Dr Tamsin Mather


RCUK Academic Fellow

Email: Tamsin.Mather@earth.ox.ac.uk
TEL: +44 (0)1865 282125
FAX: +44 (0)1865 272072
Homepage: http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/research/groups/volcanology

Research Profile

I am broadly interested in the role of volcanism in planetary scale processes throughout geological time. Specific interests include:

  • The atmospheric chemistry of volcanic plumes including the effects due to background air mixing into the hot gas mixture and volcanic lightning
  • Quantifying and understanding the volcanic fluxes of chemical species of atmospheric importance over different temporal and spatial scales (gases and particles) and their roles in global geochemical cycles
  • Volcanic degassing processes and the formation of volcanic aerosol
  • The emission and chemistry of mercury in volcanic plumes
  • The ultimate fate, atmospheric and environmental effects of volcanic emissions
  • Using stable isotopes to understand volcanic processes
  • The cycling of volatiles through subduction zones
  • Patterns and forcing of volcanism on the arc scale
  • Studying volcanic deformation in order to understand the physical processes of magma movement and storage and the structure and stability of volcanic edifices

These interests also lead me away from volcanoes at times and I have also studied the emissions from an oil depot fire (Buncefield 2005) and am generally interested in the global mercury cycle as well as other biogeochemical cycles.

Click here to watch a BBC audio slideshow about some of our work.

Click here to watch NERC's careers video about volcanology.

Click here to listen about collecting ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic plume here in 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. See the Graduate Admissions page for details, or email me directly.

Teaching Profile

First year: Chemistry and Nucleosynthesis; Third year: Volcanoes and the Environment; Fourth year: Topics in Volcanology

Selected Publications (Full Publications)

  • S.K. Ebmeier, J. Biggs, T.A. Mather, G. Wadge and F. Amelung, Steady downslope movement on the western flank of Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 11, Q12004, 2010. (doi:10.1029/2010GC003263)
  • S.F.L. Watt, D.M. Pyle and T.A. Mather, The influence of Great Earthquakes on volcanic eruption rate along the Chilean subduction zone, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 277, 399-407, 2009. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.11.005)
  • T.A. Mather, Volcanoes and the atmosphere: the potential role of the atmosphere in unlocking the reactivity of volcanic emissions, Philosophical Transactions A, 366, 4581-4595, doi:10.1098/rsta.2008.0152, 2008.
  • M.L.I. Witt, T.A. Mather, D.M. Pyle, A. Aiuppa, E. Bagnato and V.I. Tsanev, Mercury and halogen emissions from Masaya and Telica volcanoes, Nicaragua, Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth, 113, B06203, doi:10.1029/2007JB005401, 2008.
  • R.S. Martin, T.A. Mather and D.M. Pyle, Volcanic Emissions and the Early Earth Atmosphere, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71, 3673-3685, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2007.04.035, 2007.
  • T.A. Mather, J.R. McCabe, V.K. Rai, M.H. Thiemens, D.M. Pyle, T.H.E. Heaton, H.J. Sloane and G. Fern, The oxygen and sulfur isotopic composition of volcanic sulfate aerosol at the point of emission, Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres, 111, D18205, doi:10.1029/2005JD006584, 2006.
  • T.A. Mather, D.M. Pyle, V.I. Tsanev, A.J.S. McGonigle, C. Oppenheimer and A.G. Allen, A reassessment of current volcanic emissions from the Central American arc with specific examples from Nicaragua, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 149, 297-311, doi: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.07.021, 2006.

 

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