Volcanic eruptions are a planetary process. In all cases magma transits the lithosphere to erupt at the surface. During this transit changes to the magma determine its ultimate fate, whether it erupts or it solidifies underground. The changes are recorded in minerals, and by interrogating those minerals, scientists can tease out the processes that occurred in the magma. This project will use state of the art microanalysis to understand the processes that lead to explosive eruptions and thus help us understand the potential hazards and risk posed by such eruptions.
The project will apply state of the art microanalysis to understand the processes that lead to explosive eruptions and thus help us understand the potential hazards and risk posed by such eruptions. The summer project will be a limited scope case study of single eruption that will allow the student to build a petrological toolkit and analytical capability that can then be applied to a variety of volcanic studies on the Earth and the terrestrial planets.
This is a full-time summer internship. 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday Daily activities will include lab work preparing rock samples, analyzing through optical, x-ray, and laser techniques, data collation, analysis, visualization and interpretation. We anticipate a manuscript draft to be submitted for publication.
The student will be between BS and starting an MS program.