My PhD was on the sulphur isotope geochemistry of meteorites and was supervised by Colin Pillinger. My PhD studies taught me a lot about mass spectrometry, vacuum systems, glassblowing, programming, and analysing samples. This was a useful research apprenticeship for my first postdoctoral position with Grenville Turner at the University of Sheffield, which involved using the MS1 mass spectrometer and applying the Ar-Ar technique to mineral inclusions in diamonds to obtain genesis ages and to study the composition of fluids also trapped in diamonds. I then moved to SUERC, Glasgow for a few years, and worked with Ian Parsons and Simon Kelley on the tricky problem of Ar diffusion in feldspars. Around this time I became interested in extending the 40Ar-39Ar technique to measure low concentrations of halogens in fluid inclusions and moved to Manchester, initally as a Royal Society University Research Fellow to continue this work.

BSc(Hons) Southampton; PhD (Open University)

I’m an isotope geochemist with a particular interest in noble gases and Ar-Ar geochronology. I apply these techniques to determine the processes and timing of ancient fluid flow and interaction in the Earth’s crust and mantle. Fluids play a key role in transporting elements in the Earth and leave their chemical signature both in the minerals they precipitate and as fluid inclusions trapped in these minerals. My research is aimed as understanding the nature of these ancient-fluids including their origin, temperature, salinity and age. This information is important for understanding the formation of ore deposits, the exchange of elements between the Earth’s mantle and crust and can be used for ancient atmosphere and climate reconstruction. I do some fieldwork; recently this has included Portugal, Antarctica, Iceland, and the UK.

• Isotope Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry