Weathering research

The University of Sheffield is to lead an international research consortium into weathering thanks to a £1.74m grant from the Natural Environment Research Council.

Sheffield, along with the Universities of Leeds and Bristol, and in partnership with Pennsylvania State University and other associates in the USA, hopes to establish a global understanding of how weathering is affected by natural and human activities.

The newly funded consortium brings together biologists, geologists, chemists, engineers, materials scientists, physicists and mathematical modellers to understand the process of weathering. Weathering is a key natural process that transforms rock to soil and unlocks nutrients for forest, grassland and agricultural production.

The research will develop new methods adopted from nanotechnology and molecular biology to improve the management of the whole life cycle of soil – from its formation to its depletion. The scientists will track how plant energy captured from sunlight is directed through roots and soil fungi to extract the elements that nourish ecosystems.