High Pressure High Temperature Laboratory of Experimental Volcanology and Geophysics, INGV-Roma
by Beatriz Martinez Montesinos
Experimental Geophysics and Volcanology (HP-HT Lab) of INGV in Rome. The HP-HT Lab appeared right away as an active and stimulating working environment where scientists from Europe and worldwide were facing a broad range of Earth Science topics taking advantage of state-of-the-art experimental and analytical facilities.
During the visit to the HP-HT Lab we had the chance to observe the BRAVA and SHIVA instruments at work. BRAVA stands for Brittel-Rock investigAtion Versatile Apparatus, and is designed to record different seismic signals during frictional sliding of large rock samples (up to 20x20 cm) in a fluid-rich environment, with the purpose of comparing these signals to those recorded in nature. SHIVA stands for Slow to High Velocity Apparatus and is a technologically advanced tool for investigating rock friction under extreme slip velocities and accelerations. SHIVA is developed to reproduce as closely as possible natural conditions of slip velocity and acceleration on intact and fault rocks.
In order to investigate the chemical and physical properties of silicate melts at crustal and mantle conditions, the HP-HT Lab is equipped with furnaces, piston cylinders, and a multi-anvil able to reach a maximum operating temperature and pressure of 2700 °C and 26 GPa, respectively. Additionally, a laboratory is dedicated to study the ascent of gas bubbles in analogue volcanic conduits and the mechanisms driving ash aggregation.
During the training-day we also visited the Electron Microprobe and the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy installed at the HP-HT Lab. The former is an instrument designed to determine quantitatively the composition of a solid polished material on a microscale with very high precision; the latter is a scanning microscope used for morphological observations up to the nanometer scale and semi-qualitative elemental analyses of rock constituents.
Finally, we visited the seismic monitoring room (open 24h/7days a year) where highly trained staff continuously analyze signals from the instrumental seismic network distributed over the Italian territory in order to monitor seismicity and obtain relevant earthquake parameters and information for communication to civil protection authorities.
