Although the extent of winter Arctic sea-ice has been the smallest on record this year, it is unclear yet whether its volume will also mark a new low.

This latter figure is the best measure of the state of the marine floes.
The most up-to-date data from Europe's Cryosat spacecraft suggests sea-ice thickness is tracking close to a "minimum maximum" - but there may still be some growth left in the season.
It will be April before a definitive statement on ice volume can be given.
In terms of extent, however, the data is in. Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the country's space agency (Nasa) say the area of ocean covered by floes is now declining after the winter freeze-up.
The largest averaged extent was reached on 24 March, and came in at 14.52 million sq km, they say.
This is a fraction under 2015's figure (14.54 million km), which set a 37-year, satellite-era record.
It should be noted, though, that the difference is so small, it is actually within the errors associated with the measurement.
It had been obvious for some time that floe growth would be sluggish this winter.
Air temperatures over the Arctic Ocean through December, January and February were 2C to 6C above average in nearly every region, limiting the freeze-up that normally occurs in the dark months of the polar north.
But ice extent is, of course, just a two-dimensional observation. Scientists are waiting for Cryosat to return its full, three-dimensional data-set.
This European Space Agency platform has a radar altimeter that can be used to calculate the thickness of the floes, yielding an overall volume when combined with area/extent information.
And while Cryosat has also seen sluggish growth (such as in the Barents Sea) during the anomalously warm winter, the Arctic still retains a fair amount of thick, multi-year ice north of Canada.
It means that this winter's maximum volume looks very similar at the moment to 2013, when the floes peaked at 24,800 cubic km.
That "minimum maximum" came off the back of a record-setting summer melt in the Arctic.
However, the moment of greatest volume in the floes tends to occur many days, if not weeks, after ice extent has turned its corner. Ice at the very highest, coldest latitudes can continue to accumulate mass even as the periphery at warmer, lower latitudes begins to erode.
"Once Arctic sea-ice has reached its maximum area for the year it continues to thicken for about a month as seawater beneath the ice freezes to the under-ice surface. We expect the ice to reach its maximum amount towards the end of March or start of April," explained Rachel Tilling, a Cryosat researcher at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at University College London, UK.
"But the ice has only thickened by about 8cm since February, when usually it thickens by twice this amount."
Prof Andy Shepherd, the senior scientific advisor to the Cryosat mission, told BBC News:  "Early March saw slow growth and if that is maintained then I suspect the winter volume will end up being lower than in 2013 - but it will be very marginal.
"This does all illustrate though why we need a three-dimensional view of the ice. Strong winds can cause the same amount of sea-ice to pile up in a smaller than usual area, which you would miss if you considered just the extent of the floes - how widely the ice is spread across the ocean.
"And if this happens, the ice can actually become more resilient to summer melting depending on where it ends up, which emphasises the importance of knowing how thick it is, too," the Leeds University expert said.
European scientists recently petitioned the European Commission and the European Space Agency to start work on a Cryosat follow-up mission.
The spacecraft is currently operating beyond its design life, and researchers are concerned the ageing mission could die in orbit at any time, depriving them of its unique data.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Timbuktu in northern Mali is renowned for its thousands of ancient manuscripts, some of which are 600 years old.

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29 November 2014 Last updated at 02:14 GMT
United Nations cultural body Unesco will be hosting a conference in December on how to preserve the manuscripts, which address topics such as history, science, Islamic law, conflict resolution and medicine, and date back to when the city was an important academic centre.
They came under threat when the city was occupied by Islamist militants for several months in 2012. Many of the manuscripts were burnt, but thousands more were saved. Six residents tell the BBC what they did to protect their heritage.
Audio slideshow by the BBC's Laeila Adjovi
Interviewees in order: Abdulwahid Abderahim Haidara, anonymous resident, Abdulhamin Kunta, Dramane Mouleye Haidara, Mohamed El Moktar Cisse and Sane Chirfi Alpha


As Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas and craft market opens for its 15th year, BBC News looks at a few facts and figures surrounding the annual event.

