David Pyle

@davidmpyle.bsky.social

1.8K followers 1.4K following 130 posts

Volcanologist at the University of Oxford: volcanic histories, imaginaries, resources and futures. https://curatingcrises.omeka.net/ https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/rethinking-natural-resources/ https://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/vesuvius-22 .. more

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Environmental science 32%

Geology 30%

Posts Replies Media Videos

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 1d

Archaeological interpretations beyond demonstrating that this approach has potential for detecting subsurface structures, it is regrettable that we included a citation to an unreliable source, but we certainly are engaging with disciplinary experts in follow-on work.

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 1d

We show that there are some vegetation indices that correlate with the gravity signal across the tunnel, and most of the paper is devoted to this analysis and the development of a workflow for future work. In the context of a paper in an Earth Observation that cites 149 references and makes no ..

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for the cautionary note. The primary purpose of the paper was to test whether there are any correlations between Vegetation Indices derived from multi-spectral satellite imagery and geophysical data (gravity, ground-penetrating radar), at a known control site, where there is a shallow tunnel.

Reposted by David Stott

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 1d

New paper from Adam Morley shows that some vegetation anomalies in multi-spectral satellite data correlate with geophysical data, and can be used to identify buried archaeological structures like tunnels and drains, with examples from Cornwall and Normandy.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Photograph inside a stone-walled tunnel with one end open to the light. This structure is called a fogou, and is thought to have been constructed in the Iron Age. Location - Carn Euny ancient village, Cornwall. Thanks to English Heritage and Historic England Southwest for permissions.

Reposted by David Pyle, Dave O’Brien, Christopher Smith , and 1 more David Pyle, Dave O’Brien, Christopher Smith, Jack Stilgoe

Richard Jones @richardaljones.bsky.social · 2d

The biggest upheaval in UK science policy since the 1980s is currently underway, with the creation of a much more direct & explicit link between UK government priorities & £9bn/ yr of R&D funded by the agency UKRI

My attempt to explain & set in historical context
softmachines.org?p=3252

UK science policy in transition – Soft Machines, by Richard Jones

softmachines.org

Reposted by David Pyle

U.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling @us-sciod.bsky.social · 4d

Hello BlueSky! We’re here to bring you the latest opportunities and news in U.S. scientific ocean drilling and amplify the work of our community and partners. This account is managed by the U.S. Scientific Ocean Drilling Coordination Office (SODCO).

Reposted by David Pyle

Michael H Whitworth @profmhwhitworth.bsky.social · 4d

Romanticists and Long Eighteenth Centuryists — there’s an Associate Professorship (or Professorship) being advertised, a joint appointment with St Peter’s College.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQK016/a...

Associate Professorship (or Professorship) of English Literature at University of Oxford

An academic position as a Associate Professorship (or Professorship) of English Literature is being advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Click now to find more details and explore additional academic job opportu...

www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by David Pyle, Peter Jacobs

Dr. Thomas Ronge @thomasronge.bsky.social · 5d

🚨Check out our new IODP paper on Kolumbo Volcano in Greece. Despite being one of Europe's most dangerous volcanoes not much is known about its eruptive history. The paper led by @abigaillily.bsky.social adds important insight into the Kolumbo-Santorini system
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/...

Schematic summary of the eruptive history of Kolumbo Volcano.

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 10d

Delightful video explainer from @sofiadellasala.bsky.social and @oxfordsparks.bsky.social about a research expedition to the deep sea floor of #Santorini's caldera during the HYDROMOX project led by @isobelyeo.bsky.social and funded by @ukri.org

youtu.be/leZ7A1IY6dg?...

Life in the Field: Exploring the Seafloor

YouTube video by OxfordSparks

youtu.be

Reposted by David Pyle, Margot C. Finn

Heather Craddock @hcraddock.bsky.social · 23d

I'll be talking about the Hope Botanic Gardens in Jamaica on 27th Jan, using records from the colonial archives at Kew Gardens 🌴

Signup here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/empires-pl...

Empires, Plants & Gardening: Kew in Jamaica

The second talk in our series exploring the influence of political and economic power on garden-making

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by David Pyle, Greg Walker, Elaine Treharne , and 2 more David Pyle, Greg Walker, Elaine Treharne, Michael H. Whitworth, Markus W. Gehring

Dr Mark Purcell @camlibresearch.bsky.social · 26d

Munby Fellowship in Bibliography based @theul.bsky.social in Cambridge - closes on 1 February, so still time to apply.

Munby Fellowship in Bibliography 2026 - 2027 at University of Cambridge

Searching for an academic job? Explore this Munby Fellowship in Bibliography 2026 - 2027 opening on jobs.ac.uk! Click to view more details and browse other academic jobs.

www.jobs.ac.uk

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Jan 9

Many congratulations to @seismokoel.bsky.social!

