BGS laboratory leaders

Professor Melanie Leng

Professor Melanie Leng is the Director of the Centre of Environmental Geochemistry based at the University of Nottingham and a Science Director at the British Geological Survey where she manages the Stable Isotope Facility, part of the family of National Facilities, a role which involves a collaborative service role for the UK academic geosciences community. Her research focus is in climate and environmental change in the Antarctic Ocean, over Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and East Africa. She has a keen interest in developing research within the International Continental scientific Drilling Program and is involved with projects around deep drilling of Lake Ohrid, Lake Challa and various sites in East Africa, all associated with climate influences on the Earth and its inhabitants through geological time.

More information: Googlescholar, Twitter @MelJLeng, Mel's blogs


Dr Michael Watts

Dr Michael Watts is Head of Inorganic Geochemistry at the British Geological Survey. He is also an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham. His areas of interest are in ecosystem and human health (in particular in relation to methods for assessing risk & routes of exposure to metals), specialist ICP-MS applications in elemental speciation and micronutrient deficiencies linked to food security and human health in developing countries.

More information: Googlescholar, Twitter @mjwatts75


Dr Angela Lamb

Dr Angela Lamb is a lead scientist in the Stable Isotope Facility at the British Geological Survey. She holds an Honorary Research Fellowship in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Nottingham. Her research interests focus on the use of stable isotopes to understand past environmental change, diets, human and animal interactions with the environment and human and animal migration. Angela currently works on a variety of isotope–based projects with the University of Nottingham including the recently awarded AHRC grant: Box Office Bears (PI Professor Hannah O’Regan) and PhD students Fiona Moore and David Osborne.

More information: Googlescholar, Twitter @DrAngelaLamb


Dr Christopher Vane

Dr Christopher Vane is Head of Organic Geochemistry and Team Leader for Environmental Observation and Change at the British Geological Survey. He is also an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Geography, University of Nottingham. His focus is on the use organic compounds to solve problems in climate and environmental change, energy and pollution. For example, he has on going projects investigating the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in salt marshes and mangrove systems with projects in Russia, USA, Puerto Rico and Japan; he investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of persistent organic pollutants in urbanised estuaries (Thames, Clyde) and surface soils (London, Glasgow) and he is involved in projects which characterise organic matter in conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon systems in order to improve resource estimates.

More information: Googlescholar