Dr Alejandro Cortes Calderon

I am a volcanologist and electron microprobe specialist, currently managing a JEOL 8530F and a Cameca SX100 electron probe microanalyser (EPMA) at NHM. I use EPMA to quantify the major and minor element composition of materials such as silicates, oxides, sulphides, carbonates, alloys, and glasses through single-point analyses or X-ray mapping. This analytical technique plays a key role in advancing both research projects and contract work.

My research as a volcanologist focuses on processes within magma reservoirs and the chemical changes that occur as magma rises and cools. I integrate fieldwork across a variety of volcanic systems, including Cerro Galán, Snake River Plain, Kos Plateau Tuff, the Azores, Canary Islands, and Iceland, along with geochemical analyses (e.g. elemental and stable isotope studies) and experimental studies using externally heated pressure vessels. This combined approach helps me to better understand the selective enrichment and transport of lithium in evolved magmas, which may lead to the formation of economically significant deposits.