Research seminars
Both external and internal speakers are invited to the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment to present the latest results of their research.
Everyone is invited, so please join us!
***CANCELLED***
Nickel laterites mining – towards more environment friendly operations
Thursday 2 February 2023 in Lecture Theatre 8, Bennett Building, 1.00pm-2.00pm (Geology)
Dr Alicja Lacinska, Senior Mineralogist, British Geological Survey
Global demand for nickel (Ni) is expected to increase rapidly by 2030, driven by its use in rechargeable batteries. Over 60% of annual global Ni production originates from Ni-laterites, with Indonesia and the Philippines leading the market. Mining of Ni-laterite ore can adversely affect the environment, through the release of both CO2 and potentially toxic elements, including hexavalent chromium. In this seminar, Dr Lacinska will talk about the crystallographic trapping of both pollutants in carbonate minerals. This novel method has the potential to alleviate the negative impact of Ni laterite mining, making the growing industry more environment friendly.
Geochemical and geophysical constraints on global mantle convection simulations
Thursday 27 April 2023 in Lecture Theatre 8, Bennett Building, 1.00pm-2.00pm (Geology)
Dr James Panton, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University
As the field of mantle studies advances, numerous hypotheses and conceptual models have been born. Sometimes these are complimentary to one another, and often they are contradictory. With the continuing advancement of geodynamics models, we can now test how the many conceptual models stand up in a fully dynamic system. In this talk Dr Panton will see how geodynamic models have helped to better understand the distribution of Pb isotopes in mantle derived rocks and what implications this may have Earth’s for internal heat budget. He will also look at how geodynamic models can be used to understand the origin of seismically observed features in the lower mantle and what this can tell us about mantle processes.