Volcanology

A research group of the Department of Earth Sciences.

Group Statement

The Durham Volcanology Group has expanded dramatically over the last five years, and has rapidly established a reputation as one of the UK's leading volcanology research groups. The group includes specialists in:

• Igneous geochemistry and petrology;
• Physical volcanology (experimental and numerical approaches);
• Field volcanology;
• Volcanic hazard and risk;
• Impacts of volcanic eruptions on climate;
• Applied aspects of volcanology and igneous petrology.

We exploit this diversity of expertise to address problems in volcanology that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Our work is supported by excellent facilities for analytical geochemistry, ash analysis, and numerical and laboratory modelling of volcanic processes.

We are a vigorous and collaborative group; our group identity is underpinned by a lively, weekly meeting of staff, postdocs and graduate students. DVG is also a founder member of the Volcanology and Igneous Petrology (VIP) group, which brings together volcanologists from universities across the Northern UK for regular one-day meetings. We engage with stakeholders within and beyond the academic community, collaborating with volcano monitoring and hazard management groups around the world, informing governmental and NGO policy on volcanic hazard and risk, and engaging with the public through local outreach, and via national and international media.

We welcome approaches from prospective post-doctoral researchers, and post-graduate students at both PhD level and Masters level. Please see our Masters by Research (Volcanology) page for current opportunities.

Staff

Academic Staff

• Prof. James Baldini
• Dr Richard James Brown
• Prof. Claire Horwell
• Dr Madeleine Humphreys
• Prof. Ed Llewellin
• Prof Colin Macpherson
• Dr Fabian Wadsworth

Research Staff

• Dr Jason Coumans
• Dr Alexander Iveson

Research Student

• Harisma Andikagumi
• Mr. Fakhri Bintang
• Mr Oliver Bowers
• Miss Eloise Bretagne
• Miss Annabelle Foster
• Miss Catherine Gallagher
• Miss Megan Green
• Miss Tegan Havard
• Miss Ariane Loisel
• Miss Alice Paine
• Miss Rebecca Winstanley

