The lecture is free to attend and open to all, but registration is required in advance
Abstract
Volcanoes are hot, loud and scary. As a result we know little of their internal structure or underlying ‘plumbing systems’ and still struggle to predict accurately when they might erupt.
To address this, Chris Jackson, Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London, is looking deep underground at ancient, fossilised volcanoes that preserve a record of events prior to, during, and after their historical eruptions. Using 3D seismic reflection data he X-rays the Earth’s interior, Chris maps out the internal workings of these volcanoes with the aim of better understanding when and how active volcanoes, dotted across the Earth’s surface, may behave.
It’s against this backdrop that Chris was approached by the BBC to take part in a unique adventure. After camping next to an 800 degree lava lake, Chris and his film crew abseiled into Democratic Republic of Congo’s active volcano, Nyiragongo. With clips from his documentary ‘Jungle Volcano’ and go-pro footage from Chris’s actual descent, join him for a journey through his career and experiences exploring these violent windows into our planet’s interior.
Biography
Professor Christopher Jackson is Professor of Basin Analytics in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. Jackson’s research focuses on geodynamic, structural, and stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins.
In 2017 Jackson joined a team of scientists and adventurers to take part in an extraordinary expedition to volcanoes.The two-part BBC documentary “Expedition Volcano” involved the scientists studying Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira, two of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes located deep within the African Congo.
Year of Engineering
This year, the government is running the Year of Engineering Campaign to celebrate the fantastic achievements in the world of engineering.
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