This National Science Foundation award provides $333,856 under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to the University of Texas at Austin from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2025. The funding will support the development of a unified numerical model for bubble nucleation and growth in volcanic systems through collaborative research between US and UK investigators.
Specifically, the award will combine novel experiments with theoretical modeling to address current knowledge gaps in nucleation processes and complex, evolving bubble growth. Researchers will conduct targeted experiments to inform a new nucleation formulation capturing both homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. They will also create a numerical model tracking interacting bubble cohorts to represent ensemble behavior, allowing nucleation sites to evolve over time and space. Finally, the project will integrate the nucleation formulation with the bubble growth model to develop a unified simulation of magma property evolution during natural eruptions. This model aims to improve understanding of controls on explosive volcanic eruptions and ultimately enable inference of in-conduit conditions from eruptive products.
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