Susan Loughlin

Last updated
Susan Loughlin
Alma mater University of Leicester (BSc) University of Durham (PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions British Geological Survey

Susan Loughlin MBE is a British volcanologist. She was Director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory from 2004-2006, and has been Head of Volcanology for the British Geological Survey since 2008.

Contents

Education

Loughlin graduated from the University of Leicester in 1991, with a BSc in geology. She then studied the geological evolution of the Eyjafjӧll Volcanic System in Iceland for her PhD at the University of Durham, [1] supervised by Henry Emeleus and Bob Holdsworth. She submitted her thesis in 1995. [2] [3]

Career

Loughlin joined the British Geological Survey straight after completing her PhD. Her initial role was within a team responsible for mapping volcanic rocks and deposits. In the meantime, the Soufrière Hills Volcano on the island of Montserrat had begun to erupt, and Loughlin spent the period from 1997-1999 as Deputy Chief Scientist at the newly established Montserrat Volcano Observatory. [4] Loughlin returned to Montserrat at Director of the Observatory from 2004-2006. This was a time of great uncertainty with the volcano reaching ten years of activity, [5] and in her role as Director she was "arguably, the most important person in Montserrat". [6] [7] Since 2008, Loughlin has been Head of Volcanology for the British Geological Survey; and Topic Lead for Risk Reduction and Resilience since 2020. Through these roles, Loughlin provides frequent technical expertise and advice to the UK Government, the UK Met Office and the UK Civil Aviation Authority both on the risks and impacts of volcanic eruptions, and the assessment of hazards from hydrometeorological, volcanic, animal, and human health events globally. [8] [9]

Research

Loughlin has published extensively on volcanic deposits, processes and hazards, [10] [11] and in areas including volcanic hazards for the aviation industry, and best practices for the global volcano observatory community. [12] [13] In 2015, Loughlin was the lead author of a major reference book, "Global volcanic hazards and risk". [14]

Recognition

Loughlin has received significant recognition for her work during the Montserrat crisis, and during the Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull eruption of 2010, [15] during which volcanic ash clouds had a major impact on aviation across Europe. In the UK New Year Honours List 2014, Loughlin was awarded an MBE for ‘Services to Volcanology’. In 2017, Loughlin was awarded the Thermo-Fisher award of the Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group of the Geological Society of London for her 'significant contribution to our current understanding of volcanic and magmatic processes’.

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References

  1. ↑ "Loughlin Susan".
  2. ↑ Loughlin, Susan C. (January 17, 1995). The evolution of the Eyjafjoll volcanic system, southern Iceland (Doctoral). Durham University – via etheses.dur.ac.uk.
  3. ↑ "New Year Honours 2014". Dunelm (1): 10. 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Scientists fume as volcano refuses to cool". the Guardian. June 20, 1999.
  5. ↑ "Birthday Blowout". Science. 309 (5737): 1010. August 12, 2005. doi:10.1126/science.309.5737.1010b. S2CID   220091360.
  6. ↑ Meredith, Mark (January 1, 2006). "Volcano is boss: Montserrat after the Soufrière Hills eruption".
  7. ↑ "Montserrat: Hope rises out of the ashes". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  8. ↑ https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2019/EGU2019-14053.pdf
  9. ↑ "Red alert: Iceland's Hekla primed for destruction". The Irish Times.
  10. ↑ Loughlin, S. C. (January 18, 2002). "Facies analysis of proximal subglacial and proglacial volcaniclastic successions at the Eyjafjallajökull central volcano, southern Iceland". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 202 (1): 149–178. Bibcode:2002GSLSP.202..149L. doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.2002.202.01.08. S2CID   128898898.
  11. ↑ Loughlin, S. C.; Luckett, R.; Ryan, G.; Christopher, T.; Hards, V.; De Angelis, S.; Jones, L.; Strutt, M. (October 18, 2010). "An overview of lava dome evolution, dome collapse and cyclicity at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, 2005-2007: LAVA DOME EVOLUTION AND CYCLICITY". Geophysical Research Letters. 37 (19): n/a. doi: 10.1029/2010GL042547 . S2CID   128652377.
  12. ↑ Lechner, Peter; Tupper, Andrew; Guffanti, Marianne; Loughlin, Sue; Casadevall, Tom (January 18, 2018). Fearnley, Carina J.; Bird, Deanne K.; Haynes, Katharine; McGuire, William J.; Jolly, Gill (eds.). Observing the Volcano World: Volcano Crisis Communication. Springer International Publishing. pp. 51–64. doi:10.1007/11157_2016_49. S2CID   133565856 – via Springer Link.
  13. ↑ Pallister, John; Papale, Paolo; Eichelberger, John; Newhall, Chris; Mandeville, Charles; Nakada, Setsuya; Marzocchi, Warner; Loughlin, Susan; Jolly, Gill; Ewert, John; Selva, Jacopo (March 13, 2019). "Volcano observatory best practices (VOBP) workshops - a summary of findings and best-practice recommendations". Journal of Applied Volcanology. 8 (1): 2. Bibcode:2019JApV....8....2P. doi: 10.1186/s13617-019-0082-8 . S2CID   85457967.
  14. ↑ Loughlin, Susan C.; Sparks, Steve; Brown, Sarah K.; Jenkins, Susanna F.; Vye-Brown, Charlotte, eds. (January 17, 2015). Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316276273. ISBN   9781107111752.
  15. ↑ "Image of Orkney school's volcanic find published". BBC News. 27 May 2011.
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