Royal Astronomical Society @royalastrosoc.bsky.social · Jan 9

The Fowler Award for geophysics is awarded to Professor Paula Koelemeijer, of @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social.

The award panel described her as "a rising star, a leading scientist, and a role model for the next generation". 👏
⤵️

Reposted by David Pyle

Royal Astronomical Society @royalastrosoc.bsky.social · Jan 9

Reposted by David Pyle

Tim Howles @timhowles.bsky.social · Jan 5

Delighted to have the opportunity to respond to Dr Tim Middleton's important new book on 26 January at Regent's Park, University of Oxford:
"Witnessing a Wounded World: A Theology of Ecological Trauma"
www.ticketsource.co.uk/witnessing-a...

Reposted by David Pyle

Charnwood Forest Geopark @charnwoodforest.bsky.social · Jan 5

📖 Applications are now open for an exciting geopark-related PhD in storytelling at Loughborough University

🤔 Know anyone who might be interested?

🌐 Read more here: www.charnwoodforest.org/storytelling...

Reposted by David Pyle

conall-macn.bsky.social @conall-macn.bsky.social · Dec 30

Delighted to see my @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social colleagues Gideon Henderson (CBE) and Tamsin Mather (OBE) recognised in the New Years honours list published this evening. Brilliant news for them and for Earth Sciences more generally.

Reposted by David Pyle

Dr. Thomas Ronge @thomasronge.bsky.social · Dec 11

🚨New Publication where we employed visible to shortwave infrared spectroscopy to identify tephra layers from the background marine sediment present in core sections collected in the Aegean Sea.
#NSFFunded
publications.iodp.org/proceedings/...

A mosaic of sediment and rock close-up photos from a site drilled in the Aegean Sea.

Reposted by David Pyle

$fractionated.bsky.social$

Shashank @fractionated.bsky.social · Dec 11

I’m excited to share that my latest research article, “Experimental determination of equilibrium sulfur isotope fractionation factors in the gas–silicate melt–sulfide liquid system,” has just been published in GCA!
The article is available here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Experimental determination of equilibrium sulfur isotope fractionation factors in the gas-silicate melt-sulfide liquid system

PDF | Sulfur, despite its minor presence (~ 250 µg.g− 1) in the bulk silicate Earth, can exhibit high solubility in melts, up to 1.5 wt. %, depending on... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...

www.researchgate.net

Reposted by David Pyle

dangerousvolcanoes.bsky.social @dangerousvolcanoes.bsky.social · Dec 11

Excited to launch Ex-X! A UKRI NERC Large Grant studying dangerous volcanoes in the Eastern Caribbean.
Led by Bristol Uni with @UWI-SRC, @MVO, @IPGP & global collaborators.
Goal: advance understanding of eruptive processes, conduit dynamics & coupled models to improve hazard forecasting.

The eruption of the Saint-Vincent Soufrière on April 13, 2021. (© Professor Richard Robertson, The UWI Seismic Research Centre)

Reposted by David Pyle

Royal Society of Chemistry @rsc.org · Dec 11

Early career researchers or PhD students, could £500 develop your career?

Our Researcher Development and Travel Grant can help you organise a scientific meeting and more.

Apply by 26 January: https://rsc.li/3YjLkiN
#ChemSky

Two scientists discussing over a laptop and documents, with text promoting the Royal Society of Chemistry's Researcher Development and Travel Grant.

Reposted by David Pyle, Rebecca Williams

Andrew Alden @geology.bsky.social · Dec 11

Here's a long shot: a big orphan pebble collection from the USGS, yours if you can take and treasure it. See alt text

California Conglomerate Clast Collection Seeks New Home

Conglomerate clasts were collected from 279 sites by Vic Seiders and Brett Cox for their report, "Place of Origin of the Salinian Block, California, as Based on Clast Compositions of Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary Conglomerates," USGS Professional Paper 1526 (https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1526/report.pdf).

This is an extremely important comprehensive collection. Localities are principally in or near the Salinian Block in western California, but cover from Anchor Bay (Stewarts Point quad, 4,281,400N, 462.390E) to Cabo Vizcaino in Baja California, including a bit of western Arizona. At least one locality, on Highway 92 near Pilarcitos Creek (site WO-268, Woodside quad, 4,149,080N, 555.710E), is now inaccessible, having been encased in Caltrans concrete.

In the mid 1990s, when the USGS closed their rock storage depository in Menlo Park, throwing irreplaceable collections in the trash, the Seiders and Cox collection was given by Brett Cox to Kathleen Burnham for safe keeping. However, she used only one of these clasts in her own work, has no further need of them, and has run out of room to store them.

