By Suraya Hilmi Hazim, University of Liverpool
My PhD project focuses on studying the relationship between surface and subsurface deformation and the geometries of the underlying volcanic plumbing system by using scaled laboratory models. In my experiments I use solid gelatine as the elastic crustal analogue and dyed water as the magma analogue. The dyed water is injected into the base of the experimental tank at constant volumetric flux via a central injector port. These experiments are monitored using high definition video cameras to record changes in intrusion geometry and depth over time. Progressive changes in surface topography are recorded using an overhead laser scanner. Subsurface deformation resulting from intrusion growth can be observed with the aid of polarised light. The results from these experiments offer an exciting opportunity for improving ground-truth inversion modelling techniques and the interpretation of ground deformation in volcanic regions.
Suraya Hilmi Hazim is a final year PhD student at the University of Liverpool, supervised by Janine Kavanagh, Catherine Annen, Alan Boyle and David Dennis. Find out more about the exciting work coming out of the Mechanical and Geological Model Analogues Laboratory (@MAGMA_lab) by reading their recent paper and watching Suraya present her research at the AGU Virtual Poster Session – Fall 2017 (links below).
Kavanagh, J.L. et al., 2018. Challenging dyke ascent models using novel laboratory experiments: Implications for reinterpreting evidence of magma ascent and volcanism. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027317304602
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