It was first held as a one-off event in 1997 before becoming a yearly fixture in 2001, growing from just 24 stalls into a veritable village.
While not without its critics, the market has become an annual pilgrimage for office workers nipping out for a few glasses of warm wine and a hefty sausage in a roll - otherwise known as GlÃ¼hwein and Bratwurst.
Murky November weather is made festive by snow machines and, after a few hot ciders, novelty nutcrackers and wooden Christmas-tree decorations seem not only desirable, but essential.
Organiser Birmingham City Council recommends "picking up some presents for your family - or indeed yourself - in the form of the ever-favourite crystal lamps, Sounds of Nature, hand-crafted leatherwork, rugs, and much more besides," as well as enjoying a few steins of Weissbeer.
An animatronic singing moose head serenades shoppers with festive earworms and is so popular he has his own Twitter account, where he posts jokes including such gems as:
What do angry mice send to each other at Christmas?
Cross Mouse Cards!
The Frankfurt market is centred in Victoria Square in front of the Council House and stretches down to the Rotunda. The Craft Market and ice rink are in Centenary Square.
The steins and sausages disappear from Birmingham on 22 December, when the five-week shindig comes to an end - until next year.


Singapore is gearing up to become the world's first "smart nation", with another deal to bring self-drive taxis to the city.

The city authorities signed a deal with start-up nuTonomy to test autonomous vehicles in March.
Now Delphi Automotive will also offer a small fleet of automated taxis to carry passengers around a business park.
The driverless cabs could reduce an average $3-a-mile ride to 90 cents, the firm said.
Initially, the cars will have drivers, ready to take over if the system fails but the plan is to gradually phase the human out in 2019.
The small fleet of six Audi vehicles will travel along a 3.5 mile (5.6km) route in One North, a business district in the city.
By 2019, the plan is to have fully autonomous cars without steering wheels but they will only be tested with a "controlled group of people," according to the firm.
The pilot ends in 2020 with a view to rolling out a wider deployment after that.
The cars will be fitted with software that will allow commuters to book them, in a similar way to ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft.
Delphi Automotive is a vehicle electronics supplier and last year conducted a coast-to-coast demonstration of self-driving cars in the US.
It plans to announce similar pilot programmes in the US and Europe, later this year, it said.
"We are starting in a fairly small controlled manner but the expectation is we will continue to build. Starting with a small pilot and then moving to an operational fleet of 30, 40 or 50 vehicles with that continuing to expand," said Delphi's vice-president of services Glen De Vos.
"It will get a lot of attention and that is good because it helps socialise the technology."
The Singapore authorities are looking to driverless vehicles to address the growing problems of congestion in the city.
Start-up nuTonomy, which is an offshoot of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hopes to have a fleet of between five and 10 electric cars running in the same business district by 2018.


The recent plundering of priceless artefacts from Syria and Iraq by both terrorists and criminal gangs has taken place on an unprecedented scale.

Stolen items have been turning up in Europe and the US, where they have then been offered to private collectors.
The UN heritage body Unesco says the illicit trade is worth millions of dollars.
But an innovative solution may now be at hand which enables archaeologists to trace precious artefacts.
Working in secret, in areas outside Syrian government control, Syrian archaeologists have begun painting some of the country's most valuable artefacts with a clear, traceable liquid.
The solution is invisible to the naked eye, but detectable under ultra-violet light.
The technology is provided by Smartwater, the British crime prevention firm, and was developed by scientists at Reading University and Shawnee State University in the US.
Roman mosaics, Byzantine pottery and ancient sculptures are all being treated with the liquid in a desperate race to stop Syria's heritage being plundered by terrorists and criminal gangs.
The hope is that it will deter both collectors and smugglers of stolen items with the threat of prosecution, since each artefact bears a unique, identifiable code.
The project has been overseen by a renowned Syrian archaeologist, Professor Amr Al-Azm.
He told the BBC that the Smartwater tracing material, which has been designed not to harm ceramics and other ancient materials, was delivered to Turkey in January and then shipped across the Syrian border a month later.
Referring to the fact that so far it is only being used on artefacts in areas outside Syrian government control, Professor Al-Azm said that "Syria's cultural heritage is under threat wherever it is," adding: "This is something that unites us."
But is it a case of too little too late?
After six years of conflict, much of Syria's treasure has already been looted by so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, working with smugglers and criminal gangs.
According to Unesco, the smuggling of valuable artefacts out of the Middle East ranks as one of the major global illicit industries, alongside arms, drugs and human trafficking.
A large but unknown quantity of artefacts have been turning up in Europe and the US, where middlemen try to sell them to private collectors.
Iraq, which has suffered a similar problem of looting, has yet to see the project extended across its borders.
The plundering by IS of such iconic sites as Nineveh, near Mosul in northern Iraq, has been well documented, with the jihadists carrying off everything they could sell and smashing up whatever they were unable to move.
Still, Professor Al-Azm is hoping that word will soon spread, amongst smugglers and collectors alike, that handling the region's stolen heritage could end in a criminal prosecution.


