Lake systems play a fundamental role in storing and providing freshwater and food, in supporting recreation and in protecting species diversity. However, the stability of these ecosystem services can be undermined by the increased demands society makes upon these systems and changes in atmospheric composition and lake water balance that arise through a societal-mediated changing climate. To safeguard against such loss of functioning there is in place legally-binding national and European directives that set stringent targets for water quality and biodiversity. Meeting these targets requires a detailed understanding of lake processes that in turn requires measurements at an appropriate temporal scale. Traditional monitoring, of at best weekly-fortnightly intervals, is sufficient to record seasonal change but cannot resolve the processes driving many aspects of lake function. To resolve these processes we need to 'hear every note in the full symphony of lake functioning', with such resolution only viable through semi-continuous measurement of parameters that are key reflectors of lake functioning. We are fortunate that deployed in eleven lakes across the UK, of different size, altitude, latitude and nutrient status, are basic systems automated to make such measurements, Automatic Water Quality Monitoring Stations (AWQMS). However at present, most buoys are restricted to a meteorological station and temperature measurements. A few have other probes to measure water quality, but these are subject to biofouling which could compromise the data. At present, the data are mainly downloaded by telemetry to the host-site via a range of procedures. Thus we are not utilising advances in data-logger-, computer- and sensor-technology to measure automatically at high frequency and 'hear the full symphony'. We propose to change this by installing stable, state-of-the-art sensor technology, with mechanical devices to minimise biofouling. Further, we will maximise the value of generating this high frequency data by linking together the lakes in a sensor network to deliver quality-controlled data onto the internet for analysis by project partners, the wider scientific community and the general public. Such infrastructure investment needs to reflect the need for high quality measurement from science-driven agendas. We will demonstrate such a network supports these agendas through the following projects: DST1: Real-time forecasting of lake behaviour: We will incorporate the real-time data available from the sensor network into a forecast system for lake phytoplankton behaviour and, in particular, to provide warning for the onset of phytoplankton blooms. DST2: The effect of meteorology on the fate of carbon within lakes: We will track pool and flux variability of dissolved carbon dioxide over daily to seasonal time scales. By relating these measurements to meteorological and within-lake physico-chemical measurements within and between sites we are better equipped to define critical controls on the lake carbon cycle. DST3: The level of regional coherence in sub-seasonal timescales: Lakes can show a regionally coherent response e.g. strong links exist between air and surface water temperature; large-scale weather patterns such as the position of north wall of the Gulf Stream have also been shown to influence directly the regional coherence of lakes. Use of high resolution data to examine coherence in lake temperatures has just begun but as yet no-one has investigated coherence of biological, chemical or wider physical variables on these short time-scales, an approach which is viable through this network. In summary, this sensor network of AWQMSs, offering detail of observation through high resolution data generation and the new instrumentation will demonstrate not only the value of observing the environment remotely and in detail, but the benefit from integration systems to offer real advances in environmental science.

We propose a Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrative Sensing and Measurement that addresses the unmet UK need for specialist training in innovative sensing and measurement systems identified by EPSRC priorities the TSB and EPOSS . The proposed CDT will benefit from the strategic, targeted investment of >£20M by the partners in enhancing sensing and measurement research capability and by alignment with the complementary, industry-focused Innovation Centre in Sensor and Imaging Systems (CENSIS). This investment provides both the breadth and depth required to provide high quality cohort-based training in sensing across the sciences, medicine and engineering and into the myriad of sensing applications, whilst ensuring PhD supervision by well-resourced internationally leading academics with a passion for sensor science and technology. The synergistic partnership of GU and UoE with their active sensors-related research collaborations with over 160 companies provides a unique research excellence and capability to provide a dynamic and innovative research programme in sensing and measurement to fuel the development pipeline from initial concept to industrial exploitation.

This proposal aims to transition today's highest precision laser technology -- optical frequency combs -- from the lab to the factory, establishing the technique of dual-comb distance metrology as an enabling technology for manufacturing the next generation of precision-engineered products, whose functionality relies on micro-/ nanoscale accuracy. Optical techniques form the basis of critical industrial distance metrology, but face compromises between accuracy, precision and dynamic range. Time-of-flight methods give mm accuracy over an extended range, while interferometric trackers achieve nm precision but with no absolute positional accuracy. By developing novel dual-comb metrology techniques, this project will bridge the gap between precision and extended-range accuracy, providing traceable nm precision, with almost unlimited extended-range operation. For manufacturing industry, comb metrology therefore addresses the important problem of how to verifiably fabricate macro-scale objects with nano-/micro-precision. Building on Heriot-Watt's frequency-comb expertise, we will develop Ti:sapphire and Er:fibre dual combs, with the aim of demonstrating nm-precision controlled-environment metrology using Ti:sapphire, and micron-precision free-space ranging using eye-safe Er:fibre. Besides their novel applications in precision metrology, by implementing new efficient and compact diode-pumping schemes our research will extend laser comb technology in a way that makes these systems suitable for deployment in a wide range of environments outside the research lab, for example as modules in a precision quantum navigation system. Our project integrates key academic and industrial partners who will contribute resources and expertise in lasers (Chromacity), precision micro-optics (Powerphotonic), industrial metrology and manufacturing (Renishaw), ultra-precision metrology (EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Ultra Precision and CDT in Ultra Precision) and applications in large optics for astronomy (STFC UK Astronomy Technology Centre). The commitment of our partners is evidenced by >£300K of support, including £145K of cash which will be used primarily to support two EPSRC EngD and PhD students recruited to the project. The project aligns closely with the EPSRC's Manufacturing the Future challenge theme and the ICT Photonics for Future Systems priority, as well as the EPSRC's training agenda, by engaging EngD and PhD researchers from the CDT in Applied Photonics and the CDT in Ultra Precision. More generally, the project will support the UK's high-precision manufacturing and metrology communities, with potential academic and industrial benefits. By the end of the project we expect to have demonstrated and evaluated dual-comb distance metrology in a variety of practical manufacturing contexts (machine calibration, in-process control, finished-product inspection), and to be in a position to translate the technology into our industrial and academic partners.

