
Doctor of Philosophy (Monash University)
Background
I study volcanoes and the different ways volcanism has impacted our planet – its evolution, its atmosphere and our environment. Volcanoes are one of the most powerful agents of change on our planet, from creating the continents we live on to changing the climate and extinguishing life.
My research focuses on two particular themes:
1. The largest volcanic events in Earth history: Known as Large Igneous Provinces, these have been linked to the birth of new continents, making the mineral and energy resources we depend on, and major extinctions.
2. How life interacts with volcanism: I’m particularly interested in floating masses of pumice (pumice rafts), produced by explosive eruptions, which act as a mass-transit vehicles transporting shallow marine communities across deep oceans. These pumice rafts have the potential to help sustain coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef.
Awards and Recognition
2016: Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence, QUT
2015: Vice Chancellor’s Performance Award, QUT
2013: Exceptional Reviewer Award, Geological Society of America Bulletin
2011: Vice Chancellor’s Performance Award, QUT
2010: Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, QUT
2003: Damon Wells Research fellowship, Yale University
Projects (Chief investigator)
Additional information
I have been Geology & Geochemistry Discipline Leader since 2014. This follows a career trajectory involving positions at a number of institutions, both in Australia and overseas, undertaking a number of roles including post-doctoral research, research fellowship and lecturing positions. In addition, I have undertaken, and continue to undertake translational research projects with a number of industry partners. My research is international, having undertaken field research in many countries including: Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Argentina, Tonga, Namibia, China, the Canary Islands, USA and UK. The scope of my research is broad and deals with physical volcanology, volcaniclastic sedimentology, stratigraphy, igneous petrology, tectonics, geochronology, structure and mineralisation. Many research projects have involved collaboration with other departmental researchers and academics, national and international researchers, students and/or industry clients. Most research has been interdisciplinary and therefore team-based, with each member bringing a different skill set to the research project.
Past Positions
2013-2014: Senior Lecturer, QUT
2010-2013: Vice-Chancellors Senior Research Fellow, QUT
2009-2010: ResTeach Affliate, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland
2008-2010: Principal Research Fellow, WH Bryan Mining & Geology Research Centre, The University of Queensland
2006-2008: Senior Lecturer, School of Geography, Geology & Environment, Kingston University
2003-2005: Damon Wells Fellow, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University
2000-2003: ARC Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland
- Jones M, Mallmann G, Wykes J, Knafelc J, Bryan S, Howard D, (2020) Iterative energy self-calibration of Fe XANES spectra, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation p207-211
- Clemens J, Stevens G, Bryan S, (2019) Conditions during the formation of granitic magmas by crustal melting - hot or cold; drenched, damp or dry?, Earth-Science Reviews p1-21
- Ferrari L, Orozco-Esquivel T, Bryan S, Lopez-Martinez M, Silva-Fragoso A, (2018) Cenozoic magmatism and extension in western Mexico: Linking the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province and the Comondu Group with the Gulf of California rift, Earth-Science Reviews p115-152
- Siegel C, Bryan S, Allen C, Gust D, (2018) Use and abuse of zircon-based thermometers: A critical review and a recommended approach to identify antecrystic zircons, Earth-Science Reviews p87-116
- Bryan S, Orozco-Esquivel T, Ferrari L, Lopez-Martinez M, (2014) Pulling apart the mid to late Cenozoic magmatic record of the Gulf of California: Is there a Comondu arc?, Geological Society Special Publication p389-407
- Bryan S, Cook A, Evans J, Hebden K, Hurrey L, Colls P, Jell J, Weatherley D, Firn J, (2012) Rapid, long-distance dispersal by pumice rafting, PLoS One p1-13
- Bryan S, Peate I, Peate D, Self S, Jerram D, Mawby M, Marsh J, Miller J, (2010) The largest volcanic eruptions on Earth, Earth-Science Reviews p207-229
- Bryan S, Ferrari L, Reiners P, Allen C, Petrone C, Ramos-Rosique A, Campbell I, (2008) New insights into crustal contributions to large-volume rhyolite generation in the mid-Tertiary Sierra Madre Occidental Province, Mexico, revealed by U-Pb geochronology, Journal of Petrology p47-77
- Peate I, Bryan S, (2008) Re-evaluating plume-induced uplift in the Emeishan large igneous province, Nature Geoscience p625-629
- Bryan S, Ernst R, (2008) Revised definition of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), Earth-Science Reviews p175-202