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Doc. Dr. Alessandro Fabbrizio, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Experimental geochemistry/petrology/volcanology

Contact:

Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology
Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science
Albertov 6, 128 43 Praha 2

2nd floor, room 206
email: alessandro.fabbrizio@natur.cuni.cz
tel.: (+420) 22195 1525

 

 

Science popularization 

Presentation

I am an experimental geoscientist performing experiments at high temperatures and high pressures with the aim of understanding the evolution of a magma from its source inside the Earth to its final eruption at Earth’s surface. I am particularly interested in the study of pre- and syneruptive conditions of active magmatic systems.

Research topics

  • Mineral/melt partitioning of heterovalent elements as proxies for the oxidation state of magmas
  • Zoning and diffusion of elements in crystals and melt inclusions to constrain the timescales of syneruptive processes
  • Kinetic incorporation of elements in magmatic minerals
  • Phase equilibria of magmatic systems
  • Application of geo-hygrometers, geo-thermometers, and geo-barometers to constrain the pre-eruptive conditions

Ongoing projects

  • 03/2023-02/2025 - GAUK (Grant Agency Charles University) Project number 154123: "Experimental constraints on phase equilibria and pre-eruptive conditions of active volcanoes" (879 000 CZK).

Phase equilibria studies applied to volcanic eruptions and the quantification of the pre-eruptive conditions (T, P, volatile contents) of the stored magma body allow a better understanding of the behavior of the investigated magmatic system with a consequent improvement of our process of risk and disaster mitigation. Phase equilibria studies can shed a light on the stability fields of the erupted mineralogical assemblages as well as on the texture and chemistry of the erupted rocks. All these information permit a deeper knowledge of the volcanic processes happening before the eruption and allow a better understanding of the eruptive styles of a volcano. The project deals with piston-cylinder experiments and microanalysis of the run products to investigate the phase equilibria and the pre-eruptive conditions of three recent eruptions (Cumbre Vieja 2021, La Palma - Canary Islands; Calbuco 2015, Chile; Lonquimay 1988-1990, Chile). The research develops as follows: 2023: 1st series of experiments (20) to study the phase equilibria and the pre-eruptive conditions of the Cumbre Vieja eruption; 2024: 2nd series of experiments (20) to determine the phase equilibria and the pre-eruptive conditions of the Calbuco eruption; 2025: 3rd series of experiments (20) to investigate the phase equilibria and the pre-eruptive conditions of the Lonquimay eruption.

  • 01/2023-12/2025 - GACR (Grant Agency Czech Republic)  Standard Project number 23-04734S: "Experimental determination of Be diffusivity in pyroxenes and plagioclase: a new tool for geospeedometry" (3 413 000 CZK).

Volcanic eruptions represent major societal hazards. Constraining the timescales of preeruptive processes in active volcanic systems is paramount to understand magma chamber dynamics and the triggers for volcanic eruptions. Temporal information of magmatic processes is locked within the chemical zoning profiles of crystals but can be accessed by means of elemental diffusion chronometry. The precondition and the basis of any geospeedometric study is to rely on well constrained and reliable diffusivity values determined, for the elements of interest, by means of experimental petrology. In this project it is proposed to experimentally investigate the diffusion of Be in pyroxenes and plagioclase. The new experimental data on Be diffusion can give the possibility to investigate the magmatic processes happening at the timescales of hours/days before the eruption. These new data will be applied to characterize the residual Be diffusion profiles retrieved in natural rocks erupted at Cumbre Vieja volcano (La Palma, Volcano Islands) and thus to determine the timescales of the eruption.

 

​​Link to Publications

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Teaching

MG440C28A - Advanced Reading Course

MG440C28B - Advanced Reading Course

MG440P71 - Geological Thermodynamics

MG440C08E - Microscopy of rock-forming minerals

MG440P78 - Experimental Petrology

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