Facilities
Research Highlights
Hydrous silicate melts and the deep mantle H2O cycle
In situ observation of nanolite growth in volcanic melt: A driving force for explosive eruptions
The fate of carbonate in oceanic crust subducted into earth’s lower mantle
Structural Ordering in Liquid Gallium under Extreme Conditions
Slab melting as a barrier to deep carbon subduction
Generation of porphyry copper deposits by gas–brine reaction in volcanic arcs
Frequency and magnitude of volcanic eruptions controlled by magma injection and buoyancy
Linking Petrology and Seismology at an Active Volcano
Petrology Group members involved in €3.5m project to study processes behind volcanic unrest
Deep Mantle Cycling of Oceanic Crust: Evidence from Diamonds and their Mineral Inclusions
Petrology Group member Jon Blundy wins Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award
Primary carbonatite melt from deeply subducted oceanic crust
Petrology Group member Jon Blundy elected to Fellow of the Royal Society
The Petrology Group hosts world-class facilities for performing and analysing experiments at conditions ranging from the Earth’s surface to its core, supported by a well-equipped and well-staffed machine shop, a World-class electron microbeam suite and high-performance computing facilities.
Experimental Facilities
The Petrology Group hosts a world-class suite of cutting-edge equipment capable of recreating the extreme conditions of pressure and temperature ranging from Earth’s surface to its centre. Much of our equipment is designed, built and maintained in collaboration with the machinists who operate the well-equipped machine shop situated alongside the Petrology Group laboratories. Below is a list of our primary equipment. Facilities include 1 atmosphere furnaces (including gas mixing), cold-seal pressure vessels, piston cylinder and multi-anvil presses, laser- and resistively-heated diamond anvil cells and a laser milling machine for the preparation of sample assemblies with unparalleled precision.
Sample Preparation Facilities
The Petrology Group has a range of equipment and facilities for the preparation of samples and assemblies for high pressure experiments as well as for the preparation of run products for analysis.
Analytical Facilities
The Petrology group has its own facilities for the analysis of experimental run products including and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy as well as access to the School’s World-class electron microbeam suite.
Machine Shop
The School’s machine shop is co-located with the Petrology Group laboratories and is a vital resource for the design, manufacture and maintenance of our cutting-edge experimental facilities.
High Performance Computing Facilities
Members of the Petrology Group have access to the High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities provided free of charge by the University’s Advanced Computing Research Centre, including BlueCrystal4 and the forthcoming BluePebble and ARM based Catalyst machines. Some members of the group also regularly use the UK HPC system ARCHER2 and Isambard, a new ARM based system operated by the GW4+ alliance.