Dr Thomas Wilkes
School of Geography and Planning
Lecturer in Volcanology
Full contact details
School of Geography and Planning
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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Thomas graduated in Environmental Geoscience (MSci) from The University of Bristol in 2014, before carrying out a research placement in volcanology at Colima de Intercambio en Investigación en Vulcanología, Mexico. He joined The University of Sheffield in 2015, where he completed a PhD on the development of low-cost remote sensing instruments for application in volcano monitoring. Subsequently, as a post-doctoral researcher at The University of Sheffield, he was responsible for the development and wider dissemination of SO2 measurement systems.
In 2021 he began a three-year Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Sheffield. The project aims to improve our understanding of SO2 emissions from volcanoes, namely their measurement, associated errors, and how these relate to volcanic activity.
- Research interests
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I began my academic career as a geoscientist but through my PhD I have developed further skills and interests in software engineering (predominantly in Python), instrument design and optical design. My work therefore spans a broad range of fields, with the overarching focus on using remote sensing techniques to improve our understanding of volcanic activity.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Temporal Variability in Gas Emissions at Bagana Volcano Revealed by Aerial, Ground, and Satellite Observations. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 24(6).
- Evolution of the magmatic-hydrothermal system at Lastarria volcano (Northern Chile) between 2006 and 2019: insights from fluid geochemistry. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11.
- A new permanent, low-cost, low-power SO2 camera for continuous measurement of volcanic emissions. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11.
- Semantic segmentation of explosive volcanic plumes through deep learning. Computers & Geosciences, 105216-105216.
- Publisher Correction: Volatile metal emissions from volcanic degassing and lava–seawater interactions at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1).
- Volatile metal emissions from volcanic degassing and lava–seawater interactions at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai’i. Communications Earth & Environment, 2. View this article in WRRO
- Ultraviolet camera measurements of passive and explosive (Strombolian) sulphur dioxide emissions at Yasur volcano, Vanuatu. Remote Sensing, 12(17). View this article in WRRO
- Author Correction: Combined ground and aerial measurements resolve vent-specific gas fluxes from a multi-vent volcanic system. Nature Communications, 11(1).
- First Measurements of Gas Flux with a Low-Cost Smartphone Sensor-Based UV Camera on the Volcanoes of Northern Chile. Remote Sensing, 12(13), 2122.
- Combined ground and aerial measurements resolve vent-specific gas fluxes from a multi-vent volcano. Nature Communications, 11(1), ---. View this article in WRRO
- Degassing at Sabancaya volcano measured by UV cameras and the NOVAC network. Volcanica, 2(2), 239-252. View this article in WRRO
- The PiSpec: A Low-Cost, 3D-Printed Spectrometer for Measuring Volcanic SO2 Emission Rates. Frontiers in Earth Science, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Measuring and Visualizing Solar UV for a Wide Range of Atmospheric Conditions on Hawai’i Island. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6). View this article in WRRO
- A Rapidly Convecting Lava Lake at Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua. Frontiers in Earth Science, 6. View this article in WRRO
- Dynamics of outgassing and plume transport revealed by proximal Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) measurements at Volcán Villarrica, Chile. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 20(2), 730-750. View this article in WRRO
- Thermal Imaging Metrology with a Smartphone Sensor. Sensors, 18(7), 2169-2169. View this article in WRRO
- The development of a low-cost, near infrared, high-temperature thermal imaging system and its application to the retrieval of accurate lava lake temperatures at Masaya volcano, Nicaragua. Remote Sensing, 10(3). View this article in WRRO
- Smartphone Spectrometers. Sensors (Switzerland), 18(1), 223-223. View this article in WRRO
- Low-cost 3D printed 1 nm resolution smartphone sensor-based spectrometer: instrument design and application in ultraviolet spectroscopy. Optics Letters, 42(21), 4323-4326. View this article in WRRO
- Reply to Kern, C. The Difficulty of Measuring the Absorption of Scattered Sunlight by H2O and CO2 in Volcanic Plumes: A Comment on Pering, et al. “A Novel and Inexpensive Method for Measuring Volcanic Plume Water Fluxes at High Temporal Resolution”, Remote Sens. 2017, 9, 146. Remote Sensing, 9(10), 1040. View this article in WRRO
- Ultraviolet Imaging of Volcanic Plumes: A New Paradigm in Volcanology. Geosciences, 7(3), ---. View this article in WRRO
- A novel and inexpensive method for measuring volcanic plume water fluxes at high temporal resolution. Remote Sensing, 9(2). View this article in WRRO
- A Low-Cost Smartphone Sensor-Based UV Camera for Volcanic SO2 Emission Measurements. Remote Sensing, 9(1). View this article in WRRO
- Ultraviolet Imaging with Low Cost Smartphone Sensors: Development and Application of a Raspberry Pi-Based UV Camera. Sensors, 16(10). View this article in WRRO
- Ultraviolet camera measurements of passive and explosive sulphur dioxide emissions at Yasur volcano, Vanuatu.
Other
- Evidence of rapid conduit sealing driving explosive activity at El Reventador (Ecuador) underpinned by a permanent SO2 camera installation..
- Application of a low-cost ultraviolet camera solution for permanent sulphur dioxide measurements at six volcanoes worldwide..
Preprints
- Teaching activities
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I have taught on a range of modules during my time at Sheffield. As a graduate teaching assistant I acquired experience marking and providing lab- and desk-based teaching assistance, as well as fieldwork assistance. Now, as an active member of the department’s teaching team, I am involved in course delivery and content design.
Current modules:
GEO3004 - Applied Volcanology