Staff profile

About me

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University. I am studying variations of plagioclase morphology as a function of the cooling and/or decompression paths of subduction zone magmas. This work is part of the NERC-funded project "Magma mush eruptibility: the lifetime of mobile magma", helmed by Madeleine Humphreys; co-investigators include Fabian Wadsworth, Alexander Iveson and Richard Brooker.

The Project

Plagioclase is one of the most abundant minerals in magmas worldwide: it crystallises at depth in magma reservoirs beneath volcanoes, and continues to nucleate and grow when magma ascends to shallow depths and eventually erupts. Due to its abundance, the shape of plagioclase crystals (e.g., equant vs elongated) has a profound impact on the rheological properties of magmas. These in turn control (1) how easily magma stored at depth is remobilised and primed for eruption, and (2) whether an eruption will be explosive or effusive in nature. I aim to constrain how variations in cooling/decompression rate and crystallisation timescales affect the aspect ratio of plagioclase crystals in silicic melts using high pressure and temperature experiments, as well as analysing natural samples from subduction zone volcanoes. 

Research Interests

My research focusses on magmatic processes leading to volcanic eruptions. I use compositions and textures of volcanic rocks and minerals to reconstruct magmatic conditions and dynamics during their formation. Previous and ongoing projects include:

Pre-eruptive magmatic timescales from diffusion chronometry

Elemental diffusion profiles in zoned minerals can tell us about the timing of magmatic processes prior to volcanic eruptions, such as magma recharge. By analysing a sufficient number of crystals with different zoning patterns, we can reconstruct detailed pre-eruptive sequences of events, . For example, at Popocatepetl volcano (Mexico), most crystals were stored in a shallow magma reservoir for 100s to 1000s of years before being erupted. We can also constrain the number and duration of magma recharge events prior to eruptions, which is higher for larger and more explosive eruptions. 

Mountain Aglow

I have been part of an international collaboration charting societal and cultural responses to the eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano (Montserrat) and their role in building resilience: Mountain Aglow.

Halogen budget of natrocarbonatites

For my MSc, I studied the F, Cl and Br abundances in Ol Doinyo Lengai natrocarbonatites and associated silicic rocks as well as calciocarbonatites from around the world, using total reflection XRF and pyrohydrolysis-IC.

Public Engagement

I am a keen science communicator and, as a former British Media Fellow, especially interested in the relationship between science/scientists and the media.

CV

2020 - present: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Durham University, UK

2019 - 2020: Lecturer in Volcanology, University of East Anglia, UK

2018: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Natural History Museum London, UK

2014 - 2018: PhD student, Imperial College & Natural History Museum London, UK

2006 - 2013: MSc student, University of Tuebingen, Germany & University of Iceland

• Centre for Materials Physics
• Inorganic Opto-Electroactive Materials

Available for media contact about:

• Volcanism: Magmatic processes beneath volcanoes that lead to eruptions

Chapter in book

• Petrone, Chiara Maria & Mangler, Martin F. (2021). Elemental Diffusion Chronostratigraphy. In Crustal Magmatic System Evolution. 177.

Conference Paper

• Mangler, Martin, Humphreys, Madeleine, Iveson, Alexander & Wadsworth, Fabian (2021), Undercooled and underused: 3D crystal morphology as a petrologic indicator, Goldschmidt2021 abstracts.

Doctoral Thesis

• Mangler, Martin (2018). Evolution and dynamics of the plumbing system of Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico. PhD.

Journal Article

• Mangler, Martin F., Humphreys, Madeleine C. S., Wadsowrth, Fabian B., Iveson, Alexander A. & Higgins, Michael D. (2022). Variation of plagioclase shape with size in intermediate magmas: a window into incipient plagioclase crystallisation. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 177(6): 64.
• Mangler, Martin F., Petrone, Chiara Maria & Prytulak, Julie (2022). Magma recharge patterns control eruption styles and magnitudes at Popocatépetl volcano (Mexico). Geology 50(3): 366-370.
• Tommasini, Simone, Bindi, Luca, Savia, Lorenzo, Mangler, Martin F., Orlando, Andrea & Petrone, Chiara Maria (2022). Critical assessment of pressure estimates in volcanic plumbing systems: The case study of Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico. Lithos 408-409: 106540.
• Gisbert, Guillem, Delgado-Granados, Hugo, Mangler, Martin, Prytulak, Julie, Espinasa-Pereña, Ramón & Petrone, Chiara Maria (2021). Evolution of the Popocatépetl Volcanic Complex: constraints on periodic edifice construction and destruction by sector collapse. Journal of the Geological Society jgs2021-022.
• Mangler, Martin F., Petrone, Chiara M., Hill, Samuel, Delgado-Granados, Hugo & Prytulak, Julie (2020). A Pyroxenic View on Magma Hybridization and Crystallization at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico. Frontiers in Earth Science 8: 362.
• Mangler, Martin, Prytulak, Julie, Gisbert, Guillem, Delgado-Granados, Hugo & Petrone, Chiara (2019). Interplinian effusive activity at Popocatepetl volcano, Mexico: new insights into evolution and dynamics of the plumbing system. Volcanica 2(1): 45-72.
• Mangler, Martin, Marks, Michael A.W., Zaitzev, Anatoly N., Eby, G. Nelson & Markl, Gregor (2014). Halogens (F, Cl and Br) at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano (Tanzania): Effects of magmatic differentiation, silicate–natrocarbonatite melt separation and surface alteration of natrocarbonatite. Chemical Geology 365: 43.