
Dr David Buchs
Senior Lecturer
- buchsd@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5313
- 2.02, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a field geologist interested in volcano-sedimentary processes and the formation and evolution of submarine to subaerial volcanic systems.
My work uses a cross-disciplinary approach that combines field/core observations with high to low-T geochemistry, lithostratigraphy and sediment provenance analysis. Since 2017 I have also been increasingly working on weathering and alteration of volcanic products in collaboration with industrial partners.
See Research tab for more information.
Biography
- Senior Lecturer in Geology – School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University (2019-present)
- Research Associate – Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama (2018-present)
- Lecturer in Geology – School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University (2013-2019)
- Postdoctoral Researcher – Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany (2011-2013)
- Postdoctoral Researcher – Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University (2009-2011)
- Assistant Curator, Museum of Natural History, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (2008-2009)
- PhD in Geosciences – University of Lausanne, Switzerland (2008)
- Assistant Curator, Museum of Geology, Lausanne, Switzerland (2004)
- MSc in Earth Sciences – University of Lausanne, Switzerland (2003)
- Diploma in Geology – University of Lausanne, Switzerland (2001)
Publications
2022
- Horozal, S. et al. 2022. Factors for pre-conditioning and post-failure behaviour of submarine landslides in the margins of Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Japan Sea). Marine Geology 455, article number: 106956. (10.1016/j.margeo.2022.106956)
- Leah, H., Fagereng, ?., Groome, N., Buchs, D., Eijsink, A. and Niemeijer, A. 2022. Heterogeneous subgreenschist deformation in an exhumed sediment‐poor mélange. Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth 127(8), article number: e2022JB024353. (10.1029/2022jb024353)
- Redwood, S. D., Buchs, D. M. and Cavell, D. E. 2022. Submarine volcanic activity and giant amygdale formation along the Panama island arc as a precursor to 6000-year-old agate exploitation on Pedro González Island. Geological Magazine 159(5), pp. 673-688. (10.1017/S0016756821001229)
- Andjic, G., Zhou, R., Buchs, D. M., Aitchison, J. C. and Zhao, J. 2022. Paleozoic ocean plate stratigraphy unraveled by calcite U-Pb dating of basalt and biostratigraphy. Communications Earth & Environment 3(1), article number: 113. (10.1038/s43247-022-00446-1)
- Cukur, D. et al. 2022. Upslope migrating sand waves on sediment-starved shelves: An example from the southeastern continental margin of the Korean Peninsula. Marine Geology 444, article number: 106728. (10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106728)
- Molendijk, S. M., Buchs, D. M., Mason, P. R. D. and Blundy, J. D. 2022. Clinopyroxene diversity and magma plumbing system processes in an accreted Pacific ocean island, Panama. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 177(2), article number: 30. (10.1007/s00410-022-01894-w)
- de Paz-Álvarez, M. I., Blenkinsop, T. G., Buchs, D. M., Gibbons, G. E. and Cherns, L. 2022. Virtual field trip to the Esla Nappe (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain): delivering traditional geological mapping skills remotely using real data. Solid Earth 13(1), pp. 1-14. (10.5194/se-13-1-2022)
2021
- Coombs, H., Kerr, A., Pindell, J., Buchs, D., Weber, B. and Solari, L. 2021. Petrogenesis of the crystalline basement along the Western Gulf of Mexico: Post-collisional magmatism during the formation of Pangaea. In: Martens, U. C. and Molina Garza, R. S. eds. Southern and Central Mexico: Basement Framework, Tectonic Evolution, and Provenance of Mesozoic-Cenozoic Basins. GSA Special Papers. Geological Society of America, (10.1130/2020.2546(02))
- Redwood, S. D., Bryan, J. R., Buchs, D. M. and Burge, C. 2021. Late Eocene biostratigraphic age for andesitic volcanic host rocks formed in an island environment at the Cobre Panama porphyry Cu-Mo-Au-Ag deposit, Panama. Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists 116(1), pp. 199–209. (10.5382/econgeo.4782)
2020
- Hofhansl, F. et al. 2020. Climatic and edaphic controls over tropical forest diversity and vegetation carbon storage. Scientific Reports 10(1), article number: 5066. (10.1038/s41598-020-61868-5)
- Buchs, D. M. and Oemering, S. A. 2020. Long-term non-erosive nature of the south Costa Rican margin supported by arc-derived sediments accreted in the Osa Mélange. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 531, article number: 115968. (10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115968)
2019