Publications by staff in this group

Journal Article

• Horwell, C.J., Ferdiwijaya, D., Wahyudi, T. & Dominelli, L. (2019). Use of respiratory protection in Yogyakarta during the 2014 eruption of Kelud, Indonesia: Community and agency perspectives. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 382: 92-102.
• Reynolds, P., Schofield, N., Brown, R.J. & Holford, S.P. (2018). The architecture of submarine monogenetic volcanoes – insights from 3D seismic data. Basin Research 30(S1): 437-451.
• Riker, J., Humphreys, M.C.S., Brooker, R.A., de Hoog, J.C.M. & EIMF (2018). First measurements of OH-C exchange and temperature-dependent partitioning of OH and halogens in the system apatite - silicate melt. American Mineralogist 103(2): 260-270.
• Baldini, James U.L., Bertram, Rachel A. & Ridley, Harriet E. (2018). Ground air: A first approximation of the Earth's second largest reservoir of carbon dioxide gas. Science of the Total Environment 616-617: 1007-1013.
• Plail, Melissa, Edmonds, Marie, Woods, Andrew, Barclay, Jenni, Humphreys, Madeleine C. S., Herd, Richard A. & Christopher, Thomas (2018). Mafic enclaves record syn-eruptive basalt intrusion and mixing. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 484: 30-40.
• Mark, N.J., Schofield, N., Pugliese, S., Watson, D., Holford, S., Muirhead, D., Brown, R. & Healy, D. (2018). Igneous intrusions in the Faroe Shetland basin and their implications for hydrocarbon exploration; new insights from well and seismic data. Marine and Petroleum Geology 92: 733-753.
• Damby, D.E., Horwell, C.J., Baxter, P.J., Kueppers, U., Schnurr, M., Dingwell, D.B. & Duewell, P. (2018). Volcanic Ash Activates the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Murine and Human Macrophages. Frontiers in Immunology 8: 2000.
• Tomašek, I., Horwell, C.J., Bisig, C., Damby, D.E., Comte, P., Czerwinskid, J., Petri-Fink, A., Clift, M.J.D., Drasler, B. & Rothen-Rutishauser, B. (2018). Respiratory hazard assessment of combined exposure to complete gasoline exhaust and respirable volcanic ash in a multicellular human lung model at the air-liquid interface. Environmental Pollution 238: 977-987.
• Wynn, Peter M., Fairchild, Ian.J., Borsato, Andrea, Spötl, Christoph, Hartland, Adam, Baker, Andy, Frisia, Silvia & Baldini, James (2018). Sulphate partitioning into calcite: Experimental verification of pH control and application to seasonality in speleothems. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 226: 69-83.
• Gardner, James E., Wadsworth, Fabian B., Llewellin, Edward W., Watkins, James M. & Coumans, Jason P. (2018). Experimental sintering of ash at conduit conditions and implications for the longevity of tuffisites. Bulletin of Volcanology 80(3): 23.
• Stock, Michael J., Humphreys, Madeleine C.S., Smith, Victoria C., Isaia, Roberto, Brooker, Richard A. & Pyle, David M. (2018). Tracking volatile behaviour in sub-volcanic plumbing systems using apatite and glass: insights into pre-eruptive processes at Campi Flegrei, Italy. Journal of Petrology 59(12): 2463-2492.
• Namur, Olivier & Humphreys, Madeleine C.S. (2018). Trace element constraints on the differentiation and crystal mush solidification in the Skaergaard intrusion, Greenland. Journal of Petrology 59(3): 387-418.
• Burton-Johnson, A., Macpherson, C. & Hall, R. (2017). Internal structure and emplacement mechanism of composite plutons: Evidence from Mt Kinabalu, Borneo. Journal of the Geological Society 174(1): 180-191.
• Le Blond, J.S., Woskie, S., Horwell, C.J. & Williamson, B.J. (2017). Particulate matter produced during commercial sugarcane harvesting and processing: a respiratory health hazard?. Atmospheric Environment 149: 34-46.
• Scarlato, P., Mollo, S., Del Bello, E., von Quadt, A., Brown, R.J., Gutierrez, E., Martinez-Hackert, B. & Papale, P. (2017). The 2013 eruption of Chaparrastique volcano (El Salvador): Effects of magma storage, mixing, and decompression. Chemical Geology 448: 110-122.
• Zhang, J., Humphreys, M.C.S., Cooper, G., Davidson, J.P. & Macpherson, C.G. (2017). Magma mush chemistry at subduction zones, revealed by new melt major element inversion from calcic amphiboles. American Mineralogist 102(6): 1353-1367.
