Research

I combine petrological and geochemical observations in igneous rocks with computational modelling to understand the interior of the Earth.

You can see my publications on Google Scholar.

High resolution sampling of active volcanoes

Erupting volcanoes give us an opportunity to sample a magmatic system at high spatial and temporal resolution, with rich contextual information. Since 2021 the volcanic systems on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula have sprung back into life. As part of a large team I work on obtaining a detailed geochemical and petrological record of the erupted lavas in order to better understand the drivers of volcanic eruptions.

Image summarises results of Matthews et al. (2024)

Deep Aqueous Fluids

At high pressures and temperatures aqueous fluids can carry large quantities of rock-forming elements. Such fluids are important for devolatilisation of subducting slabs, metasomatism of the mantle wedge and lithosphere, diamond formation, and concentration of elements in magmatic brines. I am involved in further calibration of the Deep Earth Water (DEW) model and developing software for extending the applications of the DEW model.

Thermodynamics of Magmatic Systems

Establishing quantitative links between geochemical observations and physical processes requires an understanding of the physical properties of magmas, crystals, and fluids. Within the framework of the ENKI project I write and maintain software for building, calibrating, and using thermodynamic models relevant for magmatic systems. I am also interested in the application of these models in a variety of ways to Icelandic magmatism, geothermobarometry, and planetary evolution.

Mantle plume and melting dynamics

Primitive basaltic magmas, and their crystal cargoes, preserve information about their conditions of formation and their journey to the surface. Applying bulk rock and in-situ geochemical techniques it is possible to obtain data which can be used to constrain models of mantle plume dynamics, the melting regime, and melt transport. I am particularly interested in combining geochemical, petrological, and geophysical observations to this end.

Estimates of mantle potential temperature for locations with Al-in-olivine crystallisation temperatures, from Matthews et al. (2021)