Earth Observatory of Singapore

The aim of the Volcanic Petrology group is to conduct fundamental research on magmatic processes and rocks from active volcanoes, toward better understanding and forecasting of volcanic eruptions.

Some of our underlying research questions include

• triggering mechanisms of eruptions
• storage conditions (P, T, fO2, fH2O, fS2, fCO2) of magmas prior to eruption
• unraveling the processes that occur in the reservoir and volcanic conduit
• time scales for all these processes
• integration of topics #1-4 with monitoring signals (seismicity, deformation, gas chemistry) of active volcanoes
• numerical modeling of magmatic, and volcanic processes, plus monitoring signals towards predictability of volcanic phenomena

The signature and strength that distinguishes this group from others worldwide is that we focus our research on deciphering the time scales for all of these processes.

Some of our research tools include:

• Mineralogical and geochemical analyses, in-situ and bulk (techniques: electron microprobe, ion probe, FTIR, XRF, TEM, LA-ICP-MS: These mainly take place at EOS and NTU facilities: We also utilize facilities of our international collaborators.
• High P and T experiments (phase equilibria and kinetics: in collaboration with colleagues from France and Germany)
• Dating and geochronology (in collaboration with colleagues from France and USA )
• Field mapping and stratigraphic studies of eruption sequences (other EOS Volcano group members and colleagues from PHIVOLCS and CVI)
• Numerical modeling (FD, FEM; EOS and in collaboration with colleagues from Spain and USA)