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Our work

The Volcanology and Igneous Petrology (VIP) group, led by Nicholas D. Barber, conducts research that integrates computational methods (GIS, Python, 3D morphometrics), chemical analysis (SEM, EMPA, Raman spectroscopy), and field geology to understand:

• subduction zone processes: the chemical and mass fluxes driving the formation of magmas in convergent margins
• volcanic metal emissions: the petrological processes controlling the metal chemistry of both volcanoes and ore deposits
• magma plumbing systems: the magma storage conditions, volatile (CO₂, H₂O) budgets, and eruptive processes of explosive volcanoes in Indonesia

Within these topic areas, we have a broad interest interested in the multi-disciplinary studies of the controls on, and effects of, volcanism in subduction zones. We collaborate with an international teams of volcanologists, geochemists, metamorphic petrologists, geodynamicists, experimentalists, and economic geologists to address fundamental questions about the chemical and physical processes driving volcanism at convergent margins

We are also interested in the intersection between critical minerals and volcanogy. We seek to understand the petrologic processes that controls chalcophile (sulphide-loving, e.g. Cu, As, Ag, etc.) metal abundances in magmas, and the implications of those processes for gaseous metal emissions, environmental health, ore deposition, and magmatic processes.