Loading... (0%)

Journey to the centre of the earth: Verne, volcanoes and violent eruptions

21 August 2014

With one of the “top 10 dirtiest jobs in science”, Jane Chadwick gave an entertaining account of life as a volcanologist and an insight into her ongoing research at the 8th GGD in Amsterdam. To the (wo)man on the street, our knowledge of volcanoes is usually restricted to vague memories from high school geography lessons or fun ‘build-your-own’ volcanoes with Coke bottles and simulated lava flows. Life as a geologist specialising in volcanoes, of course, requires a little more in-depth knowledge and Jane conveyed this and more during her talk.

Volcanic activity is spread across the globe but concentrated in regions along the “Pacific rim of fire” and includes volcanoes such as Merapi in Indonesia, where much of Jane’s fieldwork is based. Europe is not known as a hotspot for volcanic activity, although the eruptions in Iceland at Eyjafjallajökull, one of the country’s smaller ice caps, brought chaos to many flight schedules across our continent earlier this year. These volcanic rumblings caused the biggest disruption to our airspace since World War Two but were apparently declared ‘carbon-neutral’ due to the number of cancelled flights during that period!

As a volcanologist, the typical work pattern combines trips to acquire data at volcanic study sites across the globe with long stretches of data analysis back in the lab – a far cry from the extreme stereotypes of heroic heart-throb in exotic locations or nerd-with-pet-rocks holed-up in the lab that Hollywood would have us believe! As one of a team, Jane specialises in measuring rock samples from volcanic sites in Indonesia. Back in the lab, these samples are drilled with micrometre precision to enable the composition of elements to be analysed at different locations in and around the volcano itself. Like a New Age healer, Jane literally asks “What do the crystals tell me?”, although her answers regarding the energy of the volcano are restricted to geological interpretation without a mention of any volcanic ‘aura’. From distinguishing ‘red’ from ‘black’ volcanoes, to the stickiness scale of magma and a demonstration of how to take the temperature of a volcano (answer: with care, and an elongated temperature probe), the GGD audience were both informed and entertained following dinner.

As a scientist, a volcanologist may choose to specialise in one discipline but still is very much part of a team in the field– something not always practised in other scientific disciplines. Data collection involves long hikes to study sites up to 3,500 metres high but with an advantage of stunning views from the summit before the long trek down. Perhaps prompted by the spectacular scenery she showed, Jane’s talk was inspiring enough for one audience member to offer their services as a volunteer volcanology field assistant. For the rest of us, we emerged a little wiser about magma chambers and lava flows, and ready to join in the roundtable discussion should Iceland’s volcanic ice caps disrupt flights over Schiphol once again this year.

                                                                   oo0oo

For GGD, this meeting was the first for two students, who took up the offer of *free places* to come along to the dinner – hopefully something that will grow and be continued in further meetings!


Photos were taken by Johannes Hjorth.
Post written by Rhiannon Meredith. Janes slides are here.

admin - post author

No other information about this author.