Quite simply, volcanoes are inspiring. I’ve yet to meet someone who disagrees. The majestic volcanic landscape has thus been an inspiration to many an artist and author, whether intentional or not. Furthermore, artwork itself can be a valuable tool to help decipher and understand eruptions and their effects on the climate. Pictured here is Vesuvius erupting in all its glory and is one of my ...[Read More]
Science snap
Science Snap (#24): The psychedelic Zambezi flood plain
This colourful image shows the Zambezi River’s floodplain in Zambia. The image was created from three acquisitions from Envisat’s radar instrument that were merged together. Each acquisition was assigned a colour and when combined show changes in the floodplain between each satellite acquisition. The white patch of pixels in the upper right quadrant marks the city of Mongu and appears ...[Read More]
Science snap (#23): Pacaya Volcano
Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala, is almost continuously erupting, making it one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes and a popular tourist destination. The volcano last erupted on March 2, 2014, shown in the image here taken by the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. Although the volcano has been kicking off since January, in March Pacaya erupted with small explosions and diffuse ash plumes, ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#21): Diatoms
KT Cooper is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A carbonate geochemist by training, she has just returned from a three-month secondment to Houston, Texas, USA working with Exxon Mobil. When you start looking at things at a microscopic level, everything starts to look a little alien. Minerals assemblages can look like the landscapes of far off planets and mi ...[Read More]
Science Snap #21: Nash Point, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
Sorcha McMahon is a third year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. Sorcha is investigating how strange igneous rocks called carbonatites may have formed, using both natural samples and high-pressure experiments. Nash Point is a picturesque headland along the coastline of the Vale of Glamorgan, consisting of near-vertical cliffs of limestone and mudstone. Strat ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#20): Sentinal-1A Dress Rehearsal
On the 3rd April 2014 the new satellite Sentinel-1 will be launched from French Guinea into space. It’s the satellite that has the InSAR community pretty excited as it will provide free Earth Observation data covering nearly all the world’s volcanoes. Once the satellite is launched and is sat in its correct orbit, it has to “perform a complicated dance routine to unfold its large ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#19): Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Sorcha McMahon is a third year PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. Sorcha is investigating how strange igneous rocks called carbonatites may have formed, using both natural samples and high-pressure experiments. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit term Nagara meaning “Holy City”, and was the capital city of the Khmer. It consists of successive city fo ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#18): Tragic Sinabung Eruption
James Hickey is a PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A geophysicist and volcanologist by trade, his PhD project is focussed on attempting to place constraints on volcanic unrest using integrated geodetic modelling. Last Saturday (1st February 2014) an eruption at Sinabung volcano in Indonesia claimed the lives of 14 people. That death toll has since risen to ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#17): Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craig is an uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland. Formed from the plug of a Paleogene volcano, the landmass reaches over 330 m height and ~ 3 km length, and can easily be seen from the Scottish mainland. The island comprises three types of granite: Ailsa Craig Common Green, Ailsa Craig Red Hone and Ailsa Craig Blue Hone (pictured below). The distinctive colouration of the latter ...[Read More]
Science Snap (#16): Primary colours at Kawah Ijen
Mel Auker is an Earth Sciences PhD student in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. A mathematician by trade, Mel’s PhD uses numerical approaches to better understand past, present, and future global volcanic hazard and risk. Kawah Ijen volcano forms part of the Ijen volcano complex situated at the eastern end of Java, Indonesia. Kawah Ijen is topped by a 1 kilometre-wid ...[Read More]