Personal page of Luca Terray
[version française]
I am currently a research engineer at University Clermont Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand, France) since december 2022. I am working at Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont and Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans.
Address :
Laboratoire de Physique de Clermont
4 avenue Blaise Pascal
63178 Aubière
Mail address: luca.terray@uca.fr
Research interests
Radioactive isotopes geochemistry in volcanic gases
- 222Rn-210Pb-210Bi-210Po radioactive disequilibrium in gas plumes to trace pre and syn-eruptive degassing processes.
- Physico-chemical modelling of radon and radon progeny degassing in magmas.
- Applied mathematics for geochemistry (inverse problems, bayesian inference).
Nuclear physics applied to volcanology
- Instrumental developments for low activity radon (and progeny) measurement in extreme environments.
- Metrology of radon daughters in filters.
Technological developments for volcano monitoring
- Dense wireless sensor networks with LoRa technology (long range, low power).
- Drones for volcanic gas studies.
Miscellaneous
- Natural atmospheric radioactivity and volcanoes.
- Remote-sensing of volcanic aerosols.
- Radon in underground environments: measurement and tracing of air/water movements.
Education
- 2013 - 2016 : Ecole Normale Supérieure, Geosciences department, Paris.
- 2016 - 2017 : Magmas and Volcanoes Research Master, University Clermont Auvergne.
- 2017 - 2021 : PhD at University Clermont Auvergne
- Title - Radon and its daughters in volcanic gas plumes: instrumental developments, metrology and contribution to the study of magmatic degassing processes (download link).
- Advisors : Olgeir Sigmarsson (personal page), Vincent Breton, Pierre-Jean Gauthier (personal page).
Distinctions
Prix Ami Boué 2022 (PhD thesis award of the French Geological Society).
The talk given during the award ceremony (in french) is available on the youtube channel of the SGF.
Scientific community and education
I am member of IAVCEI, and part of the Comission on the Chemistry of Volcanic Gases.
I participate every summer to ENS@Etna educational expeditions.
Publications
- A simulation-driven spectrometric method to determine alpha particle attenuation in air filters.
L. Terray, P.-J. Gauthier, V. Breton.
Radiation Measurements, 2022.
- What can gross alpha/beta activities tell about 210Po and 210Pb in the atmosphere?.
L. Terray, D. D'Amico, O. Masson, J.-C. Sabroux.
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 2020.
- Radon in Volcanic Gases of Mt. Etna by Passive Dosimetry.
L. Terray, P.-J. Gauthier, V. Breton, S. Giammanco, O. Sigmarsson, G. Salerno, T. Caltabiano, A. Falvard.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2020.
- From Sensor to Cloud: An IoT Network of Radon Outdoor Probes to Monitor Active Volcanoes.
L. Terray, L. Royer, D. Sarramia, C. Achard, E. Bourdeau, P. Chardon, A. Claude, J. Fuchet, P.-J. Gauthier, D. Grimbichler, J. Mezhoud, F. Ogereau, R. Vandaële, V. Breton.
Sensors, 2020.
- A New Degassing Model to Infer Magma Dynamics from Radioactive Disequilibria in Volcanic Plumes.
L. Terray, P.-J. Gauthier, G. Salerno, T. Caltabiano, A. La Spina, P. Sellitto, P. Briole.
Geosciences, 2018.
- A novel methodology to determine volcanic aerosols optical properties in the UV and NIR and Ångström parameters using Sun photometry.
P. Sellitto, G. Salerno, A. La Spina, T. Caltabiano, L. Terray, P.‐J. Gauthier, P. Briole.
Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 2017.
Inspirations
I have been lucky enough to meet a few researchers during my early career, that have been and still are great sources of inspiration !
- Pierre Briole, see the portrait (in french) by Normale Sup’Info in this interview published in March 2010.
- Jean-Christophe Sabroux, who recently gave at LMV a passionating seminar about Lac Nyos eruption (in french) .