Join us for a special talk from renowned volcanologist and geologist Dr Stephen Sparks, focusing on fieldwork undertaken in Montserrat – the birthplace of exhibiting artist Veronica Ryan.
In 1997, Montserrat’s capital city, Plymouth, was destroyed by an eruption from the nearby volcanos in the Soufrière Hills, a subject that Veronica Ryan references in some of the work made for her exhibition Along a Spectrum at Spike Island (19 May to 5 September 2021).
“It’s not just that it [Soufrière Hills] was an eruption where one could do a lot of great science. It was also a humanitarian emergency, and being involved in applying the science to help manage the emergency was a great experience.”
– Dr Stephen Sparks
PROFESSOR SIR STEPHEN SPARKS FRS CBE
Professor Sir Stephen Sparks FRS CBE is Professor of Geology in the School of Earth Sciences at Bristol University, UK. His research concerns volcanic and igneous processes and he has made contributions in petrology, physical volcanology, fundamental fluid mechanics, sedimentology, and in hazard and risk assessment methods. Honours include: the 2004 Arthur Holmes medal (European Union of Geoscience), 2000 Arthur Day medal of the Geological Society of America, the 2008 Thorarinsson medal (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior), 2012 Wollaston Medal (Geological Society of London) and the 2015 Vetlesen Prize (regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for Earth Sciences).
Courtesy Stephen Sparks
A white man with grey hair and moustache, wearing a black puffer jacket sits in front of grey rock forms with his hands in his pockets.
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