Work
“The formation of mountain belts is like squishing together two plates of jelly, says Clare Warren. “And I’m interested in the squish in the middle!
As one of the OU’s post-doctoral research fellows, Clare examines the early stages of mountain belt growth. “If we figure out how quickly mountains rise, we can also predict the speed at which they erode, which gives us lots of other vital information. Topography, of course, influences the carbon dioxide cycle and local rainfall – climate change.
It’s a significant role – particularly for a scientist who says, only half-joking, that she only chose geology at degree level “because the field trips were free.
Clare, 31, adds: “As a child I was always interested in the great outdoors but I didn’t go around collecting fossils or anything like that. I gradually fell in love with geology while I was at university. I did my Master’s in hydrogeology, thinking I might be doing water aid work in Africa, saving the planet – but the only jobs available were cleaning up oil spills in Swindon! So I changed direction and moved into mountains.
But her passion for her subject is clearly evident. “I love the idea of being able to track the story, the history of a landscape, she says. “I’m fascinated by the early stages of mountain growth – where you can see from samples that rocks have been really pushed into the mantle but have come out to the surface again and it’s fascinating to work out why that happens and how long it has taken. I’m very excited to be doing my research at the Open University because they specialise in a particular technique for dating such rocks.
Clare’s work at the OU is being funded for three years by the Natural Environment Research Council but she already has plans for her future career. “I love research and would like to continue that, she says. “But I will be looking for a permanent lectureship position. I like to be able to pass on knowledge.
Outside work, Clare describes herself – somewhat understatedly - as quite sporty. “I’m a keen sailor and I’ve done a few triathlons, she says. “But since I moved to Milton Keynes and the OU I’ve started playing touch rugby, which is a sporting experience quite unlike any I’ve ever had before!
She also has a love of languages – perhaps unsurprisingly for someone raised in Holland who could speak three languages fairly fluently by the age of ten. “I speak Dutch, Spanish, German, French and of course English, she says, “and of those I’d say French is the only language that limits me a bit.
And she’s not finished yet. “I love learning languages, so Arabic is next on my ‘to-do’ list.
And her German has proved particularly useful. When asked if she has a boyfriend, she coyly replies: “Well, you could put that I commute to Berlin every other weekend....
Key Dates
Spring 1977: Born kicking and screaming.
Ca 1980: First sailing trip on Dad’s Laser dinghy
1982: First heard Aha’s “Take on me, still my all time top tune.
1996-1999 BA Earth Sciences at Oxford University – my mapping project took me to the Swiss Alps, which kindled my interest in the geology of mountain belts
2000-2001 MSc Hydrogeology at UCL. Fieldwork in Argentina. Argentina was fantastic, the geology of the Pampas less interesting.
2001-2004 DPhil from Oxford University – got excited about great rocks and great beaches in Oman.
2003: First paper published. First Olympic distance triathlon, in Bedford. Couldn’t walk for a week afterwards!
2005-2007 Postdoctoral research at Dalhousie University in Canada – learned the basics of numerical modelling and how to make mini-movies of continental collision processes.
2006 First trip to the Himalayas (Bhutan). Got completely hooked on the landscape, the people and the national dish (chillies with cheese).
2008-present NERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the OU. Planning further adventurous trips (sorry, fieldwork destinations).
