Rob Martin, MChem PhD

Junior Research Fellow, Christ's College

Volcanic gas and particle monitoring; the atmospheric and environmental impacts of active volcanism; chemical models for volcanic emissions.

Biography

Career

Oct 2008 - Sept 2014: Junior Research Fellow at Christ's College
Oct 2009 - Sept 2011: Lecturer in Chemistry, Queen Mary, London
Oct 2006 - Sept 2007: Bye-Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge

Qualifications

PhD, 2008, University of Cambridge
MChem, 2004, University of Oxford

Research

My research examines the emission, processing and deposition of volcanic gases and particles. The broad aim is to gain novel insights into volcanic processes and to investigate the atmospheric, environmental and human impacts of active volcanism:

Monitoring volcanic emissions: Remote sensing and direct sampling techniques (e.g., spectroscopic, electrochemical, wet chemical) are used to characterise gas and particle emissions from active volcanoes. These results offer insights into magmatic processes, volcanic contributions to biogeochemical cycles and the environmental behaviour of volcanic emissions.

The magma-air interface: Extreme thermal and redox gradients at interfaces between the magma and the atmosphere drive the conversion of elements from less reactive (e.g., HBr, HCl, N₂, SO₂, Hg⁰) to more reactive forms (e.g., Br, Cl, NO, SO₄^2-, Hg^II). The chemistry of the magma-air interface is investigated using high-temperature equilibrium models.

Atmospheric chemistry and volcanoes: Volcanic emissions play a key role in maintaining the Earth's atmosphere. Species of atmospheric relevance include SO₄^2- (which promotes heterogeneous chemistry in volcanic plumes, and acts as a CCN) and reactive Br (which results in tropospheric ozone depletion). Field measurements and chemical models are used to understand the relationships between atmospheric chemistry and active volcanism.

Biological impacts of active volcanism: Research has focused on the dispersion, deposition and vegetation uptake of volcanogenic heavy metals (e.g., Hg, Pb) and satellite retrievals of vegetation health (e.g., the normalised difference vegetation index). A further interest is the lasting respiratory hazard to humans posed by ash deposition from explosive volcanic eruptions.

Publications

Publications on Researcher ID http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-3286-2012

