Geohazards
Our group investigates the processes that give rise to a range of geological and geophysical hazards, including those associated with volcanoes, land subsidence, landslides and earthquakes.
Members:
- Dr Claire Harnett – Group Lead: Geomechanics and Volcano Hazards
- Dr Eoghan Holohan – Group Lead: Land Subsidence and Remote Sensing
- Dr Ivan Lokmer – Group Lead: Volcano and Earthquake Seismology
- Ms Effat Behboudi – PhD researcher in subduction zone stress and earthquakes
- Dr Alexis Hrysiewicz – Postdoctoral researcher in application of InSAR to peatlands
- Ms Amy Myers – PhD researcher in lava dome instability
- Dr Xiaowen Wang – Research Scientist on InSAR and coastal landslides
- Mr Robert Watson – PhD researcher in karst geomorphology and subsidence
Research Areas:
- Causes and consequences of volcano instability (lava dome collapse, volcano flank motion, caldera collapse, caldera resurgence)
- Nature of volcanic deposits and volcano-tectonic structures (modern or ancient).
- Comparison of volcanism on Earth and other planets
- Formation of sinkholes and other depressions in various karst environments
- Peatland ground motions and landslides
- Volcano seismology
- Observations, theory and modelling of seismic wave propagation in complex media
- Near-field seismology and micrometre-scale deformation
- Geoengineering and geomechanical properties of rocks
Research Methods and Infrastructure:
- Rock deformation experiments – uniaxial 250 kN deformation rig (compression and indirect tension)
- Remote sensing (InSAR, SAR, Multispectral) – dedicated INSAR processing server and GAMMA SAR processing software
- Photogrammetric land surveys – drone, dGPS, flight control and post-processing software
- Analogue modelling – tectonic deformation rig, DSLR cameras and professional lighting rig
- Numerical modelling of rock deformation (Distinct Element Method) – Particle Flow Code (PFC2D&3D) software licenses, and dedicated DEM modelling server
- Numerical modelling of seismic wave propagation – Spectral elements methods (SPECFEM2D, SEPCFEM3D, EFISPEC), elastic-lattice method (ELM)