Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology

Imaggeo on Mondays: Electron cloud gone wrong

Laura Roberts-Artal September 7, 2015

Electron cloud gone wrong. Credit: Sarah Glynn (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Deciphering the past history of rocks and what they might reveal about the Earth’s future is a key part of geology, and tools such as Ion Probes can be used by Earth Scientists to extract valuable information about a rock’s past. Today’s Imaggeo on Monday’s image was acquired by Sarah Glynn, a researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa, who was analysing a potential calcite ...[Read More]

Geosciences Column: The calamity of eruptions, or an eruption of benefits?

Laura Roberts-Artal August 7, 2015

Mt. Bromo Panorama. Credit: Jimmy McIntyre (distributed via Wikimedia Commons)

So here is a question: why would anyone want to live in the vicinity of an active volcano? The risks are well known, with hazards arising from lava flows, lahars, ash falls, debris avalanches, and pyroclastic density currents, with many often having deadly consequences. But despite the danger, more than half a billion people live in the direct vicinity of volcanoes. Could it be that communities pr ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Strombolian eruption

Laura Roberts-Artal July 20, 2015

Strombolian eruption. Credit: Jonas Kuhn (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Jonas Kuhn, a researcher at Heidelberg University , took the photograph during a field campaign at Stromboli volcano in Italy. The objective of this campaign was to gather data from different gaseous compounds of the volcanic plume. Via emission fluxes of volcanic gases (e.g. SO2, CO2, halogen compounds…) or the ratio of emitted gases, one can retrieve information about the interior of the v ...[Read More]

Studying an active volcano – in pictures

Laura Roberts-Artal June 24, 2015

Image credit: Felix Von-Aulock

Santiaguito volcano in Guatemala is one of the most active volcanoes in Central America: currently erupting every 45-90 mintues, from its active lava dome Caliente, while at the same time sending a lava flow down its flanks. This makes it an ideal study object for volcanology. A group of volcanologists from the University of Liverpool, in the UK, installed a network of geophysical stations around ...[Read More]