Summary
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Volcanology at University of Hull. My research forms part of the FIAMME project (https://catastrophicflows.wordpress.com/fiamme/) and focuses on developing a new, standardised framework for the description and quantification of the deposits of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) in the field. Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are deadly flows of ash, gas and rocks that form during volcanic eruptions and pose one of the greatest volcanic hazards to populations living near active volcanoes.
The framework developed through FIAMME will enable future field studies to collect the data required to validate numerical and analogue (laboratory) models of PDCs, which will ultimately facilitate improvements in predicting where PDCs will flow during volcanic eruptions.
I will also be undertaking novel experiments to test whether we can see inside an artificial PDC generated in a laboratory using ultrasound, which has potential to provide valuable insights into the internal dynamics of PDCs, that we cannot currently observe directly in either natural or laboratory settings.