DrAnna Bidgood

I started my research career at the University of Oxford (MSci) where I worked on metamorphic petrology in pelites from the Appalachian orogen. This led me into my PhD on the petrology and transformation history of the Tso Morari ultrahigh-pressure dome in Ladakh, Himalaya, a project involving structural geology, metamorphic petrology, geochronology and geochemistry. During my PhD I developed a keen interest in economic geology, particularly the exploration for and sustainable supply of energy-related metals such as copper, cobalt and rare earth elements. This lead to a postdoctoral research position at the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geology, based at UCD, where my research focusses on metamorphism and mineral growth in the Central African Copperbelt, a large sedimentary basin which contains economic concentrations of critical elements required in the transition from hydrocarbon to renewable energy-based technology. My research aims to describe the relationship between mineralisation, fluid chemistry and mineral growth by analysing the textures and chemistry of rocks and combining these observations with thermodynamic modelling to understand how and when these minerals grew. The research will add to scientific understanding of mineral growth and metal mobility in salty systems such as in the Central African Copperbelt and assist industry with exploration strategies.