Category Archives: Sedimentology

Turbidity currents, pretty pictures, and an amazing 3D imaging tool

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Pete Rowley

As well as my work on pyroclastic modelling, my first postdoc was spent investigating submarine turbidity currents. It’s fair to say most of the general population have never heard of the things, which might be considered bizarre considering the fact … Continue reading →

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#IAVCEI2013 wrap-up & photos

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Pete Rowley

The conference is done, the return flight completed, and the bag of laundry dealt with. The general consensus amongst those I spoke with after the conference (and a view I agree with) was that it certainly ranks up there with … Continue reading →

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Speedbumps

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Pete Rowley

I apologise for things being a bit quiet around here recently – I can only blame my shonky time planning in failing to fit new posts in. I’ve actually started penning 3 or 4 over the last couple of months, then something … Continue reading →

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The experimentalist

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Pete Rowley

I got asked a question the other day, and it got me thinking. The question was ‘what makes a good scientist?’ The more I thought about it, the more I realised that while there are a number of key traits … Continue reading →

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Scaling new horizons

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Pete Rowley

It’s fair to say that when most people ask what I do, I simply reply “volcanologist”, “sedimentologist”, or “geologist”, depending on the audience. On the infrequent occasions they ask further what I do, it usually gets summed up as “I see how … Continue reading →

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Viennese Whirl – EGU 2012

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Pete Rowley

Thought it might be time for a little update on how EGU’s been going for those of you who couldn’t make it (and a restaurant tip below for those who could). There’s been some really good science on show, and … Continue reading →

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What happens when a pyroclastic flow goes out to sea

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Pete Rowley

This is just a brief plug-post for anyone at the European Geosciences Union in Vienna this week.  Tomorrow at 9am in Room 4 I’m presenting some recent work I’ve carried out attempting to use a turbidity current model to infer initiation … Continue reading →

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Interpreting satellite imagery

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Pete Rowley

Sometimes when you see satellite imagery you can be utterly blown away by what you see.  In many of these cases there is no question about what you are looking at. The NASA Earth Observatory has posted a number of … Continue reading →

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The pyroclastic flows of Mount Doom

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Pete Rowley

I thought I might take the opportunity to write a few posts about my first love – pyroclastic density currents (PDCs).  These are basically particle-laden flows, rich in ash and pumice, which form from explosive eruption columns or the collapse … Continue reading →

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What an opportunity

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Pete Rowley

Today marks the start of the 9th year that NASA’s Opportunity rover has been active on Mars. Launched back in 2003, and landing on January 25th 2004, Opportunity had an operational expectation of 90 sols (a sol being a Martial … Continue reading →

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