- Dorais, M. J. and Buchs, D. M. 2019. Mineralogical characterization of rejuvenated magmatism at Burton Guyot, Louisville Seamount trail. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 174(8), pp. -., article number: 66. (10.1007/s00410-019-1604-4)
- Buchs, D. M. et al. 2019. Volcanic shutdown of the Panama Canal area following breakup of the Farallon plate. Lithos 334-5, pp. 190-204. (10.1016/j.lithos.2019.02.016)
- Buchs, D. M. et al. 2019. Volcanic contribution to emergence of Central Panama in the Early Miocene. Scientific Reports 9, article number: 1417. (10.1038/s41598-018-37790-2)
2018
- Buchs, D. M., Kerr, A. C., Brims, J. C., Zapata-Villada, J. P., Correa-Restrepo, T. and Rodríguez, G. 2018. Evidence for subaerial development of the Caribbean oceanic plateau in the Late Cretaceous and palaeo-environmental implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 499, pp. 62-73. (10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.020)
- Buchs, D. M., Williams, R., Sano, S. and Wright, V. P. 2018. Non-Hawaiian lithostratigraphy of Louisville seamounts and the formation of high-latitude oceanic islands and guyots. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 356, pp. 1-23. (10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.12.019)
2017
- Horozal, S. et al. 2017. Sedimentary and structural evolution of the Eastern South Korea Plateau (ESKP), East Sea (Japan Sea). Marine and Petroleum Geology 85, pp. 70-88. (10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2017.04.014)
2016
- Pilet, S. et al. 2016. Pre-subduction metasomatic enrichment of the oceanic lithosphere induced by plate flexure. Nature Geoscience 9(12), pp. 898-903. (10.1038/ngeo2825)
- Golkaram, S., Rashidnejad–Omran, N., Azizi, H., Asahara, Y., Buchs, D., McDonald, I. and Santos, J. F. 2016. Petrogenesis and geodynamic evolution of the Kajan Neogene subvolcanic rocks, Nain, Central Iran. Chemie der Erde - Geochemistry 76(4), pp. 567-578. (10.1016/j.chemer.2016.08.007)
- Buchs, D. M., Hoernle, K., Hauff, F. and Baumgartner, P. O. 2016. Evidence from accreted seamounts for a depleted component in the early Galapagos plume. Geology 44(5), pp. 383-386. (10.1130/G37618.1)
- Buchs, D. and Howie, R. 2016. Pyroxenes. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09697-4)
2015
- Ghaffari, M. et al. 2015. Interaction between felsic and mafic magmas in the Salmas intrusive complex, Northwestern Iran: Constraints from petrography and geochemistry. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 111, pp. 440-458. (10.1016/j.jseaes.2015.06.019)
- Buchs, D. M., Cukur, D., Masago, H. and Garbe-Schönberg, D. 2015. Sediment flow routing during formation of forearc basins: constraints from integrated analysis of detrital pyroxenes and stratigraphy in the Kumano Basin, Japan. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 414, pp. 164-175. (10.1016/j.epsl.2014.12.046)
- Buchs, D., Hoernle, K. and Grevemeyer, I. 2015. Seamounts. In: Harff, J. et al. eds. Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Springer, pp. 1-11., (10.1007/978-94-007-6644-0_34-1)
2014
- Nichols, A. R. L., Beier, C., Brandl, P. A., Buchs, D. and Krumm, S. H. 2014. Geochemistry of volcanic glasses from the Louisville Seamount Trail (IODP Expedition 330): Implications for eruption environments and mantle melting. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 15(5), pp. 1718-1738. (10.1002/2013GC005086)
2013
- Buchs, D., Bagheri, S., Martin, L., Hermann, J. and Arculus, R. 2013. Paleozoic to Triassic ocean opening and closure preserved in Central Iran: Constraints from the geochemistry of meta-igneous rocks of the Anarak area. Lithos 172/3, pp. 267-287. (10.1016/j.lithos.2013.02.009)
- Buchs, D., Pilet, S., Baumgartner, P. O., Cosca, M., Flores, K. and Bandini, A. N. 2013. Low-volume intraplate volcanism in the Early/Middle Jurassic Pacific basin documented by accreted sequences in Costa Rica. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 14(5), pp. 1552-1568. (10.1002/ggge.20084)
- Koppers, A. A. P. et al. 2013. IODP expedition 330: Drilling the Louisville Seamount Trail in the SW Pacific. Scientific Drilling 15, pp. 11-22. (10.2204/iodp.sd.15.02.2013)
2012
- Jáger, V., Molnár, F., Buchs, D. and Kodera, P. 2012. The connection between iron ore formations and 'mud-shrimp' colonizations around sunken wood debris and hydrothermal sediments in a Lower Cretaceous continental rift basin, Mecsek Mts., Hungary. Earth-Science Reviews 114(3-4), pp. 250-278. (10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.06.003)
- Montes, C. et al. 2012. Arc-continent collision and orocline formation: closing of the Central American seaway. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 117(B4), article number: B04105. (10.1029/2011JB008959)
