Research overview
Areas of particular interest and current study.
Intraplate alkaline magmatism
Carbonatites, unique rocks predominantly consisting of magmatic carbonate, are particularly fascinating as they reflect a complex petrogenetic history involving fundamental processes of igneous differentiation, such as liquid immiscibility and extreme degrees of fractionation. |
Geochronology and element transfer of subduction zone metamorphic rocks
Combining these data with geochronological information, using mineral separation and in situ analytical techniques, provides powerful constraints on the absolute timing and time scales of metamorphic processes. Interlayered sequence of meta-igneous blueschists and greenschists that have experienced maximum P-T conditions of about 10 kbar and 400⁰C followed by a variable greenschist-facies overprint enhanced by fluid-rock interaction during exhumation (Coastal Cordillera, Chile) |
Light element stable isotopes as geochemical tracers
On a global scale, these isotope systems can be used as tracers of surface material recycled into the Earth’s mantle and the variations of the mantle through time. On smaller scales, from outcrop to thin section, fluid-rock interaction processes can cause variable enrichment/depletion of these elements coupled with temperature-dependent isotope fractionation. Back-scattered electron image of an eclogitic micaschist with phengite (Phe) and glaucophane (Gln) overprinted by fluid-rock interaction, producing more Fe-rich mineral rims that are depleted in boron (Sesia Zone, Italy) |
Magma genesis and geochemical cycling in subduction zones
In collaboration with colleagues in the UK, Sweden, Australia and USA, we use trace element, and radiogenic (Sr, Nd, Pb, Hf) and stable (O, C) isotope geochemistry to study magma genesis and geochemical cycling in subduction zones, and the spatial and temporal patterns of volcanism at individual volcanoes (e.g. Merapi) and on arc-wide scales (e.g. Sunda arc, Indonesia). |
Pre-eruptive magmatic conditions and magmatic processes recorded in volcanic rocks Current case studies include volcanoes in the Sunda arc (Indonesia), Aeolian Islands (Italy), Santorini and the Azores. |
Rates and timescales of magmatic processes using short-lived isotopes
Past and ongoing collaborative projects have used short-lived isotopes to date Holocene volcanic rocks at Merapi (Indonesia), to constrain the timescales of potassic arc magma formation leading up to the great Tambora eruption in 1815, and to unravel short-term fluctuations in magma ascent, intrusion into the shallow magma system and degassing on a week to decade-scale prior to the 2010 Merapi eruption. |
Volatile behaviour in volcanic systems and the climatic impact of volcanic eruptions Some of our past projects have focused on the volatile behaviour and release during large-magnitude eruptions, such as the Lower Pumice 2 eruption of Santorini and the great eruption of Tambora volcano (Indonesia) in 1815. |
Volcanostratigraphy
We study individual volcanic eruptions and the overall eruptive history of volcanoes through stratigraphic field studies, mapping, field characterisation of volcanic deposits and geochronological investigations. Past and present field-based research projects along these lines have focused on volcanoes and volcanic areas in Italy, the Azores, Greece and Indonesia. |
Generation, emplacement mechanisms and numerical modelling of pyroclastic density currents
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