The Townsend Magmatic Processes Lab is part of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Lehigh University. Our lab studies how magmas and fluids are transported and stored throughout the Earth’s crust. We use geological field work, numerical modeling, and integration of diverse volcanological datasets ranging from magmatic petrology to geodesy. Read on to learn more!
Magma is the lifeblood of the planet!
The earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and crust are all made of materials that were delivered from the mantle to the surface through volcanoes. Fluids in the lithosphere influence magmatism, especially at subduction zones where most explosive volcanic eruptions take place. The combination of magmatism and a shallow water cycle promotes life, plate tectonics, weathering-climate feedbacks, and the formation of economically critical ore deposits.
Based at Lehigh University, my research group is focused on answering one of the most important questions in earth science: How are magmas and fluids transported and stored throughout the crust and how do they interact?
Our primary methods of research include:
Field-based geological investigations
Development of physics-based models
Integration of geophysical and geological data through numerical models
