Prof David Pyle

Professor of Earth Sciences


Research Theme
Tectonics, volcanoes and hazards

Research Area
Volcanology

TelephoneSearch the directory
Email:david.pyle@earth.ox.ac.uk
Homepage:
http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/research/groups/volcanology/

Research Profile

I am a volcanologist, with interests in the rates and impacts of volcanism and volcanic degassing. Follow the highlighted link to a brief cv.

Highlights of recent work include the first modern measurements of mercury in volcanic emissions (work led by Mel Witt, Tamsin Mather and Sandro Aiuppa); the discovery that hot volcanic vents act as high temperature reaction sites for atmospheric gases (work with Rob Martin and Tamsin Mather), and the recognition of glacially-modulated volcanism in Europe (with David Nowell and Chris Jones). We are now extending this work to look at rates of post-glacial volcanism in Chile.

Current Research Projects

  • Afar Consortium: How the Earth's crust forms at divergent plate margins. A NERC funded project with Ethiopian, UK and US collaborators, 2007-2012.
  • Post-glacial volcanism in southern Chile. A NERC funded project with Chilean, Belgian and UK collaborators, 2011-2014.
  • Capturing an episode of unrest at Santorini volcano, Greece. A NERC Urgency grant, with Greek and UK collaborators, 2011-2012.

Recently Completed Projects

  • Emissions of mercury (Hg) and other heavy metals from volcanoes. (NERC standard grant, 2005-2009).
  • Impact and extent of the 2008 eruption of volcan Chaiten, Chile. (NERC urgency grant, 2008-2009).

Press releases
December 2008 - Large earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
May 2009 - Ash fallout from the 2008 Chaiten eruption and images of Chaiten volcano

Post-graduate research in Volcanology at the University of Oxford

We are always interested in recruiting graduate students in volcanology. The main applications round is usually in the autumn, with many university scholarship deadlines in early January.

Fuller details are available via the Graduate Admissions page, or do please email me directly.

Teaching Profile

List of courses that I currently teach, with links to Weblearn pages and other relevant resources

  • Igneous Petrology: a second year course which covers the fundamentals of phase equilibria of simple systems, and applies them to develop an understanding of terrestrial magmatism and its plate tectonic context.
  • Igneous Petrogenesis: an advanced third year class, introducing some current research questions relating to the interpretation of igneous rocks.
  • Topics in Volcanology: a fourth year seminar class, covering a range of current topics.

Selected Publications (Extended Publications)

  • Mather, TA, Witt, MLI, Pyle, DM, Quayle, BM, Aiuppa, A, Bagnato, E, Martin, RS, Sims, KWW, Edmonds, M, Sutton, AJ, Ilyinskaya, E, () 'Halogens and trace metal emissions from the ongoing 2008 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai`i', Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. pp.
  • Matthews, NE, Pyle, DM, Smith, VC, Wilson, CJN, Huber, C, van Hinsberg, V, (2011) 'Quartz zoning and the pre-eruptive evolution of the ~340-ka Whakamaru magma systems, New Zealand', Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. pp. 1-21 doi: 10.1007/s00410-011-0660-1
  • Alfano, F, Bonadonna, C, Volentik, ACM, Connor, CB, Watt, SFL, Pyle, DM, Connor, LJ, (2011) 'Tephra stratigraphy and eruptive volume of the May, 2008, Chait,n eruption, Chile', B VOLCANOL. pp. 613-630 doi: 10.1007/s00445-010-0428-x
  • Parks, MM, Biggs, J, Mather, TA, Pyle, DM, Amelung, F, Monsalve, ML, Medina, LN, (2011) 'Co-eruptive subsidence at Galeras identified during an InSAR survey of Colombian volcanoes (2006-2009)', Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. pp. 228-240 doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2011.02.007
  • Watt, SFL, Pyle, DM, Naranjo, JA, Rosqvist, G, Mella, M, Mather, TA, Moreno, H, (2011) 'Holocene tephrochronology of the Hualaihue region (Andean southern volcanic zone, ∼42° S), southern Chile', Quaternary International. pp. 324-343 doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.029
  • Martin, RS, Witt, MLI, Pyle, DM, Mather, TA, Watt, SFL, Bagnato, E, Calabrese, S, (2011) 'Rapid oxidation of mercury (Hg) at volcanic vents: Insights from high temperature thermodynamic models of Mt Etna's emissions', Chemical Geology. pp. 279-286 doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.01.027
  • Matthews, NE, Smith, VC, Costa, A, Durant, AJ, Pyle, DM, Pearce, NJG, (2011) 'Ultra-distal tephra deposits from super-eruptions: Examples from Toba, Indonesia and Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand', Quaternary International. pp.
  • Ferguson, DJ, Barnie, TD, Pyle, DM, Oppenheimer, C, Yirgu, G, Lewi, E, Kidane, T, Carn, S, Hamling, I, (2010) 'Recent rift-related volcanism in Afar, Ethiopia', EARTH PLANET SC LETT. pp. 409-418 doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.02.010
  • Witt, MLI, Meheran, N, Mather, TA, de Hoog, JCM, Pyle, DM, (2010) 'Aerosol trace metals, particle morphology and total gaseous mercury in the atmosphere of Oxford, UK', ATMOS ENVIRON. pp. 1524-1538 doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.01.008
  • Watt, SFL, Pyle, DM, Mather, TA, (2009) 'The influence of great earthquakes on volcanic eruption rate along the Chilean subduction zone', EARTH PLANET SC LETT. pp. 399-407 doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.11.005
  • Bagnato, E, Aiuppa, A, Parello, F, Calabrese, S, D'Alessandro, W, Mather, TA, McGonigle, AJS, Pyle, DM, Wangberg, I, (2007) 'Degassing of gaseous (elemental and reactive) and particulate mercury from Mount Etna volcano (Southern Italy)', ATMOS ENVIRON. pp. 7377-7388 doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.05.060