Prof. Weiran “Alex” Li is a petrologist-volcanologist interested in magmatism and volatile cycles on Earth and other planetary bodies. She received degrees from Peking University (BS, BA, MS) and NTU Singapore (PhD) and then worked as a postdoc fellow at Earth Observatory of Singapore and the University of Cambridge. In 2022, Weiran joined the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as a tenure-track assistant professor and chief curator of Stephen Hui Geological Museum and founded the HKU VRock Laboratory. Weiran specialises in combining in situ microanalysis of minerals, thermodynamic-kinetic modelling and geochronology to investigate the triggering and history of large-to-super eruptions, volcanic-plutonic connection, volatile recycling, and mantle geochemistry. She has developed four apatite-based calculation software that are well acknowledged by the community. Weiran does editorial work for Geology (Editorial Board Member), Volcanica (Topical Editor) and Geochemical Society (News Editor) and convened sessions at AOGS, Goldschmidt, IAVCEI, EGU and AGU meetings.
Magma transports heat and materials from a planet’s interior to surface and feeds volcanic eruptions that control a planet’s thermal-chemical evolution. Volcanic eruptions on Earth impose risks on hundreds of millions of people living nearby and can have impacts on the environment on a global scale, yet they are tightly related to exploration of geothermal energy and mineral deposits where economic opportunities are hidden. To reduce the risks and seize the opportunities it is essential to study magmatic processes driving eruptions/intrusions. Crystals in igneous rocks are excellent recorders of magmatic processes. Since they can form and grow under either equilibrium or disequilibrium conditions, thermodynamics and kinetics play a duet during their lifetime and thus should both be considered for inferring magmatic processes accurately. In this talk, I will review conceptual models and case studies that combine kinetic modelling with thermodynamic modelling and/or radiometric dating to trace the storage conditions and thermal history of magma bodies. Following this I will introduce an integrated thermodynamic-kinetic-based apatite geochemistry toolset we are building based on our earlier models (accessible via https://vrocklab.hku.hk) and recent improvements we made with new experiments, micro-to-nanoscale analyses, and refined diffusion models. For multiple Quaternary volcanoes in Asia, we applied the toolset and other petrological approaches to unravel the triggers of prehistoric large-to-super eruptions (at Toba and Tandikat volcanoes) and controls of effusive-explosive transition of more recent eruptions (at Rabaul and Taal volcanoes). These examples demonstrate that an integrated thermodynamic-kinetic perspective is essential for achieving accurate interpretation of crystal records that will help trace magmatic processes and improve volcano monitoring and eruption forecasting. The work presented in this talk was supported by Hong Kong Research Grants Council (ESC 27302423, GRF 17306324, GRF 17308825), National Natural Science Foundation of China (42303046), and Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong (start-up fund).