Nial Peters BA MSci MSc

PhD Student

Lava lake dynamics: better understanding through thermal imagery.

Biography

Career

2009-2010 Research Assistant, Mt. Erebus field camp, Antarctica
2007-2009 MSc Space and Plasma Physics, University of Oslo/University Centre in Svalbard, Norway
2007-2009 Technician, Kjell Henriksen Observatory, Svalbard, Norway
2003-2007 BA/MSci Natural Sciences (Physics), Cambridge University, UK

Qualifications

MSci Space and Plasma Physics, University of Oslo, Norway
Arctic Safety and Survival, University Centre in Svalbard, Norway
BA/MSci Natural Sciences (Physics), Cambridge University, UK

Research

Lava lakes provide a somewhat unique opportunity in volcanological studies, providing a visible window into the complex processes occurring within a volcano. Of the three volcanoes worldwide exhibiting long-lived lava lakes, it is Mt Erebus that presents the least difficulty for prolonged study. Situated on Ross Island, Antarctica, the 3700m crater of Mt Erebus has maintained a phonolite lava lake for decades. Previous research has shown correlated periodicity between many of the lake's characteristics, such as surface velocity, gas flux and gas concentration ratios.

My research focusses on the collection and analysis of infra-red imagery of the Mt Erebus lava lake. A new thermal camera installed in 2010 provides higher temporal and spatial resolution data than has been previously possible. These images, together with a large archive of previous data, are analysed using advanced computer vision techniques (in particular, the Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform feature tracking algorithm) to resolve the two dimensional surface velocity of the lake and the spatial distribution of radiative heat loss.

The key issues to be addressed are how the lake periodicity evolves over long time periods, and how lake motion is linked to physical characteristics of the volcano, such as conduit geometry, degassing etc.

Publications

Selected publications

Holmes, J. M., B. V. Kozelov, N. J. Peters, C. S. Deehr, D. A. Lorentzen, and F. Sigernes, “Ion velocity filter effect observed in dayside hydrogen aurora”, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L23101, 2009
Peters, N. J., Willis, I. and Arnold, N. 2009. A numerical analysis of rapid water transfer beneath Antarctica. Journal of Glaciology, 55(192), 640-650. doi:10.3189/002214309789470923
Fred Sigernes, Margit Dyrland, Nial Peters, Dag Arne Lorentzen, Trond Svenøe, Karsten Heia, Sergey Chernouss, Charles Sterling Deehr, and Mike Kosch, "The absolute sensitivity of digital colour cameras", Opt. Express 17, 20211-20220, 2009

External activities

Cambridge Volcanology Group