The collection is entirely pebbles, size range 0.4-6.0 cm, mainly 0.4-3.0 cm, and samples were etched overnight in 5% hydrofluoric acid solution, to aid in identification. The rocks are neatly stored in boxes measuring 12" x 9.5" x 5". At present the stack is 6 by 3 by 6 boxes, which comes to 108 boxes, and the stack measures 69" x 39" x 30", roughly 47 cubic feet. The boxes are marked and numbered. One box was partially damaged, however, no clasts or markings on the box were lost.

Kathleen used the Seiders and Cox locations for some of her own collection, and reports that despite their work pre-dating GPS, their sample locations are extremely accurately specified in their publication.

If this collection would be useful to you, and/or you can give these rocks a home, DM me and I’ll pass on your name.

clean etched pebbles from the collection

Boxes of the collection, each one clearly marked and annotated

Reposted by Jenni Barclay, Rebecca Williams

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Dec 4

The second is a 40 month Postdoctoral Research Associate in numerical modelling of volcanic conduit flow, University of Manchester. Closing date – 9 January 2026

Both positions would suit researchers from applied mathematics, physics or fluids/engineering backgrounds

#HEJobs

Research Associate in Numerical Modelling of Conduit Flow:Oxford Road

A Postdoctoral Research Associate appointment in numerical modelling of volcanic conduit flow is available from November 2025 for 42 months in the framework of the newly funded NERC Large Grant project ‘Expecting the Unexpected: Understanding “Dangerous” Volcanic Transitions (Ex‑X)’.

www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk

Reposted by Jenni Barclay, Rebecca Williams

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Dec 4

Two PDRA openings in modelling of volcanic flows and fluids, as part of @volcanojenni.bsky.social new NERC Large Grant 'Ex-X Expecting the Unexpected'.

The first: 24 month, Senior Research Associate post in Volcanic Plume Modelling, University of Bristol. Closing date – 11 Dec #HEJobs

Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol

www.bristol.ac.uk

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Dec 4

HT to @gavinkane.bsky.social for the Quality Street suggestion!

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Dec 4

I have not done it before - so this is an experiment, and we will be using the mineral components rather than chemical species! It should be a fun 30 minutes at the end of term!

David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · Dec 3

What to do for the last first-year igneous #petrology practical class of term, late on a Friday, when you have been teaching #magma differentiation? 🌋⚒️

Photograph of a large tub of wrapped chocolates of different colour and shapes, with three more tubs in the background

Reposted by David Pyle, Rebecca Williams

Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · Dec 2

Excited to be participating as a keynote in this conference "What Makes a Geoscience Model Useful?" next year at The Geological Society of London ⚒️ #philsci

www.geolsoc.org.uk/events/what-...

The Geological Society
What Makes a Geoscience Model
Useful?
Home > •••
> What Makes a Geoscience Model Useful?
21 - 22 September 2026
09:00 - 18:00
Overview
Speakers

The meeting aims to use oral, poster and keynote presentations combined with discussion and debate sessions to progress answers to the following questions:
• What makes a geoscience model useful?
• How should conceptual, analogue and numerical models be used and integrated in geoscience?
• How much do conceptual models inform, influence or limit data collection and interpretation?
• Do digital outcrop models have significant untapped potential, for example to improve existing conceptual models?
• What does it mean for a model to be predictive?
• How do you find the simplest model or models able to answer the question being asked?
• Are simple process models as useful as complex process models?
• Do we need metrics for model complexity?
• What new process models remain to be developed?
geolsoc.org.uk

Reposted by David Pyle

Oxford Earth Sciences @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social · Nov 26

Thinking about graduate study? Our department offers an inspiring environment for research and learning 🌏

Hear from current DPhil students Sofia and Brandon in this short video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnh2...

DPhil Study in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford

Calling all prospective graduate students with a passion for our planet! Check out these interviews with current DPhils Sofia and Brandon, and hear about their experience of graduate study in the…

www.youtube.com

Reposted by David Pyle

EAG @eageo.bsky.social · Nov 26

Job alert: #postdoc in experimental Petrology/ Geochemistry, University of Innsbruck (AT). Apply by 11 January 2026 or position open until filled. More info: buff.ly/2A7JsJN

Reposted by David Pyle, Tim Wright

Alessandro La Rosa @alarosa.bsky.social · Nov 26

Following the #HayliGubbi eruption, our paper on the Erta Ale dike of Jun-Jul is finally out. InSAR, optical data and seismicity showed the temporal evolution of the intrusion and the interaction of magmatic sources, including a sill inflation in Hayli Gubbi. @earth-science.bsky.social #geoscience

Frontiers | Segmented dike intrusion linked to multi-level magma storage during and before the 2025 eruption at Erta Ale (East Africa)

IntroductionDike intrusions can assist continental rifting and plate divergence. However, our understanding of the magma dynamics during diking and the archi...

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