Lydia Whittaker

Title of Project

Controls on the changing architecture and dynamics of magma storage at ocean island volcanoes, Galápagos Archipelago.

Postgraduate research summary

I started at Trinity in 2020 as an MSc research student and began my PhD September 2022. I use petrological analysis and geochemical modelling to investigate the depths and timescales of sub-volcanic magma processes. My current volcanoes of interest include the Galapagos Archipelago where I completed the 2023 Alcedo Volcano mission and Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy.

As an undergraduate student I attended The University of Manchester and graduated with a first class BSc(Hons) in Geology. My undergraduate project encompassed a 6-week geological mapping project in the Isle of Skye where I investigated the Kilchrist Volcanic Suite. During my undergraduate degree I also completed an internship with GeoTenerife and InVOLCAN in the Canary Islands where I completed a diffuse CO2 degassing survey of El Hierro island and Mt Teide summit.

I am an enthusiastic member of the college community previously sitting as postgraduate representative on the Equality, Inclusivity, and Diversity Committee in the School of Natural Sciences and as the Postgraduate representative for the discipline of Geology. I currently hold the position of Postgraduate representative for the School of Natural Sciences. 

Name of supervisors

Dr. Mike Stock, Dr. Oliver Higgins

Project Start Date

September 2022

Funding

Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship

Contact Details

Email: whittakl@tcd.ie

T: @lydwhit