NERC Science Day Earth and Environmental Science Research in NE England: Current Highlights and Future Plans

1. NERC Science DayEarth and Environmental Science Research in NE England: Current Highlights and Future Plans The Calman Centre Science Site Durham University July 14th 2010

2. NERC SCIENCE DAY • Who is invited?: Academic staff, researchers and PGR students Invited contacts from NERC Invited representatives from industry/end-user organisations Prospective PhD students • Location:Calman Learning Centre, Science Site, Durham University, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LE. • Proposed timetable 9.00-10.30Talk session #1 (Durham; 6 talks)* 10.30-10.45Break 10.45-12.15Talk session #2 (Northumbria & Newcastle; 6 talks)* 12.15-14.00Lunch and posters session* 14.00-14.30NERC led session 14.30-15.15Building Capacity 1: Opportunities for the North-East 15.15-16.00Break and Plenary Feedback 16.00-16.30 Building Capacity 2: Opportunities for Knowledge Exchange 16.30-17.00Plenary Feedback and Concluding Comments • Talks and afternoon presentations will be in the Arnold Wolfendale Lecture Theatre. Posters to be in DermanChristophersonand Kingsley Barratt rooms. • Registration is free, but a small charge will be made for tea and coffee. • Please complete the attached registration document and send to your campus co-ordinator (DEADLINE: July 7th 2010). MORNING AND LUNCHTIME POSTER SESSIONS • There will be twelve 15 minute talk slots(12 minutes talk, 3 minutes questions) which have been allocated following a formula based on the total current volume of NERC grant funding per institution: 6 (Durham), 5 (Newcastle), 1 (Northumbria). • Other project PI’s and NERC-funded PhD students will present their work in a lunchtime poster session. 75 posters have been submitted!! * See attached list of presentations and abstract book

3. AFTERNOON SESSION • The first part of the afternoon session will be a chance for NERC representative(s) to make a brief presentation on the state and future (3-5 years) of NERC science and how in particular issues like impact and KE are likely to affect future policy and funding programmes. This will last 30 minutes, including time for questions. • The next part of the afternoon will be arranged into a set of parallel thematic discussion groups, to which participants can assign themselves. NERC representatives will be assigned to each group, along with a leader and scribe to keep track of the discussion. Each group will be charged with exploring potential contributions by Northeast universities in the thematic area, exploring possible collaborations and identifying areas where existing NERC programmes may not be suitable for addressing outstanding problems. This will include building capacity within the North-East for cross-University initiatives Our proposals for the thematic groups are: • Sustainable Resources, including Energy • Living with Environmental Change • Natural Hazards • Blue Skies and Regionally Focussed Research • Suggestions for questions to be raised in each group: • How can researchers and research groups at Northeast universities contribute in this area? • Is there potential for future collaborations in this area? • If so, where? • What are the major unanswered questions in this area? • What scale of investigation is needed to address these questions? • Are the current NERC structure and programs/themes adequate to address these questions? • If not, how could they be changed? • After a break, the group leaders will summarise the group discussions and lead a plenary discussion, with a focus on strategic directions that can be emphasised and concrete plans for future engagement. This will then be followed by a second break out where we specifically look at opportunities for growing Knowledge Exchange. • The ultimate objectives of the meeting are: • To embed a culture of research collaboration and forward planning in the Northeast Universities. • To better communicate with NERC. We want NERC representatives to come away from this with: (1) a clear sense of what NERC-facing science is already happening in the Northeast; (2) a view of what large-scale issues are likely to dominate our NERC-facing work over the next 2-5 years; and (3) ideas and concrete suggestions about where the NERC structure is not well suited to the kinds of problems we think are important. We look forward to seeing you in Durham Professor Bob Holdsworth, NERC KE Fellow

4. University Contacts Convenor Prof Bob Holdsworth, NERC KE Fellow, Reactivation Research Group, Dept of Earth Sciences, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK Tel : 0191 3342299 R.E.Holdsworth@durham.ac.uk Campus co-ordinators: NEWCASTLE Johanna Gascoigne-Owens Research Funding Development Manager Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering Newcastle University First Floor, Agriculture Building Kings Road Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU Tel: 0191 222 8624 Johanna.gascoigne-owens@ncl.ac.uk NORTHUMBRIA Dr John Woodward Reader in Physical Geography School of Applied Sciences Northumbria University Ellison Building Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST Tel: 0191 2273048 john.woodward@northumbria.ac.uk DURHAM Krysia Johnson Administrator, IHRR Department of Geography Durham University Science Site South Road Durham DH1 3LE Tel: 0191 334 2257 krysia.johnson@durham.ac.uk

5. REGISTRATION FORM: NERC SCIENCE DAY Wednesday July 14th 2010 To register for the NERC North East Science Day, please complete and return this form – together with your abstract if you hope to present a talk or poster – to Krysia Johnson (krysia.johnson@durham.ac.uk ) by May 31st. All presenters of posters and talks must register. You can also simply register for the meeting. • NAME • DEPARTMENT • E-mail PLEASE NOTE: Please bring your own lunch or visit on-campus catering facilities. Tea and coffee will be provided for a small charge (less than £5) to be levied on the day. • Do you wish to give a presentation? – TALK POSTER YES NO (delete as appropriate) If yes, please enclose a one page A4 abstract in electronic format (Word) • Are you a NERC-funded PhD student? – YES NO (delete as appropriate) POSTERS should be no bigger than A0 and should be mounted prior to the lunchtime poster session. • If you wish to present a TALK please outline the main scientific highlights or other achievements of this NERC-funded research and explain why you think it should be showcased as part of this event. Further information • Please give outline details of your current NERC funding. • Please give brief details of previous NERC funding over the past five years. Thank you for your application.

6. Programme of oral presentations: NERC SCIENCE DAY Wednesday July 14th 2010 Session #1 Durham University (Chair: Bob Holdsworth) 9.00-9.15 Domestication, DNA and the Dynamics of Human History Greger Larson (Archaeology) 9-15-9.30 Understanding the evolution of diversity in the deep sea; a case study on the population genetics of two deep sea fish species with contrasting life histories RusHoelzel (Biological Sciences) 9.30-9.45 New spatial & temporal constraints on petroleum systems from Rhenium and PGE geochemistry Alex Finlay et al. (Earth Sciences) 9.45-10.00 Quantifying fault slip rates and earthquake clustering along active normal faults in Central Italy Ken McCaffrey et al. (Earth Sciences) 10.00-10.15 Towards a better post-glacial rebound correction for satellite gravity measurements of Antarctic ice sheet mass balance Bentley et al (Geography) 10.15-10.30 Understanding and predicting dramatic mass loss from polar ice sheets Andreas Vieli et al (Geography) 10.30-10.45 BREAK Session #2 Northumbria University (Chair: Ian Head) 10.45-11.00 Geophysical investigations of Subglacial Lake Ellsworth, West Antarctica John Woodward et al. (School of Applied Sciences) Newcastle University (Chair: John Woodward) 11.00-12.15 Environmental Sciences Research at Newcastle University David Manning Biodiversity Research at Newcastle University Ian Head Earth System Science and Climate System Research at Newcastle University Simon Poulton Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Research at Newcastle University Selina Stead Environment, Pollution and Human Health Research at Newcastle University TanjaPless-Mulloli Natural Hazards Research at Newcastle University Andy Russell 12.15-14.00 LUNCH & POSTERS