The start of the Age of Metal marked a step-change for mankind. Today, our entire technological society is dependent on metals. But it all started with copper. One of the main sources of this metal in the ancient world was Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus is named after the Greek word for copper. The island's secret was the Troodos ophiolte, an ancient fragment of oceanic crust that was uplifted to form a mountain range. Here, eighty six million years ago, high-temperature hydrothermal vents deposited large mineral ore bodies on the seafloor. Below the seabed, these were rich in copper minerals, deposited by the hot vent fluids as they mixed with cold seawater. Today, modern hydrothermal vents, their ore deposits, and exotic animals are well known as striking examples of geology in action. But we know relatively little about what determines the distribution and composition of the ore deposits. We think that vent fluids become rich in valuable base metals deep beneath mid-ocean ridges, where pressures are 5000 atmospheres and temperatures reach ~500 degrees Celsius. Under these conditions, seawater is supercritical (i.e. the vapour phase behaves like a fluid) and is so reactive that it can easily dissolve rocks. We also think that the composition of those dissolving rocks is important. Different rocks have different metals in them and this affects the composition and value of the ore deposits. But until now, it has been impossible to sample hydrothermal systems under these pressure and temperature conditions. In April 2010, we made the extraordinary discovery of hydrothermal activity in the deepest mid-ocean ridge on Earth. Within the Cayman Trough, deep beneath the Caribbean Sea, we found vents at 5000m gushing out supercritical fluids at nearly 500 degrees Celsius. These are the hottest ever found, and are close to the conditions normally found where seawater meets magma chambers deep below the seafloor. With another expedition already scheduled for 2012, we have a unique opportunity to use this natural laboratory to test predictions about the distribution and composition of ore deposits formed from such high-temperature supercritical fluids. The significance of this work is multi-fold. Economically, we can apply the knowledge gained from this unique study to predict other, more accessible ore deposits on land and at sea. Already, deep-sea extraction companies are starting to explore seafloor ore deposits. The information we gather from this study will help predict the future viability of these deposits. Our new data will also help inform governments and NGOs (e.g. the United Nations International Seabed Authority) of how to protect these sites and ensure that only sustainable exploration is ever planned. Scientifically, we will gain a new understanding of the role of pressure, temperature and rock composition in the formation of ore deposits. We will also revise our estimates of the exchange of heat and fluids between the ocean and seafloor. This exchange helps explain why the sea is salty and the Earth's climate has been in balance. Our exciting work, in such an extreme environment, will continue to engage the public's imagination and help promote science and technology to tomorrow's generation.

We propose to investigate the differences in the trophic ecology, distribution and foraging success of crabeater seals across a latitudinal gradient along the western Antarctica Peninsula (wAP). As a consequence of global climate change and local environmental processes, the atmosphere and oceans along the wAP are rapidly changing. Our study will enhance our ability to understand how the entire krill-dependent community of large predators will respond to the projected environmental changes. Furthermore, we have ecological baseline data from 20 years ago on movement patterns, diving behavior, feeding behavior, distribution and abundance for the species, as well as historical data and samples from the mid-1990s, providing us with a unique opportunity and advantageous position to detect changes in the ecology of this conspicuous Antarctic mesopredator and the extended predator community. The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) is the most important predator of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba in Antarctic waters. This is due to its high degree of ecological specialization, large abundance and biomass, and high metabolic demand. Its high dependence on a single prey resource, combined with being an obligate inhabitant of the pack ice, makes the crabeater seal an excellent species to examine changes in krill distribution as well as potential changes in the structure of the entire ecosystem: the horizontal distribution of the seal is determined by the distribution of krill, and similarly the seals diving behavior provides insights into the vertical distribution of this euphausiid in the water column. Given the dichotomy in the daily habitat requirements of the crabeater seal, we aim to evaluate whether these previously-overlapping habitats are now separating in time and space along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Given the latitudinal differences in sea ice timing and extent. As well as the extreme dependence of crabeater seals on krill, we expect that individuals in the northern wAP have modified their foraging behavior and incur in elevated energetic costs as opposed to animals in the southern wAP. Alternatively, crabeater seals could have modified their habitat usage patterns and/or their diet in response to the changing climate along the wAP. We will use traditional aerial surveys combined with new technologies (UAS and satellite imagery) to census the population of seals in the wAP through a collaboration with BAS. The aerial surveys will provide a benchmark against which we can validate the new data obtained from these platforms, which are logistically easier and more cost-effective. The tracking studies will also provide concurrent data on haulout patterns of crabeater seals that will be used to correct the survey data for the proportion of individuals at sea1. The survey and tracking data will be utilized to first determine if the crabeater seal population has declined and or moved south in response to declining sea ice. Second, develop habitat models of the species distribution to define the variables that influence where the animals are eating versus where they are hauling out, determine how these habitats differ and predict the spatio-temporal co-occurrence of these environmental conditions.

