Geography, Geology and the Environment

I studied Geology and Geography at Keele University, receiving my dual honours (B.Sc.) degree in 2009. After graduating, I spent 6 months as part of  the Student Voluntary Assistance Programme, working for Dr Nick Varley at the Centre of Exchange and Research in Volcanology, Universidad de Colima, Mexico.

In the summer of 2010, I returned to Keele University as a research student. I am currently in the 2^nd year of my PhD investigating silicic magmatism in the Aeolian Islands, Italy.

Affliations

• American Association of Petroleum Geologists
• The Geologists Association
• The Mineralogical Society
• The North StaffordshireGroup of the Geologists' Association

Grants and Awards

• Runner-up- Geoff Brown Poster Prize (VSMG 2013)
• The Mineralogical Society Postgraduate Student Bursary 2011 (£410)
• Runner-up- Geoff Brown Poster Prize (VSMG 2011)

The emplacement and textural characterisation of young silicic lava flows: The case of the Rocche Rosse lava flow, Lipari, Aeolian Islands (Italy) and comparable flows

Lead Supervisor:  Dr Ralf Gertisser

The emplacement kinematics of silicic lava flows are not well understood, due to a paucity of observations on active flows. The measurement of textural and structural features can serve as an important tracer for silicic lava flow emplacement and deformation.

Silicic volcanism defines recent volcanic activity at the Aeolian Archipelago, Italy. The Rocche Rosse obsidian lava flow represents the youngest outpourings of the Monte Pilato pumice cone on the northern coast of Lipari (Aeolian Islands, Italy).

In my study, structural measurements on surface features and quantitative textural data are coupled with detailed mapping and cross sectional interpretations of the Rocche Rosse obsidian to gain insight into its rheological behaviour and emplacement history.

This will be achieved through meeting the following objectives:

• Undertake detailed structural investigations of the emplacement mechanisms and post-emplacement deformation of the Rocche Rosse obsidian lava flow on the island of Lipari and the Pietre Cotte lava flow on Vulcano.
• Full textural and compositional characterisation of spherulite populations in young silicic lava bodies in the Aeolian Islands to identify spherulite heterogeneity and crystallization conditions.
• Examination and a detailed evaluation of the relationship between spherulite occurrence and flow emplacement and deformation.

Meeting these objectives centres on careful and detailed studies of two main study areas – the Rocche Rosse obsidian lava flow (Lipari) and the Pietre Cotte obsidian lava flow (Vulcano), as well as selected young silicic lava bodies across Lipari and Vulcano that exhibit spherulitic textures. The methodologies to address the structural investigations include detailed mapping, and cross section and high resolution satellite imagery interpretations of the Rocche Rosse and Pietre Cotte obsidian lava flows. In order to address the textural characterisation of spherulites, strain analysis, textural observations, crystal-size distribution (CSD), microprobe and Raman spectroscopy methods will be applied in order to create an extensive dataset of individual spherulitic populations.

The detailed textural and structural features documented provide important constraints on the rheological properties of historic obsidian lava flows in the Aeolian Islands, important for understanding the structural kinematics and emplacement mechanisms of young silicic lava flows.

• Bullock, L., Gertisser, R. and O’Driscoll, B.2013. The structure and emplacement of the Rocche Rosse obsidian lava flow, Aeolian Islands, Italy. Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group annual meeting, Cambridge, January 2013.
• Bullock, L., Gertisser, R., O’Driscoll, B. and Fitzgerald, A., 2011. Magmatic and postmagmatic history of the Pietre Cotte rhyolite lava flow, Vulcano, Italy. Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group annual meeting, Cambridge, January 2011.
• Bullock, L., 2011. Magmatic and postmagmatic history of the Pietre Cotte lava flow, Vulcano, Italy. Graduate School Research Symposium annual meeting, Keele University, May 2011.