Meet the Team: Sean Pearce | OWC Oxford
At OWC, our teams are constantly expanding into more locations, in expertise, and in sectors of influence. Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we invite you to get to know our team members so you can meet the energy behind change.
For this week’s meet the team, we’re chatting to Sean Pearce, a Principal Engineering Geoscientist and Ground Modelling Discipline Lead!
Position: Principal Engineering Geoscientist and Ground Modelling Discipline Lead
Office: OWC Oxford, UK
Describe Your Work in Three Words: Geology, problem-solving, communication
Hobbies Outside Work: Hiking, travel, and landscape photography
Can you tell us a little about your day-to-day responsibilities?
Every day is different. I draw upon my training and experience to hypothesize, make judgements, and draw conclusions from partial or incomplete datasets. I go on journeys of discovery, finding out whether my predictions prove to be correct after boreholes are drilled and geophysical surveys completed.
Then the detailed work begins – drawing together strands of information and to create a reliable interpretation of the various soils, rocks, and ‘geohazards’ at a site. There are lots of parallels with forensics, detective work, and exploration. I also enjoy the fieldwork opportunities, team leadership, and knowledge-sharing.
How does geoscience play such a critical role in renewable energy projects?
Almost all renewable energy developments interact with the ground in some form. While most engineers have control over their materials, like steel or concrete, in engineering geology we have to work with whatever nature presents us with. Every site is unique, so geoscientists put considerable effort into reducing the uncertainty and risk associated with the geology beneath a given site. We then have to communicate what we know, and what we don’t, ensuring that decision-makers are well informed.
What are some emerging technologies or innovations in the sector that excite you?
Much hype surrounds the idea of ‘quantitative ground modelling’. Essentially this is a 3-dimensional prediction of the engineering properties of every cubic metre of soil or rock beneath an offshore wind farm site. Imagine trying to do this for an area the size of Greater Manchester when you can’t step foot on site to see the geology for yourself (because it’s under the sea).
As with other emerging technologies right now, there is huge potential, but we need to understand the limitations and remember that garbage in means garbage out!
What is one thing about geoscience that people outside the field often misunderstand?
Many people consider the ground to be solid and benign, but geology is actually extremely variable. It varies spatially and over time, and this is equally true offshore as onshore. Something that can be particularly difficult to grasp is the concept of geological time. Geoscientists have to consider processes that occur ‘live’, such as seabed sediments being transported by waves and currents right now as you are reading this, whilst also estimating the strength of rocks that are hundreds of millions of years old. We then have to consider the significance and impact of these and many other factors on projects that operate on human and engineering timescales (typically decades).
What’s been a recent highlight for you working within the ABL Group?
It’s hard to narrow it down to one, so here are four…
- Giving an evening lecture to students at Royal Holloway University of London, showing how they can contribute to the future of renewables.
- Joining colleagues from the wider OWC geoscience team in person for our team building event in Norwich.
- Presenting on ground modelling best practice at The Geological Society conference on Ground Modelling for Offshore Wind Developments.
- Attending the annual Engineering Geology Glossop Lecture at the Royal Institution, which was sponsored by OWC for the first time in 2024.
