Skip to main content

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Menu Search


Trinity College Dublin By using this website you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the Trinity cookie policy. For more information on cookies see our cookie policy.

      
Profile Photo

Dr. Michael Stock

Assistant Professor (Geology)
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Michael Stock

Assistant Professor (Geology)

 MICHAEL.STOCK@tcd.ie

 


RESEARCH My research is divided into 2 themes: Igneous petrology: my core research is focussed on using novel petrological/geochemical techniques to understand the architecture/dynamics of magma systems. I have developed a multidisciplinary research method which integrates these datasets with aspects of petrography, geophysics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and analytical development. Environmental geochemistry: since arriving in TCD, I have established the Earth Surface Research Laboratory as a national geochemical facility. I have directed the lab through a 2-year process to obtain a prestigious ISO17025 accreditation and manage a €2.5M GSI grant to maintain the facility and run Government analyses. In founding the ESRL, I developed a new interest in environmental chemistry, specifically investigating heavy metal pollution in urban soils. I have established a vibrant research group which currently includes 2 technicians, 1 postdoc, 1 PhD and 1 research MSc student, with another 2 PhDs and 2 postdocs arriving in the next 6-24 months (and 1 MSc pending approval). I supervise one of the technicians as a part-time PhD student and co-supervise a PhD student in the UK. I also have 2 long-term Visiting Academic Fellows intending to join the group in the next 6 months. Since arriving in TCD, I have published 6 papers in top journals as first/co-author (2 in Nature Communications), with 2 in review and 1 for imminent submission. I have funded this research through competitive grants and postgraduate studentships, including: an SFI Frontiers for the Future Project (€625,552 FEC), an IRC Postdoctoral Fellowship (€91,970 FEC) and a Provost's PhD Award (€131,240 FEC). I am also co-I on NERC Future Leaders Fellowship and GSI Short Call project, and recently contributed to a successful GSI Equipment Call. TEACHING I have a research-led teaching philosophy, using my experience in volcanology/environmental geochemistry to show students how theoretical chemistry/physics can be applied to solve real-world problems. By introducing them to recent research breakthroughs and outstanding challenges, I aim to produce inquisitive, independent students with the ability to pursue their own interests. I have developed a Senior Freshman module (Introduction to Geochemistry) which equips SNS students with the chemical background required to undertake advanced geochemistry courses. This is a theory-heavy course, requiring innovative teaching to engage students: I contextualise conceptual ideas with clear geological examples in lecturers and run practicals where the students apply their learning to real-world datasets. I also embed quizzes within lectures to retain attention. I am currently taking over the Geology Research Methods module and am working with colleagues to explore novel teaching methods. I am also developing a Senior Sophister module in Advanced Igneous Petrology, which will provide TCD students with the skills required to pursue volcanological research, building on Ireland's reputation as a centre of excellence in this area. To continue improving as a teacher, I am undertaking an MEd in Higher Education in the School of Education. COLLEGE CONTRIBUTION I am the Geology International Students Coordinator and SNS Global Relations Committee rep. The department has recently seen an increase in the number of students wishing to take a year abroad, and I have been working to facilitate greater mobility through streamlining the Geology Erasmus programme (better integration with the TR062 course) and exploring opportunities for new Erasmus agreements. I am a College Tutor and enjoy supporting students, even with some of my Chamber struggling through difficult circumstances during COVID. I have extensively represented the College nationally and internationally: I regularly engage with the media (print, radio, TV), I am a member of a UK Government committee on national geoscience resourcing, and I've made high-level policy contributions
  apatite   Economic Geology   EXPLORATION GEOCHEMISTRY   GEOCHEMISTRY   GEOLOGY   Igenous and metamorphic petrology   Petrology, Minerology, Geochemistry   SOIL CHEMISTRY   TRACE ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY   Volcanology
Project Title
 Developing a process-based understanding of platinum group element mineralisation: a natural laboratory in Ireland (Critical-Ireland)
From
01/12/2021
To
30/11/2025
Summary
