****************************************************************** From: Carmen Solana <Carmen.Solana@xxxxxxxxxx> ****************************************************************** Forecasting the evolution of lava flow fields Dr. C. Solana (University of Portsmouth), Dr. C. Kilburn (University College London) and Mrs. E. Butcher, (University of Portsmouth) A Leverhulme trust fully funded PhD is available at the University of Portsmouth for a UK/EU student. A minimum of an undergraduate degree in an Earth Sciences discipline, Physics or Engineering is required. Lava flows are the most common volcanic product on the surface of our planet and threaten some 20 million people around the world. They are also one of the few volcanic products whose hazard can be modified by human intervention. The most frequent hazard to communities is provided by flows that direct lava from the vent to the flow front along channels with fixed margins, or levees. The collapse or overflow of levees allows new flows to grow from the original channel. Under natural conditions, the new flows may threaten areas previously thought to have been safe. However, if the breaching and overflow of levees can be controlled artificially, the possibility emerges of being able to direct lavas away from valuable districts. A quantitative understanding of levee development and failure is thus important for advancing methods of evaluating and managing lava hazards. Using a combination of field and laboratory methods, this PhD project will investigate the mechanisms that control levee formation, evolution and collapse. Field studies of levee structure will be conducted on Mt Etna, in Sicily, and either Tenerife or Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. The laboratory studies will involve analogue experiments to simulate levee development, and rock mechanics tests to identify the conditions for levee failure. The integrated results will then be used to establish procedures for forecasting during an eruption the likely locations of levee breaching. Previous knowledge or experience of field and laboratory techniques would be preferred. Background reading Kilburn CRJ (2000). Lava flows and flow fields, Encycolpedia of Volcanoes (Ed. Sigurdsson H) 291-305, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 1471. Solana MC et al. (2004). Fast emplacement of extensive pahoehoe flow-fields: the case of the 1736 flows from Montana de las Nueces, Lanzarote. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 132: 189-207. Candidates should send an application letter, full CV and the names and addresses of 3 referees to Dr. Carmen Solana, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3QL. Applications should be received by the 6th of March 2009. For more information please email sees.enquiries@xxxxxxxxxxx Interviews will be held on the 20th of March 2009 and the student will have to start no later than May 31, 2009. ============================================================== To unsubscribe from the volcano list, send the message: signoff volcano to: listserv@xxxxxxx, or write to: volcano-request@xxxxxxxx To contribute to the volcano list, send your message to: volcano@xxxxxxxx Please do not send attachments. ==============================================================
