Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Pete Rowley

@pyroclasticpete.bsky.social

1.2K followers 430 following 110 posts

Volcanologist at University of Bristol specialising in explosive eruptions, pyroclastic density currents, and hazards. Occasional brewer, baker and blacksmith. Runs UGUK Earth science teaching resource portal https://earth-science.org.uk/teach-earth

earth-science.org.uk

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 5d

a group of people applauding with barbarosgif written in the corner

ALT: a group of people applauding with barbarosgif written in the corner

media.tenor.com

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 6d

Sorry, I missed that, I was too busy opened a notebook randomly at a blank page to make notes. Am I making you twitch yet?

a man in a suit says shall i file it in front of a pile of boxes

ALT: a man in a suit says shall i file it in front of a pile of boxes

media.tenor.com

1 1

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 6d

Pile of notebooks as evidence

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 6d

I just have a lot of notebooks and tend to just grab the nearest. This one is a big A4 one which is generally too much of a nuisance to lug about :D

1 1

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 6d

Office hours just now:
Student: "will this notebook be OK? I'm concerned that ring bindings might not be hardy enough"
Me: "This ringbound notebook is fine. I've been using it since..." *checks first page* ".... 2006"
Student: That was the year I was born.

Burn GIF

ALT: Burn GIF

media.tenor.com

4 6 78

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 9d

That's an awesome model.

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · 21d

If someone's so concerned about their Englishness and the fact it goes back 1000 years, they should probably reflect that if that is how they measure it, and it only goes back 1000 years, they're probably French.

Reposted by Pete Rowley

James Dalziel @j-dalziel.bsky.social · Aug 15

This paper by Meredith et al. (2025) examines global city exposure to volcanic hazards, using metrics such as population and distance to GVP Holocene volcanoes to quantify and rank cities at risk. This data has also been visualised through a web app. nhess.copernicus.org/articles/25/...

Cities near volcanoes: which cities are most exposed to volcanic hazards?

Abstract. Cities near volcanoes expose dense concentrations of people, buildings, and infrastructure to volcanic hazards. Identifying cities globally that are exposed to volcanic hazards helps guide l...

nhess.copernicus.org

1 9 16

Reposted by Pete Rowley

Dr Rebecca Williams @volcanologist.bsky.social · Aug 9

Looking for recommendations!

I went an online storage for our research group and their data. So we can archive video data, image data etc., from a long line of projects. Files downloadable, but secure/backed up. Where people can deposit easily for our own purposes (made open by other means).

1 2 6

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jul 31

Text from Return to the Volcano: "An unusual story circulated after the war that Allied aircraft attacking Rabaul had dropped bombs into the craters of Tavurvur volcano to trigger an eruption that, hopefully, would be sufficiently large to dislodge the Japanese from their military base. So unusual was the story that many people believed it was probably untrue—a rumour, a myth, a good yarn. But the volcano bombing did take place. Takashi Kizawa told one of us (R.W.J.) of seeing bombers avoiding other targets and circling towards Tavurvur where they released bombs into the craters. The bombing had no effect, and Japanese soldiers considered the event to be a great joke. Kizawa, however, took a different view: that the enemy was inventive and determined enough at least to attempt a new technique. It helped him confirm his view that Japan would lose the war. Norm Fisher also told R.W.J. that he was consulted officially by the Royal Australian Air Force during the war about the use of bombing in triggering an eruption at Rabaul. He dismissed the suggestion outright, but after the war was amused to discover bomb craters within the volcanic craters of Tavurvur."

1 4

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jul 31

Reports in Return to Volcano Town indicate that bombing may have been attempted at Tarvuvur too - in this case to see if they could cause an eruption.

1 1 2

Reposted by Pete Rowley

Dr Rebecca Williams @volcanologist.bsky.social · Jul 4

We tried compiling a global database of deposit descriptions of pyroclastic density current deposits. The aim was to help us do big data analysis, look for common trends, and to support modelling.

We got some interesting results but also, found some really significant issues and gaps #IAVCEI2025

Selfie of a woman stood in front of a conference poster

1 8 38

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jun 28

Huh, that's impressive. I would have expected it to be pretty sheltered from that where you are

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jun 27

My challenge for this weekend is to work out the delay on the BBC Glastonbury coverage based on what I can hear in the back garden and the speed of sound.

1 9

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jun 18

If cats are liquid this must be some kind of pitch-drop experiment

Cat asleep on table with head hanging off the edge

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Jun 14

Diane Morgan's episodee of Who Do You think You are is a wonderful genre crossover / 4th wall experience.

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · May 6

Delighted that this paper has hit p[ublication. Nemi did a truly amazing job on all of this, and together with 3 other papers (1 published 2023, the others winging their way to print soon) has really moved forward our understanding of moisture in pyroclastic sediments.

Nemi Walding @nemiwalding.bsky.social · May 6

NEW PAPER!
Happy to say my 3rd results chapter from my PhD has been published! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
(1/)

The influence of moisture on ash strength: implications for understanding volcanic stratigraphy - Bulletin of Volcanology

Ash layers within extensive pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposits can be important in understanding the evolution of explosive eruptions. If interpreted as ashfall deposits, they may be used to i...

link.springer.com

2 9

Reposted by Pete Rowley

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · Apr 25

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

600 21K 60K

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 25

Reminds me of this www.reddit.com/r/clevercome...

From the clevercomebacks community on Reddit: Rage Against Something

Explore this post and more from the clevercomebacks community

www.reddit.com

Reposted by Pete Rowley

Mike Clare @mikeaclare.bsky.social · Apr 21

Great to see this research covered by the BBC - looking forward to seeing what we discover from all the data that were collected last month! Nice work by @isobelyeo.bsky.social on radio and TV interviews!

6 20

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 17

Driving across the Mendips today made me very aware of these people

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 15

Top marks for identifying a single hill without further context though!

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 14

Uig! Dunes by the Ardroil campsite

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 14

Uig, Lewis. Western isles of Scotland

Pete Rowley @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social · Apr 14

Suaineabhal

1 1