Critical-Ireland aims to place fundamental new constraints on the thermodynamic and fluid mechanic processes that generate magmatic platinum group element (PGE) deposits. Due to their essential role in green technologies and concerns over supply security, PGEs constitute 'critical raw materials' which require innovative research to identify new deposits. The Palaeogene igneous intrusions in Ireland have been suggested as one of the most prospective regions for PGE mineralisation in Europe and excellent bedrock exposure, combined with new GSI Tellus data, make them an ideal natural laboratory for investigating PGE mineralising processes. Critical-Ireland will apply state-of-the-art petrographic and geochemical techniques to Palaeogene igneous complexes in Ireland, determining how the dynamics of magma assimilation impact sulphide solubility in mafic intrusions, and how country rock contamination, sulphide accumulation and PGE enrichment vary as a function of thermal and fluid dynamic regime along magma conduits. These new constraints will be used to inform the first dynamic numerical models of PGE mineralising processes, which will aid in understanding deposit formation globally. Critical-Ireland will bring together a unique international research team to place first-order constraints on magmatic processes, which will aid in securing the European PGE supply and unlocking Ireland's potential to produce critical raw materials.
Funding Agency
SFI
Programme
Frontiers for the Future
Project Type
Project
Person Months
17
Project Title
 Determining the impact of mush dynamics on the style of volcanic eruptions at the active Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy
From
September 2021
To
September 2025
Summary
Dynamic processes operating within crustal magma systems control the composition, style and timing of volcanic eruptions at the Earth's surface. For over a Century, our conceptual understanding of magma system architectures has centred around "magma chambers" - isolated bodies of liquid rock, hosted within the solid crust beneath a volcano. However, volcanology is currently undergoing a paradigm shift, whereby this simple model of magmatic systems is being called into question. Rather than discreet bodies, geological datasets are increasingly converging on a new "transcrustal mush zone" model of magma system architecture, where magmas are stored throughout the entire crust beneath a volcano but are largely in a solid-dominated (mush) state. Liquid melts only occupy the pore space between crystals and small melt-rich pockets (sills that are 100s m long and 10s m thick). These mush zones have different physical/chemical properties to magma chambers surrounded by solid rock, impacting the processes operating during magma ascent, and necessitating re-evaluation of our understanding of magmatic processes and eruptions triggers. Although interactions between ascending magmas and mush must affect volcanism at the Earth's surface, linking these processes is difficult due to a paucity of suitable study sites. This project will investigate interactions between ascending magmas and mush before recent eruptions of Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy). Recent Campi Flegrei eruptions have covered a diversity of styles and compositions, and the volcano has been identified as hosting a transcrustal mush-type magmatic system. Specifically, the project will: . Develop an innovative method integrating geochemical data, thermodynamic models and statistical techniques to quantify the amount of mush which has been disaggregated and incorporated into ascending magmas. . Undertake a multidisciplinary study of minerals in eruption deposits, applying geochemical and textural analyses to identify mush-derived crystals and using these to constrain the mush rheology. . Apply state-of-the-art petrological models to understand the depths and timescales of magma storage, integrating these with geophysical datasets to construct a comprehensive picture of the Campi Flegrei magmatic system. The project will have broad scientific impact, addressing major outstanding questions in our understanding of how dynamic processes within transcrustal mush zones impact the composition and style of volcanism at the Earth's surface. As Campi Flegrei is one of the most hazardous volcanoes on Earth and is showing significant signs of unrest, the project also has major societal significance; working with the INGV Vesuvius Observatory, the results will be integrated into volcano monitoring efforts, improving hazard assessment and civil protection.
Funding Agency
Trinity College Dublin
Programme
Provost's PhD Award
Project Type
PhD project
Person Months
5
Project Title
 Messages from the deep: Assessing the thermal and chemical evolution of the mantle during the initiation of the North Atlantic Igneous Province
From
1 October 2020
To
20 September 2022
Summary
Continental rifting is one of the principal events which reshape the Earth's surface over timescales of hundreds of millions of years. These rifts are frequently associated with mantle plumes (upwelling areas of hot mantle) and, in combination, these two processes thin the Earth's crust and heat it, leading to prodigious magma generation. This gives rise to huge outpourings of lava at the surface, as well as associated intrusive rocks in the crust, and is known as Large Igneous Province (LIP) volcanism. This volcanism may cause major climate change due to carbon dioxide release and have been implicated in multiple mass-extinctions. Rifting of the North Atlantic during the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea produced such a LIP, due to the influence of the mantle plume which is currently located beneath Iceland. The LIP volcanism that formed above this plume during progressive opening of the Atlantic