In a consortium led by Heriot-Watt with St Andrews, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Dundee, this proposal is for an EPSRC CDT in Applied Photonics and responds to the Integrative Technologies priority area, but also impacts on the Measurement and Sensing, Photonic Materials and Innovative Production Processes priorities. Technologies integrating photonics and electronics pervade products and services in any modern economy, enabling vital activities in manufacturing, security, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, entertainment and transport. The success of UK companies in this technology space is threatened by a lack of doctoral-level researchers with a grasp of photonic- / electronic-engineering design, fabrication and systems integration, coupled with high-level business, management and communication skills. By ensuring a supply of these individuals, our CDT will deliver broad-ranging impacts on the UK industrial knowledge base, driving the high-growth export-led sectors of the UK economy whose photonics-enabled products and services have far-reaching impacts on society, from consumer technology and mobile computing devices to healthcare and security. Building on the success of our current IDC in Optics and Photonics Technologies, the proposed CDT will again be configured as an IDC but will enhance our existing programme to meet industry's need for engineers able to integrate photonic and electronic devices, circuits and systems to deliver high value products and processes. Our proposal was developed in partnership with industry, whose letters of support show a commitment to sponsoring 71-74 EngD and 14-17 PhD projects -- 40% more than the minimum required -- demonstrating exceptional industrial engagement. Major stakeholders include Fraunhofer UK, NPL, Renishaw, Thales, BAE Systems, Gooch and Housego and Selex ES, who are joined by a number of SMEs. The CDT follows a model in which (annually) EPSRC funds 7 EngD students, with 3 more supported by industrial / university contributions. In a progressive strategy supported by our industrial partners, we will, where appropriate, align university-funded PhD projects to the programme to leverage greater industry engagement with PhD research in the consortium. The focus of the CDT corresponds to areas of research excellence in the consortium, which comprises 89 academic supervisors, whose papers since 2008 total 584 in all optics journals , with 111 in Science / Nature / PRL, and whose active EPSRC PI photonics funding is £40.9M. All academics are experienced supervisors, having each supervised on average >6 doctoral students, with many previously acting as IDC supervisors. The strategic commitment by the participating universities is evidenced by their recruitment since 2008 of 29 new academic staff in relevant areas (including 9 professors). An 8-month frontloaded residential phase in St Andrews and Glasgow will ensure the cohort strongly gels together, and will equip students with the technical knowledge and skills they need before they begin their industrial research project. Business modules (x3) will bring each cohort back to Heriot-Watt for 1-week periods, and weekend skills workshops will be used to regularly reunite the cohort, further consolidating it to create opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions. Taught courses will total 120 credits, and will be supplemented by new Computational Methods, Systems Integration and Research Skills workshops delivered by our industry partners, as well as public-engagement training led by Glasgow Science Centre. Another innovation is an International Advisory Board, comprising leading academics / industrialists , who will benchmark and advise on our performance. The requested EPSRC support of £4.5M is complemented by £2.8M of industrial / academic cash, covering the cost of 3 students in each cohort of 10. In-kind industrial / academic contributions are worth a further £5.4M, providing exceptional value.

The astronomy community faces a critical problem in how to provide perpetual online calibration of new ultra-high-resolution spectrographs, which play a central role in answering today's "big questions" such as the discovery of extra-solar Earth-like planets, and the variation of "fundamental" constants. Since around 2007, the photonics community has been working with astronomers to provide a solution, in the form of an ultra-stable laser calibration source producing a "comb" of thousands of regularly spaced optical frequencies. Techniques pioneered by Nobel laureates Hall and Haensch showed how such a comb could be stabilised, allowing the constituent comb lines to be frozen in frequency to precisions approaching one part in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (actually a level rather more accurate than is needed in many astronomy contexts). HIRES and ESPRESSO are proposed high-resolution spectrographs at the E-ELT and VLT, respectively, whose underpinning science cases include the search for Earth-like exo-planets, primordial nucleosynthesis and the possible variation of fundamental constants. Both instruments demand exceptional radial velocity accuracy and stability, (up to 2 cm/s for HIRES), which can only be realized by embedding perpetual online calibration in the form of a broadband laser frequency comb. No laser frequency comb technology fully offering the necessary wavelength coverage and mode spacing has yet been demonstrated. Furthermore, the current techniques used to obtain the necessary wavelength coverage and mode spacings introduce artifacts which corrupt the calibration results when deployed on a spectrograph. Consequently research is needed to explore the feasibility of alternative laser frequency comb concepts which could meet the needs of the ESPRESSO and HIRES projects. Building on unique laser frequency comb expertise at HWU, and working with stakeholders in the HIRES and ESPRESSO instruments, this project will evaluate several new concepts for broadband laser frequency comb architectures based around optical parametric oscillators, and addressing the essential calibration-source criteria for stability, uniformity, accuracy and comb-line spacing. Engagement in the project by our principal industrial partner, Laser Quantum Ltd., will support the project with Ti:sapphire pump lasers of high repetition rate, and with vital technical know-how. A further exploitation route is provided via the new Heriot-Watt spin out company Chromacity Ltd., formed to commercialise Heriot-Watt's femtosecond OPO technology. Outcomes from the project will take the form of a technical assessment summarizing the suitability of the candidate comb architectures, and a demonstrator of the most promising system.