Professor Clare Warren

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships per year throughout the project.

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships per year throughout the project.

We will work with a grassroots ethnic minority walking organisation to co-design walking routes that showcase aspects of the geological, landscape and ecological evolution of their local area that specifically link to OU research. This will: • Improve visibility of EES (and EES careers) within diverse communities who are under-represented in EES research • Engage these communities in cutting-edge EES from the Open University • Encourage confidence in walk leaders to communicate the science of the environment to their walk participants. • Train Earth/environmental scientists in mixed-methods approaches to public engagement evaluation

For many people working in the environmental sciences today, the first spark of interest in the field came from experiences in nature. Whether walking, hiking or visiting the coast, immersion in the natural world can often plant the seeds of curiosity that lead to a lifelong desire to know more about how and why it works. In the UK, much of the natural “the countryside” is perceived as an overwhelmingly “white” space, hostile to people from non-white backgrounds. Not only does this mean that for many that seed is never planted, but the lack of familiarity with experiences in “the outdoors” means the fieldwork seen as necessary for an environmental education (and commonly required for accredited degree programs) presents a barrier to degree level study. This is a major problem for the field, as environmental impacts such as those driven by climate change affect everyone. Financial, cultural and opportunity barrier to accessing the outdoors, are recognised by both environmental organisations and grassroots groups. This project will bring together environmental scientists and grassroot community groups to tackle barriers in order to make outdoor learning accessible to all. We will test approaches to bring environmental science learning directly to those trying to make the UK countryside a more inclusive environment and learn from the experiences of both environmental scientists and activist groups in spending time immersed in nature.

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships per year throughout the project.

Fluids transfer and concentrate elements, enhance chemical reactions and facilitate deformation within the Earth’s crust. The transported elements may eventually concentrate in economically important reserves. Finding and responsibly exploiting such reserves depends on understanding how, when and where fluids flow from the scale of micrometres to kilometres. FluidNET will provide a stimulating cross-disciplinary environment for the training of a cohort of early stage researchers in skills that are essential across the resources sector. These researchers will apply field observations, innovative analytical techniques and creative modelling approaches; to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences; and to engage effectively with end-users of their research. Such skills will meet future employment demand and will enhance Europe’s capacity to provide innovative solutions to critical resource requirements.

Geochronology fundamentally underpins our knowledge of how the continental crust forms and evolves by providing the rates and timescales of burial, metamorphism and deformation. High spatial resolution in-situ analyses (via laser ablation) allow for the precise and accurate measurement of isotope ratios from individual geochronometer minerals within thin sections. These isotope ratios provide tightly constrained ages that can be linked to petrographic observations and mineral chemical analyses, all of which underpin the modern field of ‘petrochronology’ [1]. There is a still considerable debate about the importance and role of changing metamorphic conditions, bulk rock chemistry, deformation and fluid infiltration in determining when the geological clock starts ticking in deformed and metamorphosed rocks that have experienced a lengthy and protracted geological history. In-situ U-Th-Pb geochronology datasets from metamorphosed and deformed rocks commonly yield a range of dates that spans more time than the analytical uncertainty of a single “age” would suggest. This span of ages therefore suggests either that: (1) protracted crystallization took place over a range of pressure, temperature and deformation (P-T-d) conditions, (2) there was incomplete isotopic resetting during cooling and exhumation, or (3) there has been analytical mixing of mineral domains of different age. Recent studies have demonstrated that individual samples that have undergone similar P-T-d conditions, i.e. from the same outcrop, can yield strikingly varied mineral dates [2], indicating that the rock’s bulk chemical composition exhibits a strong control on the reactions that allow the geochronometer minerals to crystallise or dissolve [3]. It is also well known that different geochronometer minerals within the same rock respond differently to pressure, temperature and deformation [4,5]. The major aim of this project is to develop new U-Th-Pb petrochronological tools and workflows to help constrain how and when time is recorded in deformed rocks during burial and exhumation of the continental crust. This will be achieved by: (1) analysing different samples that are closely spatially associated (e.g. on the sub-metre scale) but which have different bulk chemical compositions, and (2) analysing rocks of similar bulk composition in less strained versus more strained localities. A suite of analytical datasets using the petrochronology approach will be applied to each rock unit, encompassing imaging techniques, petrography, microstructural analysis, in-situ U-Th-Pb geochronology, and modelling of metamorphic conditions. Integration of these data will inform how different geochronometers respond during the deformation and metamorphism of a rock unit.

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships per year throughout the project.

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships per year throughout the project.

The Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA), is a consortium of research intensive Universities (Open, Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Warwick and Cranfield) and research institutes who together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA encompasses research activities within three broad themes: Climate and Environmental Sustainability; Organisms and Ecosystems; and Dynamic Earth. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships in the 2018 intake.

CENTA is a geographically and scientifically coherent consortium offering a wide range of excellent NERC science embedded in a vibrant multidisciplinary environment. The Universities (Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Open and Warwick) and Institutes (British Geological Survey and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) have a strong track record of producing PhD graduates fit for further research or other relevant employment. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships in the 2017 intake.

CENTA is a geographically and scientifically coherent consortium offering a wide range of excellent NERC science embedded in a vibrant multidisciplinary environment. The Universities (Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Open and Warwick) and Institutes (British Geological Survey and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) have a strong track record of producing PhD graduates fit for further research or other relevant employment. The Open University STEM Faculty has match-funded 3 studentships in the 2016 intake.

This award allows Prof Rick Holliman and Dr Clare Warren to offer three week-long hands-on training workshops in 2017 for postgraduate researchers in the environmental sciences. The workshops will teach researchers how to identify and engage with end-users and research stakeholders.

Crust-mantle exchange in orogenic lower crust: the record in high temperature eclogites project. PhD studentship was awarded to Eleni Wood.

CENTA is a geographically and scientifically coherent consortium offering a wide range of excellent NERC science embedded in a vibrant multidisciplinary environment. The Universities (Birmingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Open and Warwick) and Institutes (British Geological Survey and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) have a strong track record of producing PhD graduates fit for further research or other relevant employment. We will advance PhD training significantly by offering broad and holistic educational opportunities in the environmental sciences, including innovative approaches to cohort training, supported by the Open University’s Virtual Research Environment learning platform. Where we offer leading national capability, we will offer training to other NERC consortia in addition to CENTA students. We are match-funding this bid for 20 studentships annually.CENTA defines its four areas of science excellence as follows: 1) Anthropogenic impacts and environmental sustainability. 2) Evolution of organisms and ecosystems. 3) Dynamic Earth. 4) Organisms.