Geography, Geology and the Environment

I have always had an interest in the natural world. However, my geology career started proper at A-Level, where, through an inspiring and enthusiastic teacher, I started to learn the subject. I then undertook an undergraduate degree in Geology at the University of Leicester, where the full spectrum of subject fields within geology was revealed to me, with volcanic and magmatic activity and palaeontology becoming firm favourites.

I graduated from the University of Leicester in 2007 with an MGeol. I then continued on to study for my PhD (financially supported in part by an Irish Research Council Scholarship in Science, Engineering and Technology) between Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Uppsala University, Sweden under the principal supervision of Prof. Valentin Troll. I completed my Thesis entitled ‘Understanding crustal volatiles: provenance, processes and implications’ in May 2012. I subsequently held a short term research contract at the Earth Sciences Department at Uppsala, which also included education-related projects until November 2012.

I began my current position of Teaching Fellow in Geology at Keele University in January 2013, and still maintain research and teaching connections with colleagues in the Earth Sciences Department at Uppsala University.

My PhD research was chiefly concerned with crustal volatile release associated with magma-crust interaction beneath active volcanoes and three very different methods were used to investigate the process.

The first approach involved the analysis of He and C isotopes in volcanic gases and fluids from active volcanoes on Java, Indonesia to resolve volatile provenance. Samples were analysed from a total of 11 volcanoes including Anak Krakatau and Merapi.

The second avenue of investigation used high pressure-high temperature (HP-HT) experimental petrology to understand the dynamics of volatile release on magma-carbonate interaction. This line of research focussed on Vesuvius volcano (Italy) as a case study.

Thirdly, X-ray computed microtomography (X-ray µ-CT) was applied to a set of xenolith samples, which had undergone magma-crust interaction, to reveal a vesiculated internal structure in three-dimensions.

I am a member of the Keele Petrology Group (Keele University) and the Centre for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry (CEMPEG, Uppsala University).

• Blythe, L.S. 2012. Understanding Crustal Volatiles: Provenance, Processes and Implications. PhD Thesis, Uppsala University.
• Troll, V.R., Chadwick, J.P., Jolis, E.M., Deegan, F.M., Hilton, D.R., Schwarzkopf, L.M., Blythe, L.S. and Zimmer, M. 2013. Crustal volatile release at Merapi volcano; the 2006 earthquake and eruption events. Geology Today, 29, 91-101
• Troll, V.R., Hilton, D.R., Jolis, E.M., Chadwick, J.P., Blythe, L.S., Deegan, F.M., Schwarzkopf, L.M. & Zimmer, M. 2012. Crustal CO2 liberation during the 2006 eruption and earth quake events at Merapi volcano, Indonesia. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L11302, doi:10.1029/2012GL051307.
• Troll, V.R., Klügel, A., Longpré, M.-A. Burchardt, S., Deegan, F.M., Carracedo, J.C., Wiesmaier, S., Kueppers, U., Dahren, B., Blythe, L.S.,Hansteen, T., Freda, C., Budd, D.A., Jolis, E.M., Jonsson, E., Meade, F., Harris, C., Berg, S., Mancini, L., Polacci, M. and Pedroza, K. 2012. Floating stones off El Hierro, Canary Islands: xenoliths of pre-island sedimentary origin in the early products of the October 2011 eruption. Solid Earth, 3, 97-110.

Year 1

• ESC-10034 : Time and Space
• ESC-10045 : Introductory Geology for Environmental Scientists  

Year 2

• ESC-20064 : Geochemistry