Prof. Bramley Murton
Geological and geochemical research into the evolution of oceanic crust, its interaction with the oceans and the formation of mineral deposits.
As Professor of Marine Geology, I lead the NOC Marine Mineral Research team. My expertise is in oceanic crust and the formation of mineral deposits including volcanic and tectonic processes, hydrothermal circulation and metalliferous mineralisation. I use and develop a combination of technologies including remote and autonomous underwater vehicles, sea-floor geophysics, geology, petrology and geochemistry to investigate sub-oceanic mantle melting, volcanic activity and the formation and fate of sea-floor mineral deposits.
Links:
InterRidge: Working Gp on Sea-floor minerals
UK-gov (BEIS): Sea-floor Mining Working Group
UK-gov (DIT): Sea-floor Mining Stakeholders Group
I currently lead a NERC Highlight Topic on the formation of sea-floor massive sulphide under ultramafic rocks (Project ULTRA); and have over a decade of experience as principal investigator on EU and UK funded project on sea-floor minerals (e.g.: Blue Mining; MarineE-tech). These projects all seek to close the gap between the demand and supply of scarce metals that are critical for the energy transition to enable a net-zero carbon future.
Geological, geophysical and geochemical research into the evolution of oceanic crust, its interaction with the oceans, and the formation of sea-floor mineral deposits.
