Examples of Bursary use

Alex Riddell (University of Manchester) writes: This summer, I had the great pleasure of attending the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly in Geneva, with thanks to the generous support of the VMSG student bursary.

I presented a poster on my recent publication, which explores the underestimation of CO₂ emissions at Soufrière Hills volcano using an Optical MultiGAS. This sparked many insightful and engaging discussions, not only with those focused on volcanic gas monitoring, but also with researchers across the wider volcanology community. I had particularly interesting conversations about how these findings intersect with work in petrology, and how they may inform interpretations of subsurface processes.

It was great to see many familiar faces from the growing UK volcanic gas community as well to finally meet so many of the international colleagues whose papers I’ve been reading for the last few years. Putting faces to names was a real highlight!

A key takeaway of the conference was the opportunity to hear how others approach the challenges of calculating gas fluxes, error analysis, and best practices for transparent data reporting. These conversations reinforced the value of collaborative, multiparametric approaches combining remote sensing, petrology, and modelling to build physically constrained interpretations of volcanic systems.

While Geneva itself may not have any active volcanoes, it was a wonderful host city. On Monday evening, the Jet d’Eau was lit up in magma red, reaching 140 m into the air (I cannot imagine what experiencing the 300 m+ Kīlauea lava fountains must be like). The heatwave during the week gave the conference an appropriately magmatic feel, but thankfully there was plenty of free ice cream and the beautiful lake to swim in each evening.

Beyond the scientific content, the conference was a hugely rewarding social experience and has left me feeling energised and focused. I’m especially motivated to push forward with my current work comparing SO₂ flux techniques at Mt Etna, based on fieldwork from last summer. Discussions with colleagues about future research directions have also helped me clarify my focus for the remaining two and a half years of my PhD.

Thank you again to VMSG for supporting my attendance at the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly.

Thomas Johnston (University College Dublin) writes: Thanks to the support of the VMSG Student Travel Bursary I was able to attend an Institute for Rock Magnetism Visiting Fellowship at the University of Minnesota from 24th March–2nd April 2025. This allowed me to learn a range of palaeomagnetic techniques and apply these to my PhD samples collected earlier in my project.

My project is titled ‘Using Block and Ash Flow Deposits to Infer Lava Dome Collapse Dynamics and Resultant Hazards’ and investigates the deposits of the 2015 dome collapse block and ash flow at Volcan de Colima, Mexico. The project aims to characterise the block and ash flow deposits with a particular focus on the block properties. The ultimate aim being to link the deposits to collapse processes and precollapse dome conditions. This VMSG bursary has supported my aims as I undertook palaeomagnetic analyses of blocks collected at 1 km intervals along the 2015 block and ash flow deposits.

During my time at the Institute for Rock Magnetism I learned how to take thermal remanent magnetism (TRM), magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis measurements and how to start processing this data. The thermal demagnetisation allows for measurement of the magnetic remanence of the rock; this data will be used to make inferences for the source of the block as juvenile blocks should match the geographic orientation while blocks prior to collapse will have a different orientation to the geographic orientation. The magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis curves can be used to support the TRM measurements. They show that these rocks had a range of magnetic minerals present, such as titano-magnetites and titano-haematites with different amounts of titanium present, and will allow us to explore the thermal conditions in both the dome and the resulting pyroclastic density current.

Ariane Loisel (Durham University) writes: In February 2024, I had the privilege of attending the 12th meeting of Cities on Volcanoes, COV12, in Antigua, Guatemala, thanks to the support of the VMSG student bursary. COV conferences serve as an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge across various disciplines of applied volcanology and promote collaboration among physical and social scientists, as well as with city officials.

As I am particularly interested in bridging the gap between physical volcanology and disaster risk reduction, this conference was a unique opportunity to share my research, particularly as I near the completion of my PhD. I presented two studies in poster format. The first focused on the role of gas in driving the dynamics and evolution of basaltic fissure eruptions, while the other introduced a new method for determining the scale in videos of volcanic eruptions using clast motion. These presentations, one in English and the other in Spanish, led to useful and motivating discussions with scientists from various parts of the world.

The conference comprised an incredible variety of presentations, including many subjects relevant to my own research focus such as advances in monitoring techniques, discussions on degassing dynamics and the architecture of volcanic plumbing systems. It also had a strong cultural component, with art exhibitions, film screenings, and concerts held across some of Antigua’s beautiful locations, which offered insights into the historical impact of other natural hazards such as earthquakes on the city.

Field trips to Pacaya and Fuego volcanoes educated us on the profound impact of volcanic hazards on nearby communities, such as the 2018 pyroclastic density currents from Fuego, which caused major destruction in the towns of San Miguel Los Lotes and El Rodeo. This tragedy underscores the need for improved hazard management, evacuation strategies, and communication with local communities, hence the relevance of this location for COV in facilitating dialogue between volcanologists, officials, and affected communities.

