Fluids driving the evolution of the continental crust: influence of pathway networks, fluxes, and time scales.

Water is arguably the single most important volatile phase in the Earth’s continental crust. Fluids transfer and concentrateelements, enhance chemical reactions and facilitate deformation.

In addition, through impact on porosity and permeability,fluids facilitate mass movement of fluids and dissolved substances. The transported elements may eventually concentrate ineconomically important reserves.

Finding and responsibly exploiting such reserves depends on understanding how, whenand where fluids flow from the scale of micrometres to kilometres.

Dwindling or geopolitically restricted supply and increasingdemand for resources accentuate the urgency for fluid transport models based on more comprehensive data andgroundtruthing.The overall scientific aim of FluidNET is to contribute to the underpinning data, development and testing of new nano- tocrustal-scale models of crustal fluid flux by constraining the time and length scales, mechanisms and provenance of crustalfluid fluxes at different crustal levels.To truly advance research on fluid fluxes, and thus impact society and in particular industry, a new generation of skilledpersonnel is required, who can work with such complex systems, and make interpretations and predictions based on largeand incomplete datasets.

FluidNET will provide a stimulating cross-disciplinary environment for the training of a cohort ofearly stage researchers, ESRs, in skills that are essential across the resources sector.

Our training programme willchallenge the ESRs with societally relevant questions, and will encourage them to ‘think outside the box’.

They will learn toapply field observations, innovative analytical techniques and creative modelling approaches; to communicate effectivelywith a broad range of audiences; and to engage effectively with end-users of their research.

Such skills will meet futureemployment demand and will enhance Europe’s capacity to provide innovative solutions to critical resource requirements.