Fine particle analysis
Physical rock properties
Fluid dynamic experiments

Volcanology Facilities and Equipment

Our excellence means we are often also pushing at the cutting edge of instrumental or analytical development and our group also collaborates using these techniques with researchers from other wide-ranging fields – you can find us using our state-of-the-art drones to capture wildlife or applying our models to capture floods from melting glaciers!

Dry grain dynamics laboratory
Wet fluid dynamics laboratory
Rheometry and particle properties laboratory

G1 – Wet and Dry Grain Fluid Dynamics

G1 and G1a are multi-use laboratory spaces for experiments with fluids and grains in wet and dry environments, using bespoke apparatus. Equipped with multiple compressed air lines, a walk-in cold room, a sample preparation area with sieves and sieve shaker, an oven and multiple balances. 

Cold room

The cold room is generally set up for sample and core storage at 4°C, but can maintain temperatures of up to -30°C for experiments that require a low temperature environment or for storage of ice cores.

Other equipment available:

    • Sieves - 10 -100 μm (Wet, Nylon mesh), or 32μm (5 Φ)  – 4mm (-2Φ) (dry, SS/brass)
    • Endecotts Sieve Shaker (shaker and sieves <100 microns are housed in our dedicated rock crushing lab equipped with a dust extraction system) 
    • Precision balances covering various weight ranges: 
      • Precision 4-place Ohaus Pioneer PX224 
      • Mettler PM4600 
      • Acculab ALC 3100 
      • Kern 2-place 0-20kg 
    • Vacuum pumps
    • Cameras – DSLR: 1x Canon 250D, 3x Canon 600D, Phantom high-speed camera
    • Ph-meter
    • Pressure transducers
    • Pulse logging (NI Labview)
    • Refractometers (Leica, Reichert)
    • Thermocouples Lights (Photon Beam, Berkey Beam 800)
    • Peristaltic pump
    • Ultrasonic bath
    • High-Temperature oven
Retsch Camsizer
Helium Pycnometer
RheoStress Rheometer

G2 – Rheometry and Particle Characterisation

G2 is a research facility focusing on rheometry and image-analysis based particle characterisation, containing specialist analytical equipment.

Restch CamSizer

The CamSizer uses optical image analysis to measure and characterise particle size and shape. It can be used to assess the grain size distribution in a geological sample, as well as providing additional information (including images) on the morphology of grains. The CamSizer is equipped with a water circulation module (X-Flow) as found in traditional laser diffraction analysers which suspend a sample in a flow cell, as well as the X-Dry and X-Jet modules to allow analysis of larger (more representative) samples and the option of sample recovery after analysis. The X-Jet module can also be used for terminal velocity measurements.

Helium Pycnometer

The Anton Paar UltraPyc 3000 is set up to measure the density (and ultimately the porosity) of solid materials using Helium gas. The 3 different sample chambers can accommodate samples sizes ranging from 4.5 cm³ to 135 cm³. 

HAAKE RheoStress 1 Rheometer

The HAAKE RheoStress 1 rheometers determine various rheological parameters by shearing a test fluid between two surfaces, e.g. between concentric cylinders or between two flat, circular plates. The rheometer measures the torque applied and the rotation rate of the moving cylinder or plate. Established methods exist to convert the observed torque and rotation rate into shear stress and shear strain. Measurements can be either rotational (rotating continuously in the same direction) or oscillatory.

Linkam TS1400XY and THMSG600 system 

The Linkam stages allow temperature-controlled observations of specimens (both heated and LN cooled), operation is via a T95 linkpad and observation is performed using a dedicated Nikon LV100 LWD microscope system and camera. 

VT501 Rotational Viscometer

We have a long-standing relationship with HAAKE. All rheometers in the GFD lab are HAAKE instruments, including the MARS and a RheoStress 1 shown above. Additional to these sophisticated instruments, HAAKE have donated to us a VT501 viscometer. This is a very nice, robust, easy-to-use instrument that we have used mainly for undergraduate teaching. It has also been used in the field (in a porta-cabin in a quarry) to good effect. 

Other equipment

  • Water circulating temperature control units (Haake C40P & K15)
  • Precision 4-place Mettler Toledo balance with density function 
Linkam heating stage
Rotational Viscometer
High-precision density balance

Satellite Data Analysis

We operate a ‘virtual’ laboratory for the analysis of satellite data, focusing on radar imagery which offers all weather day/night capabilities.

We use radar backscatter to image changes to the surface caused by eruptions (lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, lahars, ash) and radar interferometry, InSAR, to measure deformation and topographic change.

To analyse data from the European Sentinel-1 satellite, we use the COMET LICSAR/LICSBAS system which runs on the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis .

We are also part of the CEOS Volcano Projects which provides access to data from many different satellite systems (CosmoSkyMed, TerraSAR-X, SAOCOM etc) which we process using GAMMA RS software on local servers.

Additional Facilities

We have a number of facilities across the department also used frequently by the volcanology group, including our petrological microscopy, sample preparation, and lapidary facilities. We also host a range of field equipment that can be utilised for any fieldwork by our research group.

Field equipment

  • 4 spring gravimeters (LaCoste&Romberg, ZLS, Scintrex)
  • 4 GNSS receivers (TOPCON and Trimble)
  • 1 Theodolite
  • UV camera
  • FLIR camera (A65 f=13mm with SC kit)
  • Sieves for tephra deposits
  • Field balance
Optical microscopy laboratories
Sample preparation facilities
Thin section and polishing