- Koppers, A. A. P. et al. 2012. Limited latitudinal mantle plume motion for the Louisville hotspot. Nature Geoscience 5(12), pp. 911-917. (10.1038/ngeo1638)
2011
- Buchs, D., Baumgartner, P. O., Baumgartner-Mora, C., Flores, K. and Bandini, A. N. 2011. Upper Cretaceous to Miocene tectonostratigraphy of the Azuero area (Panama) and the discontinuous accretion and subduction erosion along the Middle American margin. Tectonophysics 512(1-4), pp. 31-46. (10.1016/j.tecto.2011.09.010)
- Buchs, D., Arculus, R. J., Baumgartner, P. O. and Ulianov, A. 2011. Oceanic intraplate volcanoes exposed: example from seamounts accreted in Panama. Geology 39(4), pp. 335-338. (10.1130/G31703.1)
- Doan, M. et al. 2011. Quantification of free gas in the Kumano fore-arc basin detected from borehole physical properties: IODP NanTroSEIZE drilling Site C0009. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12(1), article number: Q0AD06. (10.1029/2010GC003284)
2010
- Lin, W. et al. 2010. Present-day principal horizontal stress orientations in the Kumano forearc basin of the southwest Japan subduction zone determined from IODP NanTroSEIZE drilling Site C0009. Geophysical Research Letters 37(13), article number: L13303. (10.1029/2010GL043158)
- Buchs, D., Arculus, R. J., Baumgartner, P. O., Baumgartner-Mora, C. and Ulianov, A. 2010. Late Cretaceous arc development on the SW margin of the Caribbean Plate: insights from the Golfito, Costa Rica, and Azuero, Panama, complexes. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 11(7), article number: Q07S24. (10.1029/2009GC002901)
2009
- Buchs, D., Guex, J., Stucki, J. and Baumgartner, P. O. 2009. Paleocene Thalassinidea colonization in deep-sea environment and the coprolite Palaxius osaensis n. ichnosp. in Southern Costa Rica. Revue de Micropaléontologie 52(2), pp. 123-129. (10.1016/j.revmic.2007.06.003)
- Buchs, D., Baumgartner, P. O., Baumgartner-Mora, C., Bandini, A. N., Jackett, S., Diserens, M. and Stucki, J. 2009. Late Cretaceous to Miocene seamount accretion and mélange formation in the Osa and Burica Peninsulas (Southern Costa Rica): episodic growth of a convergent margin. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 328, pp. 411-456. (10.1144/SP328.17)
Teaching
- Clastic sedimentology
- Geological mapping and field skills
- Alpine orogeny
- Field volcanology (consultant activity)
- Igneous geochemistry (consultant activity)
The main themes of my research include:
- Volcano-sedimentary processes in general, including formation and alteration mechanisms.
- Seamount formation and accretion (e.g., Pacific Ocean, Central America, Australia).
- Tectonic evolution of volcanic arcs and forearc basins (e.g., Central America, Japan).
- The geological record of accretionary complexes/orogens.
A substantial part of my on-going research is dedicated to improving our understanding of the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. To better address this issue I initiated in 2016 a collaborative project, GRIP or Geological Research on the Panama Isthmus (click here to open dedicated website in a new window).
My research activities include services for, or collaboration with, non-academic partners (e.g. Panama Canal Authority, Geological Survey of Colombia, GeoMôn Global UNESCO Geopark in the UK, and Natural Resources Wales). Don't hesitate to contact me if your are considering establishing collaborative links to develop research applications or require expertise in some of the themes addressed by my research (English, Spanish, or French welcome).
I am currently supervising following PhD projects:
- Subduction initiation along the Caribbean oceanic plateau in Panama (Joanna Brims, 2016-present).
- Magmatic evolution of Central Panama and formation of the Panama Isthmus (Jian Wang, 2016-present).
- Origin of Precambrian accreted oceanic sequences in North Wales (Niall Groome, 2017-present).
- Volcaniclastic foreland sedimentation in Switzerland and France to reconstruct past Alpine volcanism (Chenhang Lyu, 2018-present).
Supervision
I am open for supervision in following fields:
- Field-based tectono-magmatic studies, including the use of volcaniclastic deposits.
- Volcano-sedimentary processes during the formation of volcanic islands and ancient volanic systems.
- Alteration and weathering of volcanic materials.
- Geoheritage characterisation and management.
I am currently supervising following PhD project:
- Volcaniclastic foreland sedimentation in Switzerland and France to reconstruct past Alpine volcanism (Chenhang Lyu, 2018-present).
Current supervision
Past projects
Previously supervised PhD projects:
- Origin of Precambrian accreted oceanic sequences in North Wales (Niall Groome, 2017-2022).
- Magmatic evolution of Central Panama and formation of the Panama Isthmus (Jian Wang, 2016-2021).
- Subduction initiation along the Caribbean oceanic plateau in Panama (Joanna Brims, 2016-2021).