is currently exposed in: the counties Antrim and Armagh in Northern Ireland; the islands of Rum, Mull, Eigg, Arran and the peninsula around Ardmamurchan in Scotland; the Faroe Islands; and parts of Iceland and Greenland. The Northern Irish volcanics of the Antrim Lava Group are particularly important, as they appear to be among the earliest manifestations of the LIP volcanism and relatively unpolluted by incorporation of crustal rocks during their eruption. However, they remain the least researched, with only a handful of studies in the past thirty years. This project will apply a full range of modern geochemical techniques to the Irish volcanic rocks to identify changing conditions in the mantle (e.g. temperature, melting depth and composition) during the rifting of the North Atlantic. These are not only crucial pieces of information for understanding the history of this major tectonic event in Earth history, but also how LIP volcanism develops more generally.
Funding Agency
IRC
Programme
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Project Type
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Person Months
2
Project Title
 Earth Surface Research Laboratory
From
06/12/19
To
05/12/29
Summary
In 2019, Trinity College Dublin and Geological Survey Ireland launched the Earth Surface Research Laboratory (ESRL): a new national facility providing state-of-the-art chemical analyses for the geoscience community on the island of Ireland. The laboratory hosts world-class facilities for the preparation and analysis of geological and environmental samples. Ireland has a fascinating and diverse geology, formed over millions of years through the eruption of volcanoes, the opening and closing of oceans, the slow erosion of towering mountain ranges and finally, the recent glacial events that shaped our landscape. These geological processes have endowed the country with economically important mineral deposits and fertile soils which support a thriving agricultural industry. However, to fully understand Ireland's geological heritage and sustainably harness its natural resources, we need to know more than the simple distribution of different rock types - we need to know exactly what the rocks are made of, right down to individual elements. The ESRL hosts a range of advanced equipment to interrogate the geochemistry of rocks and soils. This includes two X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, which can precisely determine elemental abundances down to trace concentrations, an Hg-analyser for specifically determining the abundance of mercury in environmental samples, and an elemental analyser for quantifying organic and inorganic carbon. These instruments are housed within clean rooms to prevent contamination and are supported by expert technical staff. The laboratory supports Geological Survey Ireland's Tellus geochemical survey - a major national programme to map elemental concentrations in soils, stream sediments and stream waters across Ireland. It is also open to academic researchers, SMEs and other geological/environmental groups based on the island of Ireland in a non-commercial capacity. The facilities enhance the world-class geoscience research conducted on the island of Ireland and assist projects protecting Ireland's unique natural environment. The ESRL was recently awarded a prestigious ISO 17025:2017 Accreditation For Calibration and Testing Laboratories by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB). This internationally recognised certificate allows the laboratory to analyse Government samples for use in policymaking, legal cases and commodity profiling, where traceability and data quality are paramount.
Funding Agency
Geological Survey Ireland
Programme
GSI Research Programme Grant
Project Type
Service Level Agreement
Person Months
30
Project Title
 Hyperspectral Analysis of the Mourne Mountains (HAMM)
From
23/11/2020
To
31/07/2022
Summary
Critical metals are a vital resource for high technologies and green energy production, but their occurrences in Ireland are poorly constrained. The Mourne Mountain Complex (MMC) is a subalkaline igneous suite prospective for critical metals, including rare earth elements (REE) and high field strength elements (HFSE). However, no detailed studies on the MMC or its critical metal occurrences exist, partly due to the complex's rugged nature. This project aims to analyse samples from the MMC using hyperspectral analyses with the Geological Survey Ireland's hyperspectral scanner and to identify the causes for the hyperspectral signatures using geochemical analyses at the Earth Surface Research Laboratory (ESRL) in TCD and the National Centre for Isotope Geochemistry (NCIG) in UCD. The results of these analyses will then be checked against remote sensing data from the ASTER data sets released by NASA with the ultimate goal of synthesising a geologic map using hyperspectral remote sensing data. The hyperspectral and geochemical databases, methodologies and techniques for ASTER data reduction, and creation of a critical metal prospectivity map for the MMC are expected to provide valuable information for future researchers and government agencies and to encourage interest by private industry for Irish critical metals.
Funding Agency
Geological Survey Ireland
Programme
Short Call 2020
Project Type
Short Call
Person Months
2

