Natural Resources and Energy
Our Research
Understanding the energy resources needed to sustain a growing global population is imperative to determine the environmental and societal impacts. It aims to address the challenges and opportunities of using the subsurface to support the decarbonisation of energy systems. Our research spans a range of themes including geothermal energy, energy storage in the geological materials, carbon capture and storage and challenges of continued use of hydrocarbons. Delivering integrated projects, our research to date covers geology, geophysics, environmental science, social science and engineering. We are affiliated with Newcastle University’s Centre for Energy and collaborate with other researchers from across the UK as well as international institutions.
Our aim is to present impartial, evidence-based scientific research to inform future energy decisions.
Current Researchers
Dr Mark Ireland researches low enthalpy geothermal resource, hydrogen storage, radioactive waste disposal.
Example Projects
- Net Zero GeoRDIE
- ViTAL Living Lab (led by School of Engineering): Investigating the use of passive seismic methods in geothermal exploration
- UKUH: The evolving shale gas landscape
Current PhD Projects
- Assessing the feasibility of large-scale hydrogen storage in salt caverns on the UKCS using 3D seismic (Hector Barnett).
- The geomicrobiology of hydrogen storage in geological materials (Aidan Jaques).
- Multi-scale characterization of fault and fracture networks in granite: implications for the integrity of geological nuclear waste repositories (Gianluca Amicarelli).
A 2D seismic line taken from the UK sector of the Southern North Sea. This section of seismic data demonstrates the high level of deformation that can occur within the subsurface due to the mobility of geological salt. These geological salt units may prove pivotal in race to NetZero carbon emissions by 2050 as they have uses regarding both subsurface hydrogen storage and carbon capture methods.