I am a NERC
Research Fellow and Lecturer in Volcanological Modelling
in the Department
of Earth Sciences, at Durham
University. My departmental webpage can be found
here.
My research addresses problems in physical volcanology
through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations.
I am motivated by a desire to understand the physical
controls on volcanic eruptive style - in particular
the unpredictable switching between extrusive and
explosive eruptions which is characteristic of certain
volcanoes.
Volcanic eruptions are driven by the formation and
growth of bubbles, which typically range in size from
a few microns to a few centimetres. There are many
physical processes that occur at this scale, the volcanic
mesoscale, which are fundamental to volcanic behaviour.
My current research focusses on two of these: permeating
gas flow through volcanic rocks and magma, and the
rheology of crystal- and bubble-bearing magma. Further
details can be found on my research
pages.
Recently, I have developed a lattice Boltzmann model,
LBflow,
for the numerical investigation of mesoscale processes
in volcanic systems. The code is accurate, efficient
and easy to use. It is also designed to be flexible
and extensible, and could find application in a broad
range of flow problems. Further details, including
how to obtain the model, are available on my LBflow
pages.
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