Details Date
Founder/Organiser, Dublin Magmatism Group (inter-institutional research group with DIAS and UCD) 2022-present
Editorial Board Member, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences (RIA) 2023-present
Expert Witness, Northern Irish Department for the Economy report on `Considering Responsible Critical Minerals (re) sourcing in Northern Ireland' 2023
Produced/processed data during on-going eruption (Fernandina Volcano, Galapagos) for use in Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional official monitoring report 2017
Session Co-convener ('Volatiles and metals in volcanic systems') and Conference Fieldtrip Leader (Carlingford and Slieve Gullion)- European Mineralogical Conference, Dublin 2024
External Technical Interviewer (Laboratory Manager role), The Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin/Assay Office 2024
Internal PhD Examiner for Bruna Melo (DIAS-based student registered in Trinity) 2023
Expert Witness, UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing paper 'The co-ordination/communication between the departments who plan against/for hazards and the local responders' 2020
Invited Member, NERC Deep Dive Working Group on Earth and Terrestrial Science Support Facilities 2022
Journal reviewer (high-impact international publications): Nature Communications, Geology, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Chemical Geology, Volcanica, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, Journal of Petrology (regular reviewer) 2018-present
Research grant reviewer: United States National Science Foundation, Swiss National Science Foundation, German Research Foundation, Hong Kong Research Council, institutional funding schemes (University of Iceland, Charles University Prague) 2020-present
Guest Editor, Frontiers in Earth Science volume on 'Multidisciplinary investigations for determining the structure and dynamics of active volcanic systems' 2021-2022
Expert Witness, UK House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on 'Risk Assessment and Risk Planning' 2020
Expert Witness, UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing paper 'How Government Departments make decisions on investment in risk planning' 2020
UK Parliamentary Academic Fellow and author of Parliamentary Policy Brief on 'Evaluating UK natural hazards: the national risk assessment' 2019
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
Editorial Board Member, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences (RIA) 2023 present
Member, UK/Irish Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group 2012 present
Fellow, Geological Society of London 2015 2020
Member, International Association of Volcanology and the Chemistry of the Earth's Interior 2015 2020
Fellow and Governing Body Member, Christ's College Cambridge 2016 2019
Member, Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2012 2018
Hernández-Sánchez, M.T., Hepburn, L., Stock, M.J., Connelly, D.P., and Pancost, R.D., The microbial lipid signature in sediments and chimneys within a back-arc basin hydrothermal system south of the Antarctic Polar Front, Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 206, 2024, p104247-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Huang, W., Stock, M.J., Guyett, P.C., Liang, H., Sun, W., and Lai, C.-K., Reconstructing volatile exsolution in porphyry ore-forming magma chamber: Perspectives from apatite inclusions, American Mineralogist, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Binner, B., Wojda, P., Yunta, F., Breure, T., Schievano, A., Massaro, E., Jones, A., Newell, J., Paradelo, R., Boaj", I.P., Baltr"nait"-Gedien", E., Tuttolomondo, T., Iacuzzi, N., Bondi, G., Zupanc, V., Mamy, L., Pacini, L., De Feudis, M., Cardelli, V., Kici"ska, A., Stock, M.J., Liu, H., Demiraj, E., and Schillaci, C., A Systematic Review and Characterization of the Major and Most Studied Urban Soil Threats in the European Union, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 235, 2024, p494-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Higgins, O., and Stock, M.J., A new calibration of the OPAM thermobarometer for anhydrous and hydrous mafic systems, Journal of Petrology, 65, (5), 2024, pegae043-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Carter, E.J., Stock, M.J., Beresford-Browne, A., Cooper, M., Raine, R., and Fereyrolles, A., Volcanic tempo driven by rapid fluctuations in mantle temperature during large igneous province emplacement, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2024, Journal Article, IN_PRESS
Whittaker, L.J., Stock, M.J., Smith, V.C., Mutch, E., Wieser, P., and Isaia, R., Recharge driven uplift prior to the 1538 CE Monte Nuovo eruption (Campi Flegrei): correlating historical chronicles and contemporary petrology, Geology, 2024, Journal Article, SUBMITTED
Gleeson, M., Wieser, P., DeVitre, C.L., Shi, S.C., Millet, M.-A., Muir, D.D., Stock, M.J., and Lissenberg, J., Persistent high-pressure magma storage beneath a near ridge ocean island volcano (Isla Floreana, Galápagos), Journal of Petrology, 2024, Journal Article, SUBMITTED
Brookfield, A., Cassidy, M., Popa, R-G, Bachmann, O., and Stock, M.J., Magmatic volatile content and the overpressure `sweet spot": implications for volcanic eruption triggering and style, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 444, 2023, p107916-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Huang, W., Stock, M.J., Cui, Z., Xia, X.-P., Liuyun, O., Zhang, J., Chen, X., and Liang, H., Determining the impact of magma water contents on porphyry Cu fertility: constraints from hydrous and nominally anhydrous mineral analysis, GSA Bulletin, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI  URL
Frontiers in Earth Science, 8, (2022), Isaia, R., Di Giuseppe, M.G., Gottsmann, J., Stock, M., and Troiano, A., [Topic Editor in Volcanology], 2 years, Notes: [Topic Editor for a Special Volume on "Multidisciplinary Investigations for Determining the Structure and Dynamics of Active Volcanic Systems"], Journal, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 4
Cioni, R., Isaia, R., Sulpizio, R., de Vita, S., Di Vito, M.A., Pistolesi, M., Smith, V., Stock, M., and Talamo, P., 'The city of Napoli and its active volcanoes', Geological Field Trips and Maps, Societa Geologica Italiana, 2018, -, Fieldwork collection, PUBLISHED
Stock, M.J., The volatile history of past volcanic eruptions, University of Oxford, 2016, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Stock, M.J., Phenocryst Zoning Within Cumulate Xenoliths: An Insight Into Magma Evolution Prior to a Major Plinian Eruption on Tenerife, Canary Islands, University of Southampton, 2011, Thesis, PUBLISHED

