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Dr Mark Fox-Powell

Profile summary

  • Research Staff
  • Senior Lecturer
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Environment, Earth & Ecosystem Sciences
  • mark.fox-powell

Web links

Professional biography

2023- present: Senior Lecturer, AstrobiologyOU, School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University

2023: Senior Research Fellow, AstrobiologyOU, Open University

2020-2023: Research Fellow, AstrobiologyOU, Open University

2016-2019: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews

2016: Research Assistant,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews

2012-2016: PhD in Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh

Research interests

Research interests

My research interests centre around icy worlds in our Solar System that contain liquid water under their surfaces.These so-called 'ocean worlds' that include Jupiter's moonsEuropa and Ganymede,Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus, and dwarf planets such as Ceres, may contain conditions suitable for life in the present day. I focus on how ice and saltsdelivered to the surfaces of these worlds by processes such as'cryovolcanism' can be used to learn about the oceans far below.

Work in my team involves laboratory experimentsand fieldwork to icy world analogue locations in Earth's high latitudes. We seekto understand how ocean chemistry and evidence of life might become delivered to and preserved at the surfaces of icy worlds. A major focus is on how the physical conditions in cryovolcanic eruptions (such as the extreme changes in temperature and pressure in the )affects theerupted material.

In the lab, we develop and employnovel cryo-analytical techniques tounderstandicy world materials at the molecular and micro-scale, anduseplanetary simulation facilities to relate our findings to the icy surfaces of ocean worlds.In the field, we study ice, brines and aerosols ejected from the subsurfacein polar and sub-polar environments, including in Iceland, Svalbard andthe Canadian High Arctic. Our findings help interpret existing data from missions such as Galileo and Cassini, and support upcoming missions such as the JUpiter Icy Moons Explorer (ESA) and the Europa Clipper (NASA).

Recent research highlights

1. My team has discovered a new type of salt crystal, made from sodium chloride and water molecules, that forms during rapid 'flash' freezing of brines. This is only the third new form of sodium chloride to be described in over 200 years. In a led by OU postdoctoral researcher Dr Rachael Hamp, we describe the structure of this material and how it relates to other known forms of sodium chloride. If detected by upcoming missions at icy worlds it would indicate regions where liquid from below has been rapidly delivered to the surface by active process such as plumes.

2. We have developed new experimental and analytical techniques to study on the microscale how salty fluids behave as they freeze. We have used these approaches to identify theand track howwithin them.

3. I have identifed , where supercold brines seep out to the surface, and form salts with similar chemical composition to those observed at Europa. This work has led to an extended research programme, with a range of talented UK and international colleagues,tracking how chemical and molecular are preserved within the salts. This work helps to build the rationale for future missions that aim to directly seek evidence of life at icy worlds.

4. Working with aninternational team, we explored how liquid brines , and showed how this distribution affects the . This work helps us to predict the depth at which habitable environments may be found in the present day, and hasimplications for protecting Europa from any Earthly contamination we might inadvertently bring on future spacecraft.

Publications

(2025-02)
Meyer, Colin R.; Buffo, Jacob J.; Nimmo, Francis; Wells, Andrew J.; Boury, Samuel; Fox‐Powell, Mark; Tomlinson, Tara C.; Parkinson, Jamie R. G. and Vasil, Geoffrey M.
Geophysical Research Letters, 52, Article e2024GL111929(3)

(2025)
Krýza, Ondřej; Brož, Petr; Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Pěnkavová, Věra; Conway, Susan J.; Mazzini, Adriano; Hauber, Ernst; Sylvest, Matthew and Patel, Manish R.
Communications Earth & Environment, 6, Article 116(1)

(2024-03-01)
Salzmann, Christoph G.; Murray, Benjamin J.; Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Hamp, Rachael E.; Rosu-Finsen, Alexander and Fraser, Helen
Icarus, 410, Article 115897

(2024)
Moreras-Marti, A.; Fox-Powell, M.; Toney, J.; McAdam, A.C.; Slaymark, C.; Knudson, C.A.; Lewis, J.M.T.; Salik, M.A. and Cousins, C.R.
Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 32 (pp. 1-6)

(2024)
Hamp, Rachael E.; Salzmann, Christoph G.; Amato, Zachary; Beaumont, Milz L.; Chinnery, Hannah E.; Fawdon, Peter; Headen, Thomas F.; Henry, Paul F.; Perera, Liam; Thompson, Stephen P. and Fox-Powell, Mark G.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 15(50) (pp. 12301-12308)

(2023)
Roche, Matthew J.; Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Hamp, Rachael E. and Byrne, James M.
International Journal of Astrobiology, 22(5) (pp. 539-558)