RS Martin, E Ilyinskaya and Clive Oppenheimer, The enigma of reactive nitrogen in volcanic emissions, in prep for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
RS Martin, HE Thomas, MLI Witt, GM Sawyer, P Delmelle, DM Pyle and TA Mather, The impact and recovery of vegetation around an effusive volcanic vent, in prep for Bulletin of Volcanology.
GM Sawyer, VI Tsanev, E Ilyinskaya, RS Martin, C Oppenheimer, The evolution of BrO/SO₂ in the plume from the 2010 summit eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, under review in Journal of Geophysical Research.
E Ilyinskaya, RS Martin, C Oppenheimer, Aerosol formation in basaltic lava fountaining: Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, under review in Journal of Geophysical Research.
E Ilyinskaya, RS Martin, C Oppenheimer, GM Sawyer, AJ Sutton, T Elias, GG Salerno, L Spampinato, M Edmonds, Aerosol emissions from Pu'u O'o and Halema'uma'u craters at Kilauea volcano, Hawai'i, 2007-2009, under review in Chemical Geology.
RS Martin, MLI Witt, GM Sawyer, HE Thomas, SFL Watt, E Bagnato, S Calabrese, A Aiuppa, P Delmelle, DM Pyle and TA Mather, Bioindication of volcanic mercury (Hg) deposition around Mt Etna (Sicily), Chemical Geology, in press.
TA Mather, MLI Witt, DM Pyle, BM Quayle, A Aiuppa, E Bagnato, RS Martin, KWW Sims, M Edmonds, AJ Sutton and E Ilyinskaya, Halogens and trace metal emissions from the ongoing 2008 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai`i, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 83, 292-323, 2012.
RS Martin, JC Wheeler, E Ilyinskaya, CF Braban and C Oppenheimer, An equilibrium model for the uptake of halogen (HF, HCl, HBr and HI) and nitric (HNO₃) acids into aqueous sulphate particles in volcanic plumes, Chemical Geology, 296-297, 19-25, 2012.
GM Sawyer, GG Salerno, JS Le Blond, RS Martin, L Spampinato, TJ Roberts, TA Mather, MLI Witt, VI Tsanev, C Oppenheimer, Gas and aerosol emissions from Villarrica volcano, Chile, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 203, 62-75, 2011.
C Oppenheimer, B Scalliet, and RS Martin, Sulfur degassing from volcanoes: source conditions, surveillance, atmospheric chemistry and impacts, Reviews in Mineralogy, 73, 363-421, 2011.
E Ilyinskaya, V Tsanev, RS Martin, C Oppenheimer, JS Le Blond, GM Sawyer, MT. Gudmundsson, Near-source observations of aerosol size distributions in the eruptive plumes from Eyjafjallajökull volcano, March–April 2010, Atmospheric Environment, 45, 3210-3216, 2011.
RS Martin, MLI Witt, DM Pyle, TA Mather, SFL Watt, E Bagnato and S Calabrese, Rapid oxidation of mercury (Hg) at volcanic vents: insights from high temperature thermodynamic models of Mt Etna's emissions, Chemical Geology, 283, 279-286, 2011.
RS Martin, and E Ilyinskaya, Volcanic lightning as a source of reactive radical species in eruption plumes, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 12, Q03002, 2011.
RS Martin, E Ilyinskaya, GM Sawyer, VI Tsanev and C Oppenheimer, A re-assessment of aerosol emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, Atmospheric Environment, 45, 547-560, 2011.
L Spampinato, GG Salerno, RS Martin, GM Sawyer, C Ramírez, E Ilyinskaya, C Oppenheimer, The March 2009 thermal imaging and gas measurement survey at Poás Volcano (Costa Rica), Revista Geologica de America Central, 43, 171-190, 2010.
RS Martin, GM Sawyer, L Spampinato, GG Salerno, C Ramirez, E Ilyinskaya, MLI Witt, TA Mather, IM Watson, JC Phillips, C Oppenheimer, A total volatile inventory for Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 115, B09215, 2010.
RS Martin, TA Mather, DM Pyle, JA Day, MLI Witt, SJ Collins, RG Hilton, Major and trace element distributions around active volcanic vents determined by analyses of grasses: Implications for element cycling and bio-monitoring, Bulletin of Volcanology, 72, 1009-1020, 2010.
BM Quayle, TA Mather, MLI Witt, BA Maher, R Mitchell, RS Martin, and S Calabrese, Application and evaluation of biomagnetic and biochemical monitoring of the dispersion and deposition of volcanically-derived particles at Mt. Etna, Italy, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 191, 107-116, 2010.
E Ilyinskaya, C Oppenheimer, TA Mather, RS Martin, PR Kyle, Size-resolved chemical composition of aerosol emitted by Erebus volcano, Antarctica, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 11, Q03017, 2010.
M Edmonds, A Aiuppa, M Humphreys, R Moretti, G Giudice, RS Martin, RA Herd, T Christopher, Excess volatiles supplied by mingling of mafic magma at an andesite volcano, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 11, Q04005, 2010.
RS Martin, SFL Watt, DM Pyle, TA Mather, NE Matthews, B Georg, JA Day, T Fairhead, MLI Witt and BM Quayle, Environmental Effects of Ashfall in Argentina from the 2008 Chaitén Volcanic Eruption, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 184, 462-472, 2009. Hot Article.
RS Martin, TA Mather, DM Pyle, M Power, VI Tsanev, C Oppenheimer, AG Allen, CJ Horwell and EPW Ward, Size distributions of fine silicate and other particles in Masaya's volcanic plume, Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 114, D09217, 2009. Editor's Highlight.
RS Martin, TJ Roberts, TA Mather and DM. Pyle, The implications of H2S and H2 stability in high-T mixtures of magmatic and atmospheric gases for the production of oxidized trace species (e.g., BrO and NO_x), Chemical Geology, 263, 143-150, 2009.
TJ Roberts, CF Braban, RS Martin, C Oppenheimer, JW Adams, RA Cox, RL Jones, PT Griffiths, Modelling reactive halogen formation and ozone depletion in volcanic plumes, Chemical Geology, 263, 110-121.
SFL Watt, DM Pyle, TA Mather, RS Martin, and NE Matthews, Fallout and distribution of volcanic ash over Argentina following the May 2008 explosive eruption of Chaitén, Chile, Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 114, B04207, 2009.
RS Martin, TA Mather, DM Pyle, SFL Watt, J Day, SJ Collins, TE Wright, A Aiuppa and S Calabrese, Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) leaves as a bio-indicator of volcanic gas, aerosol and ash deposition on the flanks of Mt Etna in 2005-2007, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 179, 107-119, 2009.
RS Martin, TA Mather, DM Pyle, M Power, AG Allen, A Aiuppa, CJ Horwell and EPW Ward, Composition-resolved size distributions of volcanic aerosols in the Mt. Etna plumes, Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 113, D17211, 2008.
MR James, L Wilson, SJ Lane, JS Gilbert, TA Mather, RG Harrison and RS Martin, Electrical charging of volcanic plumes, Space Science Reviews, 137, 399-418, 2008.
A Aiuppa, E Bagnato, MLI Witt, TA Mather, F Parello, DM Pyle and RS Martin, Real-time simultaneous detection of volcanic Hg and SO₂ at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Sicily), Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L21307, 2007.
RS Martin, TA Mather and DM Pyle, Volcanic Emissions and the Early Earth Atmosphere, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71, 3673-3685, 2007. Hot Article.
RS Martin, TA Mather and DM Pyle, High temperature mixtures of magmatic and atmospheric gases, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 7, Q04006, 2006.
CP Pfrang, RS Martin, CE Canosa-Mas and RP Wayne, Gas-phase reactions of NO3 and N2O5 with Z-hex-4-en-1-ol, Z-hex-3-en-1-ol, E-hex-3-en-1-ol, Z-hex-2-en-1-ol and E-hex-2-en-1-ol, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 354-363, 8, 2006.
CP Pfrang, RS Martin, A Nalty, R Waring, CE Canosa-Mas and RP Wayne, Gas-phase rate coefficients of nitrate radicals with Z-pent-2-ene, E-pent-2-ene, Z-hex-2-ene, E-hexene, Z-hex-3-ene, E-hex-3-ene and E-3-methylpent-2-ene at room temperature, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 7, 2506-2512, 2005.

Teaching

Supervisions in Part II Volcanology, Cambridge
Supervisions in Part 1A Chemistry, Cambridge
Lectures in 2^nd Year Physical Chemistry, Queen Mary, London

External activities

Member of American Geophysical Union
Invited talks at international (Cities on Volcanoes 2010; Goldschmidt 2011, EGU 2011) and national conferences (NCEO 2010).
Reviewer for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheric Environment, Chemical Geology, Elements, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Bulletin of Volcanology and Chemosphere.