Evolution of ices: From molecular cloud to ocean

Ices of various forms are found throughout our Milky Way Galaxy, from the large "molecular clouds" in which stars and planets form, in interstellar space, and in our own Solar System, on the surfaces of the Earth, the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, on asteroids, and on comets. It is very likely that water was delivered to the Earth during its formative years by the impacts of comets and asteroids in the kind of event that exterminated the dinosaurs 60 million years ago. Furthermore, these impacting bodies carry organic material, which may have been crucial to the emergence of life on Earth: comets and asteroids bring life and death! This project will study how cosmic ice evolves, from the environments of embryonic stars, to the ices and even oceans in the Solar System. We will be using laboratory experiments, including the world's most powerful light source, the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, to study how the ices change as they are exposed to simulated cosmic environments such as cosmic radiation and ultraviolet light. This work might give us a glimpse as to how life began on Earth.

To engage with the global research community, we will disseminate the results of our work by timely publication of data, with interpretation, in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, and by oral presentation at high profile international workshops and conferences. In view of the inter-disciplinary nature of the project we will be reaching a far wider community than is customary for astronomical work, for example, the oceanographic and chemical physics communities.

We will set up a consortium website, to which the various institutional web sites will be linked; this page will be maintained at Keele. It will be the means by which those seeking to use data acquired in this project will be directed to the VAMDC repository (see Data Management Plan). The availability of data will where appropriate be announced in peer-reviewed papers in which the data are presented.

The participating institutions have strong and active public engagement and widening participation strategies, and this project has ample scope for engaging with these schemes. The early career researchers employed on this project will be given the opportunity to attend (for example) STFC and Royal Society training programmes on public engagement and media communications, and to engage with nationally and regionally organised activities such as the Institute of Physics' "Physics in the Field" festival. This will contribute to the professional development of the early career researchers, and sits well with the RCUK "Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research".

For this purpose we request £1k per annum per PDRA/PGR researcher to enable them to attend (i) professional development activities and (ii) appropriate events such as sixth form conferences, science festivals etc. These funds will also be used to cover the costs of CRB checking for researchers who will be working with school students and vulnerable adults.

We also request £10k to design and produce suitably tailored, mass- and professionally-produced full colour leaflets to highlight the project to school students and the general public.

In due course, as the project evolves, we anticipate that there will be scope for explicit funding for outreach and public awareness, and we will approach the STFC for funding at the appropriate time.