Dr John A. Stevenson

Royal Society of Edinburgh / Scottish Government Personal Research Fellow
Co-funded by Marie-Curie Actions

Current Research

Despite its moderate size, the April 2010 explosive eruption of Eyjafjallajökull highlighted how Icelandic volcanism can affect the UK. Ash from previous eruptions in Iceland, some of which were many times larger, is preserved in soils across Scotland as microtephra layers. This project seeks to understand the eruptive and transportation processes by which microtephra layers form and to evaluate the hazard to the UK presented by the eruptions that produce them (e.g. airport closures, potential fluorine poisoning of livestock).

Building on past research in physical volcanology, volcano monitoring and geographic information science, as well as 10 years field-experience in Iceland, the project will investigate how magma fragments into fine ash in subaerial and subglacial settings and how the ash is injected into the atmosphere and transported across the Atlantic to the UK. The outputs will include new volcanological inputs for ash transport models, improved understanding of magma fragmentation and ash generation, and evaluation of the hazards associated with a range of Icelandic eruption scenarios.

Sponsors: this project is funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh, The Scottish Government and Marie-Curie Actions.

Collaborations: this project is in collaboration with, among others, Dr Thor Thordarson (School of Geosciences, Edinburgh University), Dr Sue Loughlin (British Geological Survey), Professor Andy Dugmore (School of Geosciences, Edinburgh University), Dr Matthew Hort (UK Met Office).

Project Outline: download a pdf file of the project outline here.

Volcan01010 blog

I have a blog where I write about Icelandic eruptions, including discussion of the chances of another eruption closing UK airports, the pros and cons of dispersion models and satellites in mapping ash clouds and a list of useful open-source software for geoscientists.

You can read it at http://all-geo.org/volcan01010.

Brief C.V.

• Oct 2010 - Present: Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh, UK.
• Jan 2008 - Apr 2010: EPSRC Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Manchester, UK.
• Jan 2006 - Sep 2007: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Universidad de Colima, Mexico.
• Apr 2005 - Dec 2005: Temporary Lecturer, Lancaster University, UK.
• Oct 2001 - Mar 2005: Ph.D. Volcano-ice interaction at Öræfajökull and Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland, The Open University, UK.
• Oct 1997 - Jun 2001: M.A., M.Sci. Geological Sciences, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, U.K.

Publications

1. Gudmundsson, M. T., T. Thordarson, A. Höskuldsson, G. Larsen, H. Björnsson, A. Prata, B. Oddsson, E. Magnússon, T. Högnadóttir, G. Petersen, C. L. Hayward, J. A. Stevenson, and I. Jónsdóttir (2012), Ash generation and distribution from the April-May 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland. Scientific Reports, 2, 572, doi:10.1038/srep00572.
2. Stevenson, J. A., S. C. Loughlin, C. Rae, T. Thordarson, A. Milodowski, J. S. Gilbert, S. Harangi, R. Lukács, B. Højgaard, U. Árting, S. Pyne-O'Donnell, A. MacLeod, B. Whitney, and M.Cassidy, (2012), Distal deposition of tephra from the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 summit eruption, J. Geophys. Res., 117, B008904, doi:201210.1029/2011JB008904.
3. Dellino, P., M. T. Gudmundsson, G. Larsen, D. Mele, J. A. Stevenson, T. Thordarson, and B. Zimanowski (2012) Ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption (Iceland): Fragmentation processes and aerodynamic behavior. J. Geophys. Res., 117, B00C04, doi:10.1029/2011JB008726.
4. Stevenson, J. A., N. C. Mitchell, M. Cassidy, and H. Pinkerton (2011), Widespread inflation and drainage of a pāhoehoe flow field: the Nesjahraun, Þingvellir, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, Online First, doi:10.1007/s00445-011-0482-z.
5. Stevenson, J. A., N. C. Mitchell, F. Mochrie, M. Cassidy, and H. Pinkerton (2011), Lava penetrating water: the different behaviours of pāhoehoe and ‘a‘ā at the Nesjahraun, Þingvellir, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, Online First, doi:10.1007/s00445-011-0480-1.
6. Stevenson, J. A., J. S. Gilbert, D. W. McGarvie, and J. L. Smellie (2011), Explosive rhyolite tuya formation: Classic examples from Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(1-2), 192-209, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.10.011.
7. Varley, N., R. Arámbula-Mendoza, G. Reyes-Dávila, R. Sanderson, and J. Stevenson (2010), Generation of Vulcanian activity and long-period seismicity at Volcán de Colima, Mexico. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 198(1-2), 45-56, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2010.08.009.
8. Varley, N.R., R. Arámbula-Mendoza, G. Reyes-Dávila, J. Stevenson, R. Harwood (2010), Long-period seismicity during magma movement at Volcán de Colima. Bulletin of Volcanology, 72(9), 1093-1107, doi:10.1007/s00445-010-0390-7.
9. Stevenson, J. A., X. Sun, and N. C. Mitchell (2010), Despeckling SRTM and other topographic data with a denoising algorithm, Geomorphology, 114(3), 238-252, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.07.006.
10. Evans, J. R., J. E. Huntoon, W. I. Rose, N. Varley, J. A. Stevenson, (2009), Particle sizes of andesitic ash fallout from vertical eruptions and co-pyroclastic flow clouds, Volcán de Colima, Mexico, Geology, 37(10), 935-938, doi:10.1130/G30208A.1.
11. Gavilanes-Ruiz, J. C., A. Cuevas-Muñiz, N. Varley, G. Gwynne, J. A. Stevenson, R. Saucedo-Girón, A. Pérez-Pérez, M. Aboukhalil, and A. Cortés-Cortés (2009), Exploring the factors that influence the perception of risk: The case of Volcán de Colima, Mexico, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 186(3-4), 238-252, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.12.021.
12. Stevenson, J. A., J. L. Smellie, D. W. McGarvie, J. S. Gilbert, and B. I. Cameron (2009), Subglacial intermediate volcanism at Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland: Magma-water interactions beneath thick ice, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 185(4), 337-351, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.12.016.
13. Stevenson, J. A., and N. Varley (2008), Fumarole monitoring with a handheld infrared camera: Volcán de Colima, Mexico, 2006-2007, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 177(4), 911-924, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.07.003.
14. McGarvie, D., J. A. Stevenson, R. Burgess, H. Tuffen, and A. Tindle (2007), Volcano-ice interactions at Prestahnúkur, Iceland: Rhyolite eruption during the last interglacial-glacial transition, Annals of Glaciology, 45, 38-47, doi:10.3189/172756407782282453.
15. Stevenson, J. A., D. McGarvie, J. Smellie, and J. Gilbert (2006), Subglacial and ice-contact volcanism at the Öræfajökull stratovolcano, Iceland, Bulletin of Volcanology, 68(7-8), 737-752, doi:10.1007/s00445-005-0047-0.

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