Cambridge Volcanology Group research projects

Members of the Cambridge Volcanology Group research group are currently engaged in the following research projects.

The list below may also include a small number of archived projects. In due course, these will be listed separately.

A collection of JScripts for retrieval of gas column amounts using DOAS methodology: This document presents a collection of DOASIS JScript projects designed to collect spectra from Ocean Optics™ spectrometers and to retrieve column amounts of absorbing gases using DOAS methodology (Platt and Stutz, 2008). To investigate the gas content of the plume, it is necessary to collect spectra of dark current and electronic offset, and scattered sunlight passing through both the plume and background atmosphere (with no plume present).
Book: Eruptions that shook the world: A primary aim of this book is to examine the claims that volcanism shaped prehistoric and historic social trajectories. To do this, we need to look at how volcanoes act on a very large scale, and how often do they do it. The book also delves into the deeper geological record to explore the links between volcanism and mass extinctions identified in the fossil record.
Climate and dust: Dust is an airborne suspension of very fine mineral particles derived primarily from surface soils or injected into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions. Particles are initially generated from weathering, geomorphic processes, and from explosive volcanism. Dust is an important constituent of tropospheric aerosol, which consists of a mixture of sulphate aerosol, black carbon and organic carbon, nitrate and mixed particles such as sea salt and mineral dust. Dust, and the other components of tropospheric aerosol, affect climate in a variety of ways; this impact is measured in terms of changes in radiative forcing, i.e. the implied perturbation of the Earth’s energy budget caused by changes in the aerosol budget. There is an urgent need to better understand how dust impacts climate to refine model simulations of present, past and future climates.
Climatic, palaeoenvironmental and human impacts of super-volcanic eruptions: The Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) eruption of Toba volcano in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, around 74,000 years ago was one of the largest in the entire geological record and impacted climate on the global scale. The effect was a cooling of surface temperatures due to the generation of a globally-dispersed stratospheric sulphate aerosol veil. Catastrophists link the eruption to the onset of a glacial period and a corresponding ‘bottleneck’ in human genetic diversity, akin to a near-mass extinction of our early ancestors. Others believe the global climatic effects from the eruption were less severe. Given that the eruption potentially had a massive impact on early human dispersal patterns and evolution, in addition to extreme forcing of global climate, remarkably little is known about the eruption source parameters and the effect on local environments. The research is intended to provide a strong linkage between modelling, volcanology and field data (palaeoenvironments and Quaternary geology).
Fourier transform spectroscopy of the gas plume of Masaya volcano, Nicaragua: We have now obtained field observations of volcanic gases with a portable fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer at a number of volcanoes since our first measurements at Mount Etna in 1994. Information concerning the chemistry and dynamics of the gas phase in Masaya magma is crucial in understanding the control of degassing on eruptive style, and assessment of the environmental impacts of the volcanic gases.
Hazards from airborne silicate microparticles: Long-term exposure to high concentrations of airborne dust and other fine silicate particles is known to cause detrimental health effects, such as pneumoconiosis (Desert Lung Syndrome). There is a high occurrence of pneumoconiosis in the population living in Indus Valley near Leh, Ladakh, which receives frequent dust storms. In addition, the people here base their lives around agriculture and most tasks are still carried out through manual labour. The high altitude of the valley (> 3500 m) means that it is persistently dry so dust emission is high. Communities work together during spring months to clear irrigation channels and work manure into their fields. In doing so, they are exposed to chronically high dust levels. Research Associate Dr Adam Durant recently participated in a field study investigating the health effects from exposure to mineral dust aerosol on the local population in and around Leh, Ladakh.
Heterogeneous ice nucleation in atmospheric clouds: Clouds are an integral part of the Earth system and influence the dynamics and radiative balance of the atmosphere. Ice formation is catalysed by particles in the atmosphere (ice nuclei) and directly influences cloud processes such as precipitation/sedimentation. However, there is large uncertainty in heterogeneous ice nucleation rates due to a lack of empirical observations, both in situ (they are extremely challenging to make) and in the laboratory. Furthermore, there is a complete lack of ice nucleation measurements for volcanic clouds. Taking this as motivation, a series of experiments were carried out to quantify heterogeneous ice nucleation rates in liquid water drops.