The pace of deployment of offshore wind (OW) energy is rapidly accelerating to power the transition to net zero. The UK government aims to increase from the current 14GW of offshore wind to at least 50GW by 2030, requiring c£17bn investment per year, then 120-170GW by 2050, to provide clean energy resilience. Despite the remarkable success of OW over the past decade, making it a central component of the UK energy mix, future growth brings new challenges. Deployment must now expand beyond the relatively benign, shallow waters of the southern North Sea to sites further from shore, a fundamentally different engineering, operating and natural environment. In such areas the two-way effects of new OW engineering on the marine biosphere and concomitant impact on other sea users are poorly understood. Beyond technical challenges, a major barrier to rapid deployment is consenting time. The Government aim to reduce typical consent time from 4 years to 1 year by 2030 is only achievable if new approaches to data collection, aggregation and modelling are validated and adopted. The volume and speed of deployment must increase 6-fold, while remaining commercially competitive, requiring industrialisation of manufacturing and installation while ensuring that materials (such as rare earth metals, copper, composites) and other resources (including energy) are used sustainably. The OW workforce will reach >100,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030, with >8,000 projected at HE Level 7+. To achieve and sustain this, the workforce must be drawn from a diverse talent pool and be built on equitable, inclusive cultures where safety and wellbeing are central. The sector OW Industry Council (OWIC) recognises that increasing growth, and UK supply chain content, requires a highly skilled and resilient workforce and highlights the key role of CDT programmes in providing this. The previous EPSRC-NERC Aura CDT in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment (Aura CDT I) successfully demonstrated the value of OW research and training at the interface of engineering and environmental sciences. Sustainable sector growth now requires further research that integrates emergent social, societal and economic challenges of OW energy. Thus, the proposed UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience (Aura CDT II), provides integrated solutions across the EPSRC/NERC/ESRC remit. These transdisciplinary sector needs are co-identified by key sector stakeholders, including Aura CDT project partners OWIC, ORE Catapult, The Crown Estate, Renewable UK and DEFRA. Direct industry engagement has co-created five Aura CDT II challenge-based themes to: push the frontiers of offshore wind technology; accelerate consent and support environmental sustainability; achieve a sustainable wind farm life cycle; build and support a sustainable workforce; and develop a resilient net-zero energy system. The importance of these themes to the sector is demonstrated by the cash and in-kind support of >40 project partners, allowing us to support >75 CDT students. The CDT connects the University of Hull with partner Universities Sheffield, Durham and Loughborough. PL Dorrell (Director of Aura CDT I) is supported by nine CLs from the partner universities and a pool of >100 diverse supervisors bringing world leading expertise in the areas of engineering, environment and social sciences required to support the training and research elements. Both full and part time students will receive postgraduate training delivered collaboratively through an intensive 6-month multidisciplinary programme at Hull and subsequent courses, with all partners, addressing topics including leadership, public engagement, responsible innovation and EDIW. Small clusters of doctoral students will link expertise from across the four universities and industry partners to provide holistic insights into sector challenges while building cross-cohort collaboration and multiplying impacts.