119: Looking at Lava Tubes with Gavin Tolometti

Casual Space

What are lava tubes? What can they tell us about the rest of the solar system? Could lava tubes harbor life deep inside them on other planets? Ph.D. student Gavin Tolometti believes the best way to understand the surfaces of planetary bodies like the Moon, Mars, Io, and Venus is to study features like lava tubes on own planet Earth.

“I study lava flows. In particular, I want to understand how we can infer how lava flows on Earth and on the Moon and Mars using remote data sets – in particular using radar, because it’s a type of data set that’s used on a lot of planetary bodies- and compare what we see in remote data sets (radar) and what we see on the ground (in the field) to confirm what’s predicted against what we see. They are very unique features and I learn a lot every time I study them.” -Gavin Tolometti on Casual Space Podcast

About Gavin:

Originally from the UK, Gavin received his bachelors of science in geology at the University of St. Andrews. His father was in the royal air force when Gavin was a kid, so he lived in five different countries. With an appreciation of different cultures and backgrounds during his time moving, it also opened his eyes to the potential of studying abroad. Currently, Gavin is preparing to complete his PhD at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He enjoys cooking and trying new recipes.

Where to find Gavin & his work:

Twitter and Instagram: @GavinOnTheMoonResearch: https://gavintolometti.wixsite.com/gavinonthemoon Podcast Twitter: @DiariesofSpacePodcast Instagram: @diariesofspaceexplorers

And enjoy Gavin’s podcast, Diaries of Space at https://diariesofspace.podbean.com/