Birkbeck PhD is successful in applying for isotope research at NIGL
Simon Groom will be able to take his research further thanks to a successful application to work at the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (NIGL)
Simon Groom, PhD in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will be able to take his research further thanks to a succesful application for access to the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (NIGL). His research is focused on the Canary Island of La Palma, as an example of an oceanic island volcano of the type identified in the Atlantic Ocean region. He is studying the relationship between the island's magma supply system (the interior ‘plumbing’ of the volcano) and the evolution of the volcano's edifice - a mountain that extends from the sea floor to 2500m above sea level. These islands periodically undergo catastrophic collapses, where the side of the island detaches in the course of an eruption and up to 250 km³ of rock descends to the seafloor. His research examines how these edifice processes may change processes in the magma supply and reservoir system.
Between the region of melt production and the volcano's vent area such magmas can be subject to crystallisation and mixing processes, and some way is needed to see past this complexity to give a better understanding of the whole system. This is where NIGL facilities will make a difference to his research. Access to analytical data for strontium, neodymium and lead (Sr, Nd and Pb) isotope ratios will provide insights that will be completely unaffected by the processes in the volcano's plumbing system. Once the magma melts deep in the Earth's asthenosphere the isotope ratios (what will be measured) will be fixed and will remain completely unchanged up until eruption - thereby providing a window on the deepest parts of the magma supply.
Simon commented:'By studying for my PhD in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department, with its joint research groups at Birkbeck and UCL, I have access to a long tradition of Geochemical research and the successful implementation of similar techniques, putting me in a strong position when applying to NIGL.'