• Wadsworth, Fabian B., Vasseur, Jérémie, Llewellin, Edward W., Genareau, Kimberly, Cimarelli, Corrado & Dingwell, Donald B. (2017). Size limits for rounding of volcanic ash particles heated by lightning. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth 122(3): 1977-1989.
• Wadsworth, Fabian B., Vasseur, Jérémie, Llewellin, Edward W. & Dingwell, Donald B. (2017). Sintering of polydisperse viscous droplets. Physical Review E 95(3): 033114.
• Lechleitner, Franziska A., Breitenbach, Sebastian F. M., Rehfeld, Kira, Ridley, Harriet E., Asmerom, Yemane, Prufer, Keith M., Marwan, Norbert, Goswami, Bedartha, Kennett, Douglas J., Aquino, Valorie V., Polyak, Victor, Haug, Gerald H., Eglinton, Timothy I. & Baldini, James U. L (2017). Tropical rainfall over the last two millennia: evidence for a low-latitude hydrologic seesaw. Scientific Reports 7: 45809.
• McIntosh, I.M., Nichols, A.R.L., Tani, K. & Llewellin, E.W. (2017). Accounting for the species-dependence of the 3500 cm-1 H2Ot infrared molar absorptivity coefficient: implications for hydrated volcanic glasses. American Mineralogist 102(8): 1677-1689.
• Nattrass, C., Horwell, C.J., Damby, D.E., Brown, D. & Stone, V. (2017). The effect of aluminium and sodium impurities on the in vitro toxicity and pro-inflammatory potential of cristobalite. Environmental Research 159: 164-175.
• Damby, D.E., Horwell, C.J., Larsen, G., Thordarson, T., Tomatis, M., Fubini, B. & Donaldson, K. (2017). Assessment of the potential respiratory hazard of volcanic ash from future Icelandic eruptions: a study of archived basaltic to rhyolitic ash samples. Environmental Health 16: 98.
• Horwell, C. J., Sargent, P., Andronico, D., Lo Castro, M. D., Tomatis, M., Hillman, S. E., Michnowicz, S. A. K. & Fubini, B. (2017). The iron-catalysed surface reactivity and health-pertinent physical characteristics of explosive volcanic ash from Mt. Etna, Italy. Journal of Applied Volcanology 6(1): 12.
• Lechleitner, F.A., Dittmar, T., Baldini, J.U.L., Prufer, K.M.P. & Eglinton, T.I. (2017). Molecular signatures of dissolved organic matter in a tropical karst system. Organic Geochemistry 113: 141-149.
• Smirnov, D. A., Breitenbach, S. F. M., Feulner, G., Lechleitner, F.A., Prufer, K.M., Baldini, J.U.L., Marwan, N. & Kurths, J. (2017). A regime shift in the Sun-Climate connection with the end of the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Scientific Reports 7: 11131.
• Wadsworth, FB Vasseur, J, Llewellin, EW, Dobson, KJ, Colombier, M, von Aulock, FW, Fife, JL, Wiesmaier, S, Hess, K-U, Scheu, B, Lavallée, Y & Dingwell, DB (2017). Topological inversions in coalescing granular media control fluid-flow regimes. Physical Review E 96(3): 033113.
• McCoy-West, Alex J., Millet, Marc-Alban & Burton, Kevin W. (2017). The neodymium stable isotope composition of the silicate Earth and chondrites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 480: 121-132.
• Jones, T.J., Llewellin, E.W., Houghton, B.F., Brown, R.J. & Vye-Brown, C. (2017). Proximal lava drainage controls on basaltic fissure eruption dynamics. Bulletin of Volcanology 79(11): 81.
• Polacci, M., de' Michieli Vitturi, M., Arzilli, F., Burton, M., Caricchi, L., Carr, B., Cerminara, M., Cimarelli, C., Clarke, A., Colucci, S., Costa, A., Degruyter, W., Druitt, T., Engwell, S., Esposti Ongaro, T., Giordano, D., Gurioli, L., Haddadi, B., Kendrick, J., Kueppers, U., Lamur, A., Lavallée, Y., LLewellin, E., Mader, H., Metrich, N., Montagna, C., Neri, A., Rivalta, E., Saccorotti, G., Sigmundsson, F., Spina, L. & Taddeucci, J. (2017). From magma ascent to ash generation: investigating volcanic conduit processes by integrating experiments, numerical modeling, and observations. Annals of Geophysics 60(6): S0666.
• Grove, Clayton, Jerram, Dougal A., Gluyas, Jon G. & Brown, Richard J. (2017). Sandstone Diagenesis in Sediment–lava Sequences: Exceptional Examples of Volcanically Driven Diagenetic Compartmentalization in Dune Valley, Huab Outliers, Nw Namibia. Journal of Sedimentary Research 87(12): 1314-1335.
• Humphreys, M.C.S., Edmonds, M. & Kloecking, M.S. (2016). The validity of plagioclase-melt geothermometry for degassing-driven magma crystallization. American Mineralogist 101(4): 769-779.
