Facilities

We have three laboratories in the University’s Jane Herdman Building, designed for differing experiments and fields of study. We also have offices on the 2nd and 4th floor.

Magma Lab – A4.14 

The Magma lab is our primary space which we use to study a whole range of topics relating to fluid dynamics, magma flow, and volcanic plumbing systems. It is here we perform a number of analogue modelling experiments, namely particle image velocimetry (PIV) and digital image correlation (DIC), to understand magma flow regimes and deformation mechanisms and how these subsequently influence the eruption potential of underground magma.  

With a state of the art Lasermet Interlock system, the lab is fully ready to run PIV experiments in a safe environment using our Litron Nano TRL 325-15 PIV laser and LaVision Imager SX camera series. 

The lab is also fitted with a smaller storage room where we keep some of our larger items like glass tanks and containers, which we use for the experiments described above. 

Read Lab – H3.01

The Read Lab is our largest space and is used for non-PIV or DIC related experiments and installations. Recently, we have used it for modelling processes like lava flow evolution and seismic attenuation. It's also home to our primary lab desktop computer 'Rocky', our data repository for footage filmed in our studies. We also keep the majority of our fluids and powders here including gelatine, cellosize, laponite, sunflower oil, golden syrup, and black treacle.

Rheometry Lab – A4.09

Our Rheometry lab is home to a Thermo Scientific Haake Mars Rheometer III hooked up to a Heat Exchanger and Controller, which is used across the School of Environmental Sciences to study the rheological properties of materials. We use the latest versions of RheoWin Job Manager and RheoWin Data Manager and have a selection of cones and base plates for viscosity measurements.