Details
- Close date
- Monday, 30 November 2026
- Academic background
- Sciences
- Host campus
- Dunedin
- Qualification
- Postgraduate Diploma, Master's, PhD, Honours
- Department
- Geology
- Supervisor
- Professor James White
Overview
In late 2017 Surtsey volcano, the type example of an island-forming explosive eruption, was cored by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program.
One core targets the internal structure of the volcano. It was drilled at an angle and terminates at a depth well below the pre-eruption seafloor, but contains only primary volcaniclastic deposits, hence indicating that the vent structure below Surtsey extends at least 100 m below the original seafloor.
This project will investigate the core, including microtextures, particle shapes, thermal indicators, etc., with the aim of understanding the processes that excavated the vent, the timing of excavation, and the effects of excavation on the eruption.
The work will be linked with other projects being undertaken by an international group with bases in Iceland, the US, and Europe, and is likely to involve travel to international labs and the core repository in Reykjavik.