• Damby, D.E., Murphy, F.A., Horwell, C.J., Raftis, J. & Donaldson, K. (2016). The in vitro respiratory toxicity of cristobalite-bearing volcanic ash. Environmental Research 145: 74-84.
• Stock, M.J., Humphreys, M.C.S., Smith, V.C., Isaia, R. & Pyle, D.M. (2016). Late-stage volatile saturation as a potential trigger for explosive volcanic eruptions. Nature Geoscience 9(3): 249-254.
• Edmonds, M., Kohn, S.C., Hauri, E.H., Humphreys, M.C.S. & Cassidy, M. (2016). Extensive, water-rich magma reservoir beneath southern Montserrat. Lithos 252-253: 216-233.
• Wadsworth, Fabian B., Vasseur, J., Llewellin, E., Schauroth, J., Dobson, K.J., Scheu, B. & Dingwell, D. B (2016). Sintering of viscous droplets under surface tension. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science 472(2188): 20150780.
• Reynolds, P., Brown, R.J., Thordarson, T. & Llewellin, E. (2016). The architecture and shallow conduits of Laki-type pyroclastic cones: insights into a basaltic fissure eruption. Bulletin of Volcanology 78(5): 36.
• Karaoğlu, O. & Brown, R.J. (2016). Reconstructing the evolution of an eroded Miocene caldera volcano (Yamanlar volcano, İzmir, Turkey). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 318: 1-18.
• Lechleitner, F.A., Fohlmeister, J., McIntyre, C., Baldini, L.M., Jamieson, R.A., Hercman, H., Gąsiorowski, M., Pawlak, J., Stefaniak, K., Socha, P., Eglinton, T.I. & Baldini, J.U.L. (2016). A novel approach for construction of radiocarbon-based chronologies for speleothems. Quaternary Geochronology 35: 54-66.
• Lechleitner, F.A., Baldini, J.U.L., Breitenbach, S.F.M., Fohlmeister, J., McIntyre, C., Goswani, B., Jamieson, R.A., van der Voort, T.S., Prufer, K., Marwan, N., Culleton, B.J., Kennett, D.J., Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V. & Eglinton, T.I. (2016). Hydrological and climatological controls on radiocarbon concentrations in a tropical stalagmite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 194: 233-252.
• Jamieson, R.A., Baldini, J.U.L., Brett, M.J., Taylor, J., Ridley, H.E., Ottley, C.J., Prufer, K.M., Wassenburg, J.A., Scholz, D. & Breitenbach, S.F.M. (2016). Intra- and inter-annual uranium concentration variability in a Belizean stalagmite controlled by prior aragonite precipitation: A new tool for reconstructing hydro-climate using aragonitic speleothems. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 190: 332-346.
• Wassenburg, J.A., Scholz, D., Jochumb, K.P., Cheng, H., Ostere, J., Immenhauser, A., Richter, D.K., Häger, T., Jamieson, R.A., Baldini, J.U.L., Hoffmann, D. & Breitenbach, S.F.M. (2016). Determination of aragonite trace element distribution coefficients from speleothem calcite–aragonite transitions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 190: 347-367.
• Chamberlain, K.J., Barclay, J., Preece, K., Brown, R.J., Davidson, J.P. & EIMF (2016). Origin and evolution of silicic magmas at ocean islands: Perspectives from a zoned fall deposit on Ascension Island, South Atlantic. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 327: 349-360.
• Baldini L.M., Baldini J.U.L., McElwaine J., Frappier A.B., Asmerom Y., Liu K.B., Prufer K., Ridley H.E., Polyak V., Kennett D.J., Macpherson C.G., Aquino V.V., Awe J. & Breitenbach, S.F.M. (2016). Persistent northward North Atlantic tropical cyclone track migration over the past five centuries. Scientific Reports 6(1): 37522.
• Tomašek, I., Horwell, C.J., Damby, D.E., Barošová, H., Geers, C., Petri-Fink, A., Rothen-Rutishauser, B. & Clift, M.J.D. (2016). Combined exposure of diesel exhaust particles and respirable Soufrière Hills volcanic ash causes a (pro-)inflammatory response in an in vitro multicellular epithelial tissue barrier model. Particle and Fibre Toxicology 13(1): 67.
• McCoy-West, A. J., Bennett, V. C. & Amelin, Y. (2016). Rapid Cenozoic ingrowth of isotopic signatures simulating “HIMU” in ancient lithospheric mantle: Distinguishing source from process. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 187: 79-101.

Chapter in book

• Durant, AJ & Brown, RJ (2016). Ash Aggregation in Volcanic Clouds. In Volcanic Ash. Mackie, S, Cashman, K,, Ricketts, H, Rust, A & Watson, M Elsevier. 53-66.