  


Award Date
Sedgwick Prize, University of Cambridge 2018
Bob Hunter Prize, VMSG 2015
Best Graduating Geology Student Prize, University of Southampton 2011
Progression Scholarship, University of Southampton 2010
Progression Scholarship, University of Southampton 2009
D. E. Wisden Prize, University of Southampton 2009
The generation, ascent and eruption of magma underpins fundamental Earth systems, and has applied implications for the formation of economic mineral deposits and the management of volcanic hazards. However, the architecture and dynamics of magmatic systems remain poorly understood due to the complexity of their physicochemical interactions and our inability to directly observe the deep Earth. My research combines state-of-the-art geochemical analyses of igneous rocks at Earth"s surface with novel thermodynamic/physical models to advance our first-order understanding of these systems. This centres around three main themes: - Constraining the magmatic processes which generate critical metal deposits, using ancient/exhumed magma chambers to understand first-order mineralising processes and develop new exploration tools. The EU is facing a major shortage of the metals required for modern technologies and I have positioned Trinity as a global leader to address this challenge. - Understanding controls on the timing/style of volcanic eruptions and how eruption triggers manifest in volcano monitoring data. This work directly impacts volcanic hazard management and I work closely with government scientists, translating my work into applied policy/monitoring improvements. - Constraining the intrinsic links between mantle, crustal and volcanic processes. I have an established programme of innovative research using basaltic volcanoes (principally Galapagos) as "natural laboratories" to interrogate the interplay between different parts of planet, constraining the fundamental development of the Earth system. I have been successful in securing grants to support this research, raising >€1.1M funding within five years. This has allowed me to develop a large research group and establish Trinity as a centre of excellence in igneous petrology/geochemistry. I also founded (and direct) the ESRL " a national geochemical research facility, hosted within Trinity and funded through a €2.5M SLA. This state-of-the-art facility supplies the Government with geochemical data and has supported >50 research projects since 2020.