(2022-11-15)
Wolfenbarger, N. S.; Fox-Powell, M.G.; Buffo, J. J.; Soderlund, K. M. and Blankenship, D. D.
Geophysical Research Letters, 49, Article e2022GL100586(22)

(2022-11-04)
Moreras-Marti, A.; Fox-Powell, M.; Cousins, C. R.; Macey, M. C. and Zerkle, A.L.
Journal of the Geological Society, 179, Article jgs2021-134(6)

(2022-09-14)
Wolfenbarger, N. S.; Fox-Powell, M. G.; Buffo, J. J.; Soderlund, K. M. and Blankenship, D. D.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127, Article e2022JE007305(9)

(2022-04)
Oliver, James A.W.; Kelbrick, Matthew; Ramkissoon, Nisha K.; Dugdale, Amy; Stephens, Ben; Kucukkilic-Stephens, Ezgi; Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Schwenzer, Susanne P.; Antunes, André and Macey, Michael C.
Life, 12, Article 523(4)

(2021-10)
Macey, Michael; Grand, Ann; Fox-Powell, Mark; Ramkissoon, Nisha; Cousins, Claire and Olsson-Francis, Karen
Frontiers for Young Minds, 9, Article 665929

(2021-09-01)
Moreras-Marti, A.; Fox-Powell, M.; Stueeken, E.; Di Rocco, T.; Galloway, T.; Osinski, G. R.; Cousins, C. R. and Zerkle, A. L.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 308 (pp. 157-172)

(2021-01)
Fox‐Powell, Mark G. and Cousins, Claire R.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 126, Article e2020JE006628(1)

(2021)
Moreras‐Marti, Arola; Fox-Powell, Mark; Zerkle, Aubrey L.; Stueeken, Eva; Gazquez, Fernando; Brand, Helen E. A.; Galloway, Toni; Purkamo, Lotta and Cousins, Claire R.
Geobiology, 19(5) (pp. 489-509)

(2020)
Macey, M. C.; Fox-Powell, M.; Ramkissoon, N. K.; Stephens, B. P.; Barton, T.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Pearson, V. K.; Cousins, C. R. and Olsson-Francis, K.
Scientific reports, 10, Article 10941

(2019-06-16)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Osinski, Gordon; Applin, Daniel; Stromberg, Jessica; Gázquez, Fernando; Cloutis, Ed; Allender, Elyse and Cousins, Claire
Geophysical Research Letters, 46(11) (pp. 5759-5767)

(2019-03)
Payler, Samuel; Biddle, Jennifer; Sherwood Lollar, Barbara; Fox-Powell, Mark; Edwards, Thomas; Ngwenya, Bryne; Paling, Sean and Cockell, Charles
Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, Article 426

(2018-09-15)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Channing, Alan; Applin, Daniel; Cloutis, Ed; Preston, Louisa and Cousins, Claire
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 498 (pp. 1-8)

(2018)
Fox-Powell, Mark and Cockell, Charles
Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, Article 739

(2016-06-06)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Hallsworth, John; Cousins, Claire and Cockell, Charles
Astrobiology, 16(6) (pp. 427-442)

(2015-02)
Stevenson, Andrew; Burkhardt, Jürgen; Cockell, Charles S.; Cray, Jonathan A.; Dijksterhuis, Jan; Fox-Powell, Mark; Kee, Terence P.; Kminek, Gerhard; McGenity, Terry J.; Timmis, Kenneth N.; Timson, David J.; Voytek, Mary A.; Westall, Frances; Yakimov, Michail M. and Hallsworth, John E.
Environmental Microbiology, 17(2) (pp. 257-277)

(2024-06)
Hogan, Jessica; Fox-Powell, Mark; Hamp, Rachael; Merrison, Jonathan; Iverson, Jens Jacob; Patel, Manish and Pearson, Victoria
In : British Planetary Science Conference 2024 (19-21 Jun 2024, Leicester, UK)

(2024-01-11)
Sym, L. S. J.; Ramkissoon, N. K.; Fox-Powell, M. G.; Pearson, V. K. and Melwani Daswani, M.
In : 17th UK Planetary Forum Early Career Researcher Meeting (15 Jan 2024, London, UK)

(2024-01)
Hogan, J; Fox-Powell, M; Hamp, R; Patel, M. R; Pearson, V and Cornet, T
In : 17th UKPF Early Career Researcher Meeting (15 Jan 2024, Imperial College, London)

(2024)
Aldis, Angus; Fox-Powell, Mark; Gladding, Toni; Olsson-Francis, Karen and Stephens, Ben
In : UKPF 2024 Conference (15 Jan 2024, Imperial College London)

