the 2015 Encyclopedia of Volcanoes.^[18] In 2016 Rymer appeared on The Life Scientific.^[19] Rymer was appointed pro-vice chancellor at the Open University in 2018.^[17]