About the Project
One of the vital ingredients that allowed the emergence of life on the Earth is liquid water. Water is ubiquitous in the Solar System, and is present in most of the planets and their satellites, as well as asteroids and comets. It is believed that inner Solar System terrestrial planets largely accreted dry and received their water and volatile cargo at the end of their accretion, through addition of asteroidal and cometary material. The volatile-rich carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites are thought to constitute some of the most primitive Solar System objects, and have, therefore, been the focus of most of the studies on water in the early Solar System [1-2]. Our recent work on the volatile inventory of ordinary chondrite (OC) meteorites has also shown that the least metamorphosed types contain significant quantities of water [3]. This work also suggested that water in OC is hosted in at least three reservoirs, phyllosilicates, organic material, and a third component with very high deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) ratios potentially inherited from the nebular cloud from which the Solar System formed [4]. So far, this elusive component has only been identified in OC from the LL group – the goals of this project are to (i) precisely determine the nature of this high D/H host phase and (ii) investigate pristine OC meteorites from the H and L groups to decipher if their parent asteroids also accreted this very high D/H component.
In this project you will investigate the water and volatile inventory of a set of ~20 carefully selected unequilibrated ordinary chondrites recovered from Antarctica, using a combination of petrological, geochemical, and spectroscopic techniques. This set will include samples from the H, L, and LL ordinary chondrite groups. Preliminary bulk H isotope analyses of such samples suggest they also host a very high D/H component [5]. The mineralogy of these samples will be examined using a range of techniques such as XRD analysis, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and electron beam techniques. These mineralogical and petrological characterisations will allow assessing the levels of metamorphism the samples underwent, and selection of the least metamorphosed for further in situ studies. In addition, you will investigate the abundance and isotopic composition of water in selected samples using isotope ratio mass spectrometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry.
This integrated dataset obtained on water in pristine ordinary chondrite meteorites will help furthering our understanding of the water inventory of inner Solar System rocky material, which will eventually help refine existing models for the origin and processing of water in the early Solar System.
Eligibility
This project will suit students with a strong background (MSc, MSci or BSc) in Earth and/or Planetary Sciences. Students with a background in Physics and/or Chemistry who can demonstrate knowledge and interest in meteorite research will also be considered. Some knowledge or previous experience in any of the following would be helpful – Scanning Electron Microscopy, Electron Probe Microanalysis, data manipulation, isotope geochemistry – but this is not a requirement, since you will receive training in all the relevant analytical and computational methods. You will be encouraged to attend national and international conferences to share your research.
Funding
As this is a funded position, the application process is competitive. The applications received will be initially reviewed by the project supervisory team and they will put forward their preferred candidates for a panel review process. An STFC DTP academic panel will then review all the nominated students and decide who to shortlist for an interview. An interview with shortlisted candidates will then take place remotely so that the panel can meet the short-listed candidates and decide who to offer the studentship to. The interview normally lasts about 20-30 minutes. Candidates are normally informed within a few days of the interview if they have been offered a funded studentship. If you are offered a studentship, you are more than welcome to come and visit the department and group research facilities and meet with our current STFC students and staff.
Before you apply
Please contact romain.tartese@manchester.ac.uk in an email to discuss the project before you apply.
How to apply
Comments/amends: • You are applying for a fully funded PhD project for which, if you are successful in your application, you would receive a monthly stipend, have the university fees paid for, and be awarded some money to support lab costs and travel.
• Read the information on the DEES webpage https://www.ees.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/doctoral-training/planetary-science/ to ensure that you understand the funding eligibility requirements for the award.
• Contact the supervisors to discuss your interest in the project – this is an essential step so that you can ask questions and find out more about the supervisory team before you apply.
• Your formal application must be made online at https://www.ees.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/how-to-apply/ (please note you will not need to upload your own research proposal for this project during this stage of the application as you are applying for a specific project). In your application, we want to see how your experience is relevant to the project that you have applied for. Please ensure that the people you have asked to submit references for you do this by the requested date. You are applying for an STFC-funded project. Please check with the project supervisor(s) that your application has been received by the university a few days before the deadline.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities. We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
We also support applications from those returning from a career break or other roles. We consider offering flexible study arrangements (including part-time: 50%, 60% or 80%, depending on the project/funder).
Funding Notes
You are applying for a fully funded PhD project for which, if you are successful in your application, you would receive a monthly stipend, have the university fees paid for, and be awarded some money to support lab costs and travel. Please see the project description for further details.
References
Background reading for the project
[1] Alexander C. M. O’D., Bowden R., Fogel M. L., Howard K. T., Herd C. D. K. and Nittler L. R. (2012) The Provenances of Asteroids, and their Contributions to the Volatile Inventories of the Terrestrial Planets. Science 337, 721-723.
[2] Piani L., Marrocchi Y., Vacher L. G., Yurimoto H. and Bizzarro M. (2021) Origin of hydrogen isotopic variations in chondritic water and organics. Earth & Planetary Science Letters 567, 117008.
[3] Grant H., Tartese R., Jones R., Piani L., Marrocchi Y., King A. and Rigaudier T. (2023) Bulk mineralogy, water abundance, and hydrogen isotope composition of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 58, 1365-1381.
[4] Grant H., Tartese R., Piani L., Jones R. and Marrocchi Y. (2023) In situ analysis of the H isotope composition of water in the matrix of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract #1462.
[5] Vacher L., Bonal L., Beck P., Rigaudier T. and Flandinet L. (2022) Origin and abundance of H2O in ordinary chondrites. 85th Annual Meeting of The Meteo
