Who we Are
We are the John Lab, a research group hosted in the department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. Our research approach blends machine learning and AI with cutting edge field and experimental methods in Earth and Planetary Sciences. We are part of the new I-X Initiative , an inter-departmental, interdisciplinary initiative to promote scientific machine learning and one of the main strategic initiative from Imperial College London. At the I-X, our lab leads the IX-Planets research theme.
In addition, our lab is associated with the Center for eXplainable Artifical Intelligence (XAI) and the Data Science Institute. And through Imperial College London we are affiliated with the Alan Turing Network.
Testimonials
Here what former members of the lab have to say about their time with us.
Tobias Kluge (Postdoc, 2012-2015)
Niranjana Sundararajan (MSc Student, 2022)
Qi Adlan (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
John MacDonald (Postdoc, 2013-2015)
Annabel Dale (PhD Student, 2011-2015)
Marta Marchegiano(Postdoc, 2019-2021)
Adhipa Herlambang (PhD Student, 2018-2021)
Sarah Robinson (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
research Highlights
We have two main research themes: Applied Artificial Intelligence for Earth and Space Sciences (we call it Earth-Centric AI) and Carbonate Research. You can also find about our publications and the software and data stemming from our research.
AI Research
Our group applies data-centric machine learning techniques to Earth and planetary sciences, leading to innovative approaches for analyzing and interpreting data in these fields.
Carbonate Research
Our research in carbonates focuses on the processes involved in their formation and alteration, and how these processes impact the geochemistry and stratigraphy of carbonate rocks.
Publications
Our group has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in a variety of fields, including clumped isotopes, carbonate diagenesis, climate change, stratigraphy, AI and machine learning.
Software and Data
Our research has led to the development of free software tools that have been widely used by researchers in our fields. These tools have made it easier to analyze and interpret data..
Spotlight on our Papers:
Mineral texture classification using deep convolutional neural networks: An application to zircons from porphyry copper deposits
The texture and morphology of igneous zircon indicates magmatic conditions during zircon crystallization and can be used to constrain provenance. Zircons from porphyry copper deposits are typically prismatic, euhedral, and strongly oscillatory zoned which may differentiate them from zircons associated…
Chemostratigraphy in Miocene heterozoan carbonate settings: applications, limitations and perspectives
The temporal variability of geochemical proxies can be used in time intervals characterized by global changes in marine chemistry to achieve improved stratigraphic correlation. The application of this approach in rocks lithified by cementation requires particular attention, as the original…
Origin and distribution of calcite cements in a folded fluvial succession: The Puig‐reig anticline (south‐eastern Pyrenees)
As one of the predominant diagenetic products in clastic rocks, calcite cements are typical fingerprints of cement-forming fluids and are key controls on reservoir quality. The Puig-reig anticline, in the south-eastern Pyrenees (Spain), exposes excellent outcrops of conglomerates, sandstones and…
Regional trends in clay mineral fluxes to the Queensland margin and ties to middle Miocene global cooling
Three ODP sites located on the Marion Plateau, Northeast Australian margin, were investigated for clay mineral and bulk mineralogy changes through the early to middle Miocene. Kaolinite to smectite (K/S) ratios, as well as mass accumulation rates of clays, point…
Eustatic variations during the Paleocene‐Eocene greenhouse world
We reconstruct eustatic variations during the latest Paleocene and earliest Eocene (∼58–52 Ma). Dinoflagellate cysts, grain size fractions, and organic biomarkers in marine sections at four sites from three continents indicate an increased distance to the coast during the Paleocene‐Eocene…
Exploring the geological features and processes that control the shape and internal fabrics of late diagenetic dolomite bodies (Lower Khuff equivalent–Central Oman Mountains)
The Lower Permian carbonate rock succession of the Oman Mountains represents a stratigraphical surface analogue for Middle Eastern Lower Khuff hydrocarbon reservoirs. The characteristics of the carbonate rocks are highly variable both laterally and vertically due to the superposition of…
Temperature dependence of oxygen-and clumped isotope fractionation in carbonates: a study of travertines and tufas in the 6–95 C temperature range
Conventional carbonate–water oxygen isotope thermometry and the more recently developed clumped isotope thermometer have been widely used for the reconstruction of paleotemperatures from a variety of carbonate materials. In spite of a large number of studies, however, there are still…
Towards a new understanding of the genesis of chalk: Diagenetic origin of micarbs confirmed by clumped isotope analysis
Chalk is usually thought to be a homogeneous sediment with a relatively simple early diagenetic history. Here, clumped isotope analyses of samples from a core of Campanian Maastrichtian chalk are presented, indicating that material smaller than 5 µm has a different…
Determination of the spatial distribution of wetting in the pore networks of rocks
The macroscopic movement of subsurface fluids involved in CO2 storage, groundwater, and petroleum engineering applications is controlled by interfacial forces in the pores of rocks. Recent advances in modelling these systems has arisen from approaches simulating flow through a digital…
Laboratory calibration of the calcium carbonate clumped isotope thermometer in the 25–250 C temperature range
Many fields of Earth sciences benefit from the knowledge of mineral formation temperatures. For example, carbonates are extensively used for reconstruction of the Earth’s past climatic variations by determining ocean, lake, and soil paleotemperatures. Furthermore, diagenetic minerals and their formation…
Assessing and calibrating the ATR-FTIR approach as a carbonate rock characterization tool
ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy can be used as a rapid and economical tool for qualitative identification of carbonates, calcium sulphates, oxides and silicates, as well as quantitatively estimating the concentration of minerals. Over 200 powdered samples…
Timing and magnitude of Miocene eustasy derived from the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate stratigraphic record of the northeastern Australian margin
Eustasy is a key parameter to understand sedimentary sequences on continental margins and to reconstruct continental ice volume in the Cenozoic, but timing and magnitude of global sea level changes remain controversial, especially for the Miocene Epoch. We analyzed sediment…