Impacts of Mt. Erebus volcano (Antarctica) on the atmospheric environment: Mt. Erebus is one of the largest active volcanoes on Earth. It reaches nearly 4 km above sea level, and is renowned in volcanological circles for its persistently active lava lake, which is sited in the summit crater. Despite its remote location, an extensive monitoring programme is in place. The Cambridge Volcanology Group has participated in annual field campaigns on Erebus since 2003, with the principal contribution being spectroscopic measurements of gas emissions from the lava lake.
Large Volume Explosive Eruption database: This project is aimed at generating the most complete possible record of the >VEI 7 (>30km3 of products) eruptions that have occurred in the world.
Linking cloud microphysics and volcanic sedimentation: Explosive volcanic eruptions, such as the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, USA, can generate ash clouds that reach the stratosphere and deposit tephra 1000s km from the volcano. Predicting how long the particles remain airborne and where ash-fall may occur is an essential component of hazard mitigation performed by volcanic ash transport and dispersion models. The majority of these models calculate sedimentation rates based on gravitational settling of single particles and often have difficulty reproducing the observed sedimentation of the finest size fraction (<100 microns) 100-1000s km downwind from the volcano. This discrepancy results from particle aggregation, a poorly understood process, which is also responsible for forming distal mass deposition maxima observed 100s km from the volcano in many recent ash deposits. To stimulate advances in the understanding of volcanic cloud sedimentation, the development of several sedimentological databases has been undertaken.
Mechanisms and implications of the 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano, Eritrea: The 2011 eruption of Nabro volcano in Eritrea is of great scientific interest and has had substantial impacts in the remote part of Afar in which it is located. The main aims of the project are to arrive at a detailed synthesis of the nature and causes of the eruption, to evaluate the events in the context of understanding restless calderas worldwide, and to compare and contrast activity of Nabro with the fissural basaltic systems that have been the focus of research by the NERC Afar Consortium.
Physico-chemical properties of tropospheric volcanic emissions: Volcanoes are a major source of gases and particles to the atmosphere. Quantifying fluxes of volcanic gases, such as sulphur dioxide, is important for understanding the potential impacts on climate and local ecosystems, and hazards to human health. Sulphur dioxide emission is routinely monitored using ground-based and satellite remote sensing techniques to estimate fluxes and predict changes in eruptive activity. However, conversion rates of sulphur dioxide to sulphate aerosol are poorly constrained for tropospheric volcanic plumes, which can severely impact these measurements downwind from the volcano. Direct in situ measurement of volcanic emissions can be used to validate and improve remote sensing techniques. However, these data are sparse and the bulk of measurements comprise aircraft sampling carried out ~20-30 years ago, an approach now considered to be extremely hazardous. Funding was secured to perform a proof-of-concept study using state-of-the-art remotely-operated altitude-controlled meteorological (CMET) balloons as a platform to measure gases in volcanic plumes.
Retrieval of aerosol properties from MICROTOPS II sunphotometer data: Volcanoes represent one of the most important global sources of gases and particles to the atmosphere. Their emissions provide important information about the physical and chemical conditions of subsurface magma, and have impacts on the atmospheric and terrestrial environments, human health, and climate. Volcanoes present particularly harsh and challenging conditions to work in, and remote sensing techniques often provide the only safe means for data collection. Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy has played a key role in monitoring and in quantifying the global budget of several significant gaseous species (SO2, BrO, NO2, ClO etc.) emitted by volcanoes. In contrast, little work has been carried out on volcanic aerosol, except perhaps for important studies of Pinatubo and El Chichón eruptions and their resulting global climatic changes.
Volcanic degassing: The objectives of this research are: (1) To develop novel remote sensing techniques for surveillance of volcanic gases and aerosols; (2) To develop comprehensive models for volcanic degassing; (3) To understand the atmospheric chemistry and transport of volcanic plumes; and (4) To understand the impacts of volcanic gases and aerosols on human health and terrestrial ecosystems.
Volcanological and geophysical research on Paektu volcano, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Mount Paektu (aka Paektusan, Changbaishan, Changbai, Baitoushan, Baekdu and Baegdu!) is a fascinating volcano straddling the border between DPRK (North Korea) and China. We have been developing an ambitious project to carry out field-based geophysical and volcanological studies of the volcano on the DPRK side of the border.