(2024)
Sym, Lewis; Ramkissoon, Nisha; Fox-Powell, Mark; Pearson, Victoria and Melwani Daswani, Mohit
In : Astrobiology Science Conference 2024 (05-10 May 2024, Providence, USA)

(2024)
Chinnery, Hannah and Fox-Powell, Mark
In : 4th British Planetary Science Conference (17-21 Jun 2024, Leicester, UK)

(2023-09-07)
Sym, Lewis; Pearson, Victoria; Ramkissoon, Nisha; Fox-Powell, Mark and Melwani Daswani, Mohit
In : ASB9: Celebrating 20 Years of the Astrobiology Society of Britain (7-8 Sep 2023, Clore Management Centre, Birkbeck, University of London)

(2023)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Wolfenbarger, Natalie; Buffo, Jacob; Semprich, Julia and Ramkissoon, Nisha
In : Workshop on the Origins and Habitability of the Galilean Moons (24-26 Oct 2023, Marseille, France)

(2023)
Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Stephens, Ben; Siggs, Dominic; Barton, Timothy; Hammond, Sam; Kucukkilic-Stephens, Ezgi; Batty, Claire; Gladding, Toni and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Workshop on the Origins and Habitability of the Galilean Moons (24-26 Oct 2023, Marseille, France)

(2023)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Stephens, Ben; Barton, Timothy; Hammond, Sam; Kucukkilic-Stephens, Ezgi; Batty, Claire; Gladding, Toni and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : 9th Astrobiology Society of Britain conference (07-08 Sep 2023, Birkbeck, University of London)

(2023)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Stephens, Ben; Batty, Claire; Gladding, Toni and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (13-17 Mar 2023, Houston, TX, USA)

(2023)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Wolfenbarger, Natalie; Buffo, Jacob; Semprich, Julia and Ramkissoon, Nisha
In : 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (13-17 Mar 2023, Houston, TX, USA)

(2022)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Stephens, Ben; Del Moral Jimenez, Alvaro; Dazley, Connor; Slade, David; Richards, Grace; Cousins, Claire and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Forming and Exploring Habitable Worlds workshop (7-13 Nov 2022, Edinburgh, UK)

(2022)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Stephens, Ben; Del Moral Jimenez, Alvaro; Dazley, Connor; Slade, David; Richards, Grace; Cousins, Claire and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Europlanet Science Congress 2022 (18-23 Sep 2022, Granada, Spain)

(2022)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Slade, David; Siggs, Dominic and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Europlanet Science Congress 2022 (18-23 Sep 2022, Granada, Spain)

(2021-03)
Hamp, Rachael; Schwenzer, Susanne; Fox-Powell, Mark; Olsson-Francis, Karen and Pearson, Victoria
In : Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2021 (Mar 2021, Houston, USA)

(2021)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Buffo, Jacob; Wolfenbarger, Natalie; Semprich, Julia; Ramkissoon, Nisha; Vance, Steven; Schwenzer, Susanne and Pearson, Victoria
In : 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2021 (15-19 Mar 2021, Online)

(2020-08-28)
Macey, Michael; Ramkissoon, Nisha; Fox-Powell, Mark; Barton, Tim; Stephens, Ben P.; Schwenzer, Susanne P.; Pearson, Victoria K.; Cousins, Claire R. and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : EANA 2020 (27-28 Aug 2020, Online)

(2020)
Macey, Michael C.; Fox-Powell, Mark; Ramkissoon, Nisha K.; Stephens, Ben P.; Barton, Tim; Schwenzer, Susanne P.; Pearson, Victoria K.; Cousins, Claire R. and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Astrobiology Australasia Meeting (9-11 Sep 2020, Online)

(2020)
Macey, Michael C; Fox-Powell, Mark; Ramkissoon, Nisha K; Baharier, Bea; Oliver, James A W; Stephens, Ben; Schwenzer, Susanne P; Pearson, Victoria K; Cousins, Claire R and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (15-19 Mar 2020 (Virtual), Houston, USA)

(2020)
Fox-Powell, Mark; Hamp, Rachael; Schwenzer, Susanne; Pearson, Victoria; Olsson-Francis, Karen and Cousins, Claire
In : European Astrobiology Network Association (1-4 Sep 2020, Online)


Fox-Powell, Mark G.; Stephens, Ben; Batty, Claire; Aldis, Angus; Hammond, Sam; Barton, Tim and Gladding, Toni
In : AbSciCon 2024 (5-10 May 2024, Providence, RI, USA)