Bubble & Volcano Lab

The Bubble Lab is an experimental laboratory to study bubble processes in hydrothermal and volcanic terrain. Earthquake and volcano processes are commonly accompanied by migration of fluids and deformation of fluid systems and their interaction with the host rock, including fracturing, fluid-filled crack growth and diking. The coupling between fluids and rock works in both ways: On one side, changes in the state of fluid-rock systems are thought to encourage or discourage tectonic earthquakes, induce seismicity changes and alter volcano activity; on the other side, the migration of fluids, gas release, phase changes and the assemblage of reservoirs are controlled by man-made, tectonic and volcanic stress changes. Goal of the Bubble Lab is to explore the development and (in)stability of large volume (mass) reservoirs at crustal or mantle depths. In combination with field observations and monitoring, by studying how fluid-rock systems act and change in time and space, we aim to better understand earthquake-triggered hazards, hydrogeological effects and volcano eruptions.