Geosolutions Leeds Welcomes MSc Student from the University of Basilicata
Geosolutions Leeds is hosting an MSc student in Geology, Environment and Hazards from the University of Basilicata, Italy, from April to June this year.
Miss Carmela Taddeo
As part of her MSc thesis, Miss Carmela Taddeo will work with Dr Mohamed Gouiza and Prof Dave Healy on the Lower Carboniferous limestone outcrops of the Peak District.
I am truly enthusiastic: having the opportunity to engage with new and highly knowledgeable people is a constant source of motivation for me to broaden my horizons.
Her research aims to characterise the structural architecture and tectonic evolution of Lower Carboniferous limestones in the Peak District. She will do this by integrating detailed field-based structural analysis with stratigraphic context.
Her study focuses on constraining the timing, orientation, and kinematics of successive deformation phases affecting the carbonate platform during and after deposition. It will also include a quantitative description of the fracture network in terms of orientation, intensity, connectivity, and spatial distribution.
In the future, I would like to do a PhD in structural geology. The world of research has fascinated me for several years now: being able to study what sparks my curiosity and turn it into a job would be fantastic!
Her work relates to our geothermal project led by Dr Mohamed Gouiza. It will provide Dr Gouiza with valuable outcrop analogues for subsurface fracture systems within the Lower Carboniferous limestones, directly informing the parameterisation of predictive Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models.
Dr Mohamed Gouiza and Ms Carmela Toddeo, the Pindale Quarry
It can help the team constrain and quantify the fracture set's orientation, hierarchy, and connectivity pattern, as well as include its relationship to larger-scale tectonic structures. Dr Gouiza can integrate these insights with geophysical interpretations (e.g., gravity and magnetic lineaments, seismic-scale faults) to validate and improve subsurface geological models and reduce uncertainty when modelling fluid flow and geothermal potential in the Lower Carboniferous limestone aquifer at depth.
We are delighted to host Carmela, and she has hit the ground running! Data from surface outcrops like these are really valuable for subsurface modelling, but it takes hard work and strong skills in field work and structural geology.
This visit is the result of the successful NERC Global Partnership Seedcorn project between Prof David Healy, Prof Cathy Hollis from the University of Manchester and their colleagues Prof Giacomo Prosser and Prof Fabrizio Agosta from the University of Basilicata in 2024.
Our previous visit to Basilicata and the Val d’Agri showed us that Italian geology students have these skills in abundance. We hope to reap the benefits of the NERC Global Partnership Seedcorn project, combined with funds from Geosolutions Leeds, to make a step change in our knowledge of the fracture systems in this important aquifer.