Who we Are
We are the John Lab, a research group led by Professor Cédric John and hosted in the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI) at Queen Mary University of London. At DERI, Professor John leads the Data Science for the Environment and Sustainability Research Platform, one of four key research directions for the institute. Before joining DERI, the group was based for nearly 16 years 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. The Digital Environment Research Institute is the centre of digital, data science, and AI research at Queen Mary and it underpins the university’s vision for its research Strategy 2030. For us, DERI is the perfect home for an interdisciplinary team working on scientific machine learning applied to environmental and Earth Science problems.
DERI and Queen Mary University of London are affiliated with the Alan Turing Institute.
Testimonials
Hear what former members of the lab have to say about their time with us.
Annabel Dale (PhD Student, 2011-2015)
John MacDonald (Postdoc, 2013-2015)
Marta Marchegiano(Postdoc, 2019-2021)
Adhipa Herlambang (PhD Student, 2018-2021)
Sarah Robinson (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
Qi Adlan (PhD Student, 2019-2022)
Niranjana Sundararajan (MSc Student, 2022)
Tobias Kluge (Postdoc, 2012-2015)
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:
Relationship between karstification and burial dolomitization in Permian platform carbonates (Lower Khuff—Oman)
Large breccia fabrics associated with karst constitute an important structure in massive limestone successions. The dimensions and shapes of breccia structures are controlled by the initial fracture pattern of the limestone and preferential pathways of the karstifying fluids, but subsequently…
Rapid sedimentation, overpressure, and focused fluid flow, Gulf of Mexico continental margin
Expedition 308 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) was the first phase of a two-component project dedicated to studying overpressure and fluid flow on the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico. We examined how sedimentation, overpressure, fluid flow,…
Phosphogenesis and organic-carbon preservation in the Miocene Monterey Formation at Naples Beach, California—The Monterey hypothesis revisited
The middle part of the Miocene Monterey Formation at Naples Beach, west of Santa Barbara, California, is predominantly composed of organic-rich mudstone interstratified with phosphatic laminae. Minor lithologies include volcanic ash, dolomite, porcelanite and chert, and condensed phosphatic beds. Sediments…
From early contraction to post-folding fluid evolution in the frontal part of the Bóixols thrust sheet (southern Pyrenees) as revealed by the texture and geochemistry of …
Structural, petrological and geochemical (δ13C, δ18O, clumped isotopes, 87Sr/86Sr and ICP-MS) analyses of fracture-related calcite cements and host rocks are used to establish a fluid-flow evolution model for the frontal part of the Bóixols thrust sheet (Southern Pyrenees). Five fracture…
Clumped-isotope thermometry of magnesium carbonates in ultramafic rocks
Magnesium carbonate minerals produced by reaction of H2O–CO2 with ultramafic rocks occur in a wide range of paragenetic and tectonic settings and can thus provide insights into a variety of geologic processes, including (1) deposition of ore-grade, massive-vein cryptocrystalline magnesite;…
Mental health in the field
Field work is an important and valued part of geoscience research, but can also serve as a source of stress. Careful planning can help support the mental health and wellness of participants at all career stages.
From hydroplastic to brittle deformation: controls on fluid flow in fold and thrust belts. Insights from the Lower Pedraforca thrust sheet (SE Pyrenees)
We present a multidisciplinary study to decipher the controls of deformation on fluid flow regime in fold and thrust belts using the Lower Pedraforca thrust sheet in the SE Pyrenees as an example. We integrate field-based and petrographic observations and…
Multiple fluid flow events from salt‐related rifting to basin inversion (Upper Pedraforca thrust sheet, SE Pyrenees)
The field of clumped isotope paleothermometry is over a decade old, but the influence of precipitation rate on the fractionation of clumped isotopes between natural carbonates and their environmental solutions remains unclear. Here we apply two different proxies, carbonate clumped…
North American continental margin records of the Paleocene‐Eocene thermal maximum: Implications for global carbon and hydrological cycling
The impacts of the Paleocene‐Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) (∼55 Ma), one of the most rapid and extreme warming events in Earth history, are well characterized in open marine and terrestrial environments but are less so on continental margins, a major…
Physicochemical Conditions of the Devonian-Jurassic Continental Deep Biosphere Tracked by Carbonate Clumped Isotope Temperatures of Granite-Hosted Carbonate Veins
Previous studies have shown that microorganisms thrive in oligotrophic fracture systems, and metabolisms include consumption and production of methane. In the Laxemar, Götemar, and Forsmark areas of Sweden, ancient microbial activity has previously been demonstrated by large δ13CVPDB variability of carbonate vein…
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…
Significance of fracture-filling rose-like calcite crystal clusters in the SE pyrenees
Fracture-filling rose-like clusters of bladed calcite crystals are found in the northern sector of the Cadí thrust sheet (SE Pyrenees). This unusual calcite crystal morphology has been characterized by using optical and electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, δ18O, δ13C,…