Lancaster University

Supervisors: Dave McGarvie (Open University), Jennie Gilbert (Lancaster), John Smellie (British Antarctic Survey).

The main aim of my project is to examine the fragmental material formed during subglacial rhyolite eruptions. I will be looking at variations in the particle sizes and morphologies produced during eruption, paying special attention to the last erupted deposits before the transition from explosive to effusive, lava-producing activity.

There will be two seasons of fieldwork in Iceland. The first will concentrate on Kerlingarfjöll, where fragmental material is particularly well exposed and will involve mapping and sample collection. The details of the second field season are currently undecided, and will very much depend upon the results of the Kerlingarfjoll trip.

Labwork will include SEM, particle size analysis, X-ray Fluorescence, and thin section work.

Department of Environmental Science,
Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences,
Lancaster University,
Lancaster. LA1 4YQ
U.K.

My non-academic homepage is at http://www.bonerbo.demon.co.uk/johnindex.htm