Natasha Keeley

Biography

In 2023, I graduated from the University of Leeds with a first in an integrated masters degree in Geology. During my fourth, masters, year I was able to focus on volcanology, completing both a mapping and lab project studying deposits from explosive and effusive eruptions.

I am currently conducting a PhD at Keele University, under the supervision of Dr. Ralf Gertisser, Dr. Ralf Halama and Dr. Chiara Petrone (Natural History Museum). I will be exploring the core deposits collected from the IODP 398 mission to the Hellenic Arc Volcanic Field, using geochemical and petrological techniques.

Research and scholarship

Title: Magmatic processes, timescales, and hazards of large-magnitude explosive eruptions in the central Hellenic arc, Greece.

From December 2022 to February 2023, International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 398 to the Hellenic arc drilled 12 sites, penetrating the thick basin fills of the rift system hosting the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field, and the volcano-sedimentary sequence within Santorini caldera. Drilling below the sea floor identified numerous pumice and ash layers of volcanic eruptions, some known from on land, and others hitherto unknown and with no known outcrops on land. These volcanic deposits provide evidence for minor to large-magnitude submarine to subaerial explosive eruptions from Christiana, Santorini and Kolumbo.

This project will use tephra samples from selected large-magnitude submarine to subaerial explosive eruptions, obtained from Expedition 398 drill cores. Via an integrated volcanological-petrological approach, and supported by project partners in the UK, France, Germany, and the USA, the project will:

1. define the magma storage conditions prior to these eruptions,
2. characterise the pre-eruptive processes within the magma plumbing system and determine their timescales;
3. identify eruption triggers, and
4. evaluate the environmental effects of these eruptions,

The PhD project will be fully integrated into the IODP Expedition 398 post-cruise research programme. Analysis of rock samples will be completed, in collaboration with Dr Chiara Petrone (NHM London).

School of Geography, Geology and the Environment
William Smith Building
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG

Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733615
School email: gge@keele.ac.uk

Follow the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment