About Me

As a researcher in the fields of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics with an interest in natural hazards, I research the processes that drive volcanic and magmatic hazards, permafrost hazards, and their planetary analogues. After my PhD at Stanford University on multiphase fluid and thermodynamics of volcanic hazards, I conducted research at ETH Zurich on flood response to rainfall events and heat waves in the arctic. Now, I am an NSF Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Columbia (UBC) in Canada, where I am building models on Retrogressive Thaw Slumps. Through computational models and data analysis, my international group of colleagues and I elucidate the mechanics of natural hazards that have direct implications for communities and climate change.

In addition to my research, I co-founded outreach initiatives such as Art-SCI and Mediterranean Sustainability Coalition, and offered consultation to start-ups and the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation. These experiences have empowered me to forge practical tools from my research, enabling communities to effectively confront imminent challenges. While my path is carved by rigorous scientific inquiry, it is fuelled by the impact that our findings have in helping communities adapt to the realities of our changing world.

Research Areas

  • Volcanic Eruption Triggers

    Using multiphase models to understand crystalline scale data and their implication on volcanic eruptions.
    Photo: Plagioclase zoning on the left and tree rings on the right, crystal image from Cashman and Blundy (2013)

  • Periglacial Flooding

    Using data techniques to understand how permafrost characteristics modulate flood response with seasonal and climatic changes.
    Photo: Argakhtakh village, 2007 Flood Suleymanov (2021)

  • Planetary Analogs

    Planetary geomorphology and geophysics.
    Photo: June Probe flyby on September 2022; NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Thomas Thomopoulos (CC BY 3.0)

Publications

  • C. Culha, S. Spinner, and J. Suckale, The pahoehoe to a'a transition as a shear instability in stratified lava flow, Geophysical Research Letters, 2023. DOI:10.1029/2022GL101302.
  • C. Culha, T. Keller, and J. Suckale. Biased Witnesses: Crystal Thermal Records May Give Conflicting Accounts of Magma Cooling, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2022. DOI: 10.1029/2021JB023530.
  • C. Culha, J. Suckale, T. Keller, and Z. Qin. Crystal fractionation by crystal-driven convection, Geophysical Research Letters, 2020. DOI: 10.1029/2019GL086784.
  • C. Culha, D. Schroeder, T.M. Jordan, and M. Haynes. Assessing Europa's Eutectic using Radar Sounding, Icarus, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113578.
  • C. Culha, and M. Manga. Geometry and spatial distribution of lenticulae on Europa, Icarus, 271: 49-56, 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.052.
  • M. Townsend, D.D. Pollard, K. Johnson, and C. Culha. Jointing around magmatic dikes as a precursor to the development of volcanic plugs, Bull Volcanol, 77:92 2015. DOI: 10.1007/s00445-015-0978-z.
  • C. Culha, A.G. Hayes, M. Manga, and A. Thomas. Double Ridges on Europa Accommodate Some of the Missing Surface Contraction, Journal of Geophysical Research--Planets, 119 (3): 395-403 2014. DOI: 10.1002/2013JE004526.