Professor Alison Rust
M.Sc.(British Columbia), Ph.D.(Oregon)
Expertise
Use lab experiments, theory and rocks to study how volcanoes work: from magma and gases moving underground, the breaking apart of magma during explosive eruptions, and the dispersal of fine ash fragments through the atmosphere.
Current positions
Head of School
School of Earth SciencesProfessor of Physical Volcanology
School of Earth Sciences
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I study the dynamics of volcanic processes using a combination of laboratory experiments, theoretical fluid mechanics, fieldwork and petrology. Current projects include the effects of crystals and bubbles on magma convection, the origins of acoustic and seismic oscillations at volcanoes, and mechanisms and consequences of gas movement through magmas.
My research is motivated by volcanic problems but there are broader applications. I like to work with geoscientists, mathematicians and engineers to explore connections between environmental, geophysical and industrial issues.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Copper Basins Exploration Science (CuBES) - A Mineral Systems Approach
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/01/2020 to 04/01/2025
From arc magmas to ore systems (FAMOS)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/05/2017 to 31/12/2022
Petrology monitoring at Popocatepetl volcano, Mexico, a combined textural and geochemical study
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Earth SciencesDates
01/10/2015 to 01/01/2016
Archival evidence of volcano-climate interactions
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
A beautiful image of Mt. Tungurahua, Ecuador, erupting on the 23rd April 1773 is from a report on the event submitted to the Spanish Crown by officials in the colony.…Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/01/2011 to 01/01/2012
Thesis supervisions
Silicic Eruptive Transitions of Laguna del Maule
Supervisors
Understanding particle size distributions to improve ash dispersal modelling
Supervisors
Sensitivity of resuspended ash forecasts to topography
Supervisors
Causes and Consequences of Hazardous Lava-Water Interactions, with Particular Focus on Rootless Eruptions
Supervisors
Exploring differential erosion patterns using volcanic edifices as a proxy in South America
Supervisors
Three-dimensional infrasonic wave propagation above irregular boundaries
Supervisors
Syn-eruptive crystallisation in silicic magmas
Supervisors
The effects of large tectonic earthquakes on transcrustal magmatic systems
Supervisors
From needles to plates
Supervisors
Experimental investigations into immersive ice nucleation
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/03/2024Ascent of volatile-rich felsic magma in dykes
Geophysical Journal International
Magnetotelluric investigations at Andean volcanoes: Partial melt or saline magmatic fluids?
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Magma fragmentation
Bulletin of Volcanology
Prince Rupert’s Drops: An analysis of fragmentation by thermal stresses and quench granulation of glass and bubbly glass
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The influence of magma storage and ascent conditions on Laguna del Maule rhyolite eruptions
Journal of Petrology
Related people
Professor Stephen Sparks
Emeritus Professor
School of Earth Sciences
Professor Jeremy Phillips
Professor of Volcanology and Natural Hazards
School of Earth Sciences
Dr Jonty Rougier
Honorary Professor
School of Mathematics
Professor Juliet Biggs
Professor of Earth Sciences
School of Earth Sciences
Professor Matthew Watson
Professor of Volcanoes and Climate
School of Earth Sciences