Dr Andrew McCaig

Profile

Biography

I was born in Sheffield, England and have a BA (Natural Sciences) from Cambridge, an MSc from the University of Western Ontario and gained a PhD from Cambridge in 1983 working on shear zones in the Pyrenees. After a brief period as a lecturer at Dundee University I have been at Leeds since 1984.

I have undertaken research fieldwork in northern Greece, Newfoundland and the Canadian Appalachians, the Alps, Cyprus, UAE and extensively in the Pyrenees. For the last 20 years my main focus has been on the ocean floor, participating in research Cruise JR63 and in four IODP Expeditions (304, 340T, 345 and 357).

In 2023 I will be co-Chief scientist on IODP Expedition 399 “Building Blocks of Life, Atlantis Massif”, based on IODP proposal 937, on which I was lead proponent.

I have served on the NERC Peer Review College for many years, and on the IODP Science Evaluation panel and the UKIODP steering group

In Leeds I was Earth Science Admissions Tutor and involved in marketing for many years, served a number of times on Senate, and was Deputy Head of the School of Earth and Environment from 2005 to 2009

I have been a “Professeur Invité” at the Institute de Physique du Globe in Paris and  an Adjunct Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Research interests

My research is in the fields of structural geology, tectonics and geochemistry, and for many years I worked on fluid flow in shear zones and thrust faults in the Pyrenees and Alps, using isotopes and fluid inclusions to trace fluid pathways and the SEM to constrain permeability generation mechanisms at the micro scale. For the last twenty years I have been interested in ocean floor hydrothermal systems and detachment faulting at slow spreading ridges, sailing on cruise JR63 to the 15º N area of the Atlantic, and IODP Expedition 304 to the Atlantis Massif at 30º N on the mid-Atlantic Ridge which started the deepest hole so far drilled in young (< 2 million years) ocean floor. I have returned to the Atlantis Massif as a shore-based scientist on IODP Expedition 340T, and on IODP Expedition 357 which used sea-bottom drills. In April to June 2023 I will be co-Chief scientist on IODP Expedition 399, “Building Blocks of Life, Atlantis Massif” which will deepen Hole U1309D and study generation of hydrogen, methane, and other organic molecules during alteration of the oceanic lithosphere by seawater.  I also sailed on IODP Expedition 345 drilling gabbros at Hess Deep..

Current and recent projects

Qualifications

• BA/MA Natural Sciences, Cambridge
• MSc, Western Ontario, Canada
• PhD, Cambridge

Professional memberships

• American Geophysical Union

Student education

I have taught in all years of the undergraduate programme, including geological maps in first and second years, and Plate Tectonics in first and third years. I have designed and led a field mapping training course to NW Scotland, and led or helped with field classes in Cyprus, Spain, S Wales and Ireland. I regularly supervise student field projects in the Pyrenees, and have led project modules at level 3 and level 5..

In student education I am most proud of creating the first Integrated Masters Programmes with an embedded year abroad, and direct entry, in the UK. These began in Geology and Geophysics, later extended to Environmental Programmes. Around 500 students have graduated from these Programmes over the last 23 years, after spending years in North America,  Australasia and continental Europe, and most have gone on to excellent careers in academia and industry.

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics
• Rocks, Melts and Fluids
• Geodynamics and Tectonics