James E Gardner

James E Gardner
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences
The Third Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Yager Professorship (Holder)

Email: gardner@jsg.utexas.edu
Work: +1 512 471 0953
Office: JGB 4.108
Mailcode: C9000

Dr. Gardner's research focuses on the physical and chemical aspects of volcanic eruptions and magmatic processes. One facet of research involves studying active volcanic centers, including volcanoes in the USA, Mexico, Kamchatka, and many other countries, and their volcanic deposits in order to better understand eruption processes and long-term eruptive behavior. Most recently, this research has focused on understanding the dynamics of caldera-forming eruptions.

Dr. Gardner's second area of research utilizes experimental petrology to determine the pre-eruption contents of volatiles in magmas, the degassing of those volatiles from magmas, and the control of the degassing behavior on volcanic eruptions and formation of ore bodies. A state-of-the-art experimental laboratory is under construction in the department, and will include cold-seal, pressure vessels and TZM pressure vessels. These experimental apparatus will allow temperatures up to 1400° C and pressures up to 5000 bars to be reached, easily covering the conditions in upper crustal magma bodies. The pressure vessels will also be outfitted to allow rapid quenches of experimental samples, allowing for better studies of volatile solubilities in silicate melts to be determined. Most recently, his experimental petrologic work has focused on the solubility of multi-component volatiles in silicate melts and the nucleation and growth of bubbles from melts.

Areas of Expertise

Volcanology, volcanic eruption processes, magmatic processes, experimental petrology, volatiles in magmas, degassing of volatiles from magmas, control of degassing behavior on volcanic eruptions and formation of ore bodies


Research Locations



Co-Recipient - Wagner Medal from IAVCEI (2002)

Visiting Professor - IPGP, Paris (2002)

Fellow - American Geophysical Union (2001)

Teaching Excellence Award - College of Natural Sciences (2001)

Visiting Professor - University of Tokyo, Japan (1998)

Faculty Excellence Award - Houston Oil and Minerals Corporation (1996)

Fellowship - Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1995)

Visiting Professor (invited) - California Institute of Technology (1993)

Best Student Paper in Seismology Award - American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting (1986)

Fellowship - ARCS Foundation (1983 - 1985)

to be entered, Electron Microprobe, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Brown University, Institut de Physique du Globe (Paris), and GEOMAR, Kiel

to be entered, Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and CRPG-CNRS, Nancy France

to be entered, Cold-Seal Rene and TZM Pressure Bombs and High Pressure Piston Cylinder, including building a complete experimental petrology laboratory ay University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Brown University, University of Bristol, and Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

to be entered, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Florescence, University of Bristol, Bristol, England; University of Rhode Island

to be entered, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, developing an INAA laboratory for the volcanological group of Sigurdsson and Carey, University of Rhode Island

to be entered, Digital Image Analysis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Brown University, Institut de Physique du Globe (Paris), and GEOMAR, Kiel

Graduate Students

Wade L Aubin (Supervisor)
I study Volcanology and Igneous Petrology. My primary research interests are explosive volcanic eruptions and igneous petrogenesis in long-lived volcanic provinces.

Sean O'Donnell, Ph.D., 2023 (Supervisor)
Jackson School of Geosciences

Nicholas Meszaros, Ph.D., 2023 (Supervisor)
Jackson School of Geosciences

Rachel Blandon, M.S., 2022 (Supervisor)
Jackson School of Geosciences

Nicole Guinn, M.S., 2020 (Supervisor)
University of Texas at Austin


YearSemesterCourse
2024Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2024Spring GEO 426P Igneous/Metamorph Petrology
2024Spring GEO 660A Field Geology
2023Fall GEO 391 Volcanology
2023Fall GEO 358K Volcanology
2023Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2023Spring GEO 426P Igneous/Metamorph Petrology
2023Spring GEO 660A Field Geology
2022Fall GEO 338J Marine Geology
2022Fall GEO 381J Marine Geology
2022Summer GEO f660A Field Geo-Tx/Nm/Wy
2022Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2022Spring GEO 426P Igneous/Metamorph Petrology
2021Fall GEO 358K Volcanology
2021Fall GEO 391 Volcanology
2021Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2021Spring GEO 426P Igneous/Metamorph Petrology
2020Fall GEO 338J Marine Geology
2020Fall GEO 338J Marine Geology-Wb
2020Fall GEO 381J Marine Geology
2020Fall GEO 381J Marine Geology-Wb
2020Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2020Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2019Fall GEO 358K Volcanology
2019Fall GEO 391 Volcanology
2019Summer GEO f660A Field Geo-Tx/Nm/Co/Wy/Mt/Id/Ut
2019Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2019Spring GEO 302J Crisis Of Our Planet
2018Fall GEO 338J Marine Geology
2018Fall GEO 381J Marine Geology
2018Fall GEO 391 Thermodynamics Petrologic Sys
2018Summer GEO f660A Field Geo-Tx/Nm/Co/Wy/Mt/Id/Ut
2018Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2018Spring GEO 302P Sustaining A Planet
2018Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2017Fall GEO 358K Volcanology
2017Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2017Spring GEO 191 Pyroclastic Flows
2016Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2016Fall GEO 338J Marine Geology
2016Fall GEO 381J Marine Geology
2016Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2016Spring GEO 358K Volcanology
2016Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Igneous Petrology
2015Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Geological Sciences
2015Spring GEO 426P Igneous & Metamorph Petrology
2015Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Igneous Petrology
2014Fall GEO 394 Rsch In Igneous Petrology
2014Fall GEO 371C Marine Geology
2014Fall GEO 391 Marine Geology
2014Summer GEO f660B Field Geo-Tx/Nm/Co/Wy/Mt/Id/Ut
2014Spring GEO 386K Igneous Petrology
2014Spring GEO 394 Rsch In Igneous Petrology