Volcanology as a discipline must take a multidisciplinary approach to improve eruption forecasting and mitigation efforts, and COV serves as an ideal platform to align research with the shared goal of mitigating volcanic risks and promoting community resilience. As an early career volcanologist, attending provided a myriad of opportunities to connect with other researchers and be exposed to the best of current research. I am very grateful to VMSG for providing travel support and look forward to participating in future COVs.

Abate Melaku (St. Andrews) writes: I had the opportunity of attending the AGU 2024 conference, hosted in Washington DC from 8-13 December 2024. The conference provided me with my first valuable experience in presenting my PhD work and engaging with experts in the field of volcanism and magmatism at a major international conference.

As a presenter, I delivered a poster titled “Mantle plume linked to high volatile emissions in the Central Ethiopian Rift” which focused on the magnitude and origin of gas emissions from the Tulu Moye volcanic complex in Ethiopia. The presentation was well received and had the opportunity to engage in fruitful discussions with fellow researchers and the wider scientific community. I have got insightful comments and feedback on my work which helped me to incorporate additional perspectives. I also attended valuable sessions and panel discussions of the conference which gave me additional insights in my work.

Beyond the academic engagement, the conference provided me with vital networking opportunities and new collaborations for my future research. I have collaborated and become a member of the Ethiopian Geophysical Union International (ETGUI) and participated in the members’ annual meeting alongside the AGU conference. The knowledge and connections gained will contribute significantly to my future profession and research.

Overall, attending the AGU 2024 conference was an invaluable experience that significantly enhanced my presentation skills, expanded my professional network, and added additional input to my academic development. I am grateful for the financial support I have received from VMSG student bursary that facilitated my participation in this prestigious event.

Thank you for your support.

Nemi Walding (University of Hull) writes: Through this grant’s support, I successfully undertook a field expedition to Lipari, Italy, in collaboration with Dr. Lucchi and esteemed colleagues.

The initial inspiration for this fieldwork stemmed from the work of Lucchi et al. (2022) on the Brown Tuffs of Lipari. Their research inspired me to pursue the Utrecht Grant Scheme, a mobility grant tailored for postgraduate students seeking to engage in overseas studies. I intended to collaborate with Dr. Lucchi at the University of Bologna. Thanks to the generous support of the VMSG bursary, I was able to conduct extensive fieldwork on the island, engage in insightful discussions, and meticulously gather data for subsequent analysis at the University of Bologna.

In the context of my ongoing PhD research, my focus centers on the intricate interaction between substrate and pyroclastic density currents, specifically examining how substrate moisture influences erodibility and flow dynamics through the utilization of experimental flume modelling. My colleagues and I have devised a technique for setting experimental deposits within gelatine, facilitating the excavation and sectioning of these deposits for analysis. The outcomes of these experimental currents unveiled compelling evidence of substrate erosion and remobilization, mirroring the observations made by Lucchi et al. (2022) within the Brown Tuff deposits. The research of these deposits has not only contributed to the validation of my experimental findings but has also enriched other areas of my thesis. Additionally, the collection of Brown Tuff samples during this fieldwork will strengthen my ongoing research.

Furthermore, I joined the prestigious AIV Volcanology School 2023 on a geological tour of Vulcano and Stromboli. This opportunity greatly expanded my knowledge and allowed me to experience incredible physical volcanology under the guidance of experts in these localities.

I am beyond grateful to the VMSG committee for their support and financial assistance, which made these experiences possible. Grazie!

Take a peek at Nemi’s research profile here.

Annabelle Foster (University of Durham) writes: During the course of my PhD, I have spent hours upon hours delving into the intricate textures found within silicic lavas that clog conduits. My work to date has been grounded in a new model, the ‘cryptic fragmentation model’, a process in which hot ash and pyroclasts are captured on conduit walls and sinter to form silicic lava (e.g., obsidian). This process is described as ‘cryptic’ and well, very much is, as sintering often eradicates any trace of a material once being a particulate state. The challenge is then to unravel the eruptive history of the lava. Fortunately, ignimbrites can also be welded, and at a much colder temperature compared to volcanic conduits as they deposit subaerially. Ignimbrites can even be welded to a point that glassy layers form, so in the past have been misidentified as lavas. The crossover was perfect, I could go look at welded ignimbrites with conduits in mind.

And thanks to the VMSG student travel bursary I was able to visit Gran Canaria (GC) to do this with Fabian Wadsworth, Rich Brown, Hugh Tuffen and Owain Smith. We were thrilled to see that most of the ignimbrites on GC have been dissected by roadcuts, although this did mean driving was a hard job when you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road (the photo is one of the rare cases we strayed more than 100 m from the car)! Throughout the fieldwork, there was lots of excited discussion about how the textural features we were looking at in the ignimbrites were like replicas of silicic conduits and/or lava domes we’ve seen on previous field excursions. This fieldtrip has given me so many ideas on how to combine these two worlds of volcanology, so watch this space (or for updates on my Twitter page, @volcannabelle) to see the outcome of this opportunity!

Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you to the VMSG committee for awarding me with this bursary, it  has greatly enriched my PhD.