JT McNamara, the Irish jockey paralysed after a fall at Cheltenham, was planning to retire from racing this summer, the BBC has learned.

The 37-year-old amateur fractured two vertebrae when his horse fell in a race at the festival last month.
Barry Potts, a trainer from Strabane in County Tyrone, was the jockey's best man at his wedding:
"I believe he was going to give up after the April meeting at Punchestown, unfortunately this happened," he said.
The annual Punchestown Festival will take place from 23 to 27 April.
"He's ridden over 600 point to point winners, I think he's ridden about 100 on the track as well - he's ridden in a lot of races.
"He got an awful slap on the ground. The horse hit the fence and drove him into the ground. You knew whenever he hit the ground and didn't move, which wasn't like him.
"I saw him taking plenty of falls and he would be hardy, but it was a dead slap he got.
"It is dangerous, there aren't many jobs where an ambulance follows you around. It makes you sick to your stomach, even now thinking about it makes you sick to your stomach."
The amateur jockey remains in hospital after suffering the fall during the Cheltenham Festival last month.
Mr Potts said his friend loved riding horses.
"He would ride horses all day - loved it, wouldn't matter how many horses he had to ride out, he would keep going, he was always very fit," he said.
"All through the summer he would be breaking horses as well."
Mr McNamara has been now told he is paralysed from the neck down.
"Hopefully that's just the worst case scenario that they've given him," Mr Potts said.
"Fingers crossed he'll get something moving. He's pretty strong-minded, he'll be determined."
Meanwhile, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has donated 200,000 euros to a fund for the jockey.
Mr O'Leary announced the gift after his horse Akorakor won a race at the Irish Grand National meeting at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.


Ongoing rows about the size of the House of Lords are undermining the role of the chamber as a "defender of the public interest", according to its newly elected Speaker.

Lord Fowler, who served in a variety of cabinet roles under Margaret Thatcher and Sir John Major, made the comments in his first television interview since taking office as Lord Speaker on 1 September.
"Every time you make a point and make a case for the House of Lords, people come back and say, but surely you're so big.
"Therefore the sooner we can tackle that, the better it would be for our reputation."
The number of peers now exceeds 800, with former prime minister David Cameron appointing 13 new Conservatives to the chamber in his resignation honours list.
In draft proposals published this week, the House of Commons would see its membership cut from 650 to 600 to cut the cost of politics and even-out the size of parliamentary constituencies.
Lord Fowler says that the reduction in the number of MPs should spur peers on to come to a consensus about how to reduce their numbers.
"I think the government might take notice of the fact that there is a big feeling here that the House is too big.
"I'm not going to advocate a particular solution. But what I do think is that we might make it a goal, that by the next election, we should be at a number that is just less than the House of Commons.
"I think that it's quite difficult to support a system whereby we are 200-odd more than the Commons itself."
'Fantastic work'
Fifty peers have taken advantage of an option to retire from the chamber since 2014.
Lord Fowler also argues that the House of Lords does not get the credit for the "fantastic work" that it does, citing the fact that many debates in the Commons are cut short, or "guillotined".
Many parts of bills do not get the level of scrutiny needed until they arrive in the Lords, he says.
"We're here to try and improve things if we can," he says.
The role of Lord Speaker differs to its Commons equivalent, because the Lords is self-regulating, so Lord Fowler has no say in who speaks in the chamber, or what amendments to legislation are selected for debate.
Holders of the post are elected for five years, and can choose to stand again, although the previous two Lord Speakers declined to serve a second term.
When Lord Fowler's term in office ends in 2021, what does he hope to have achieved?
"I don't think that I have a benchmark at the moment," he says.
"What I hope to do is to spread the word about the House of Lords, make it more accessible to the public and try to get more knowledge about it."
However, he declines to predict how many peers will be members of the Lords in five years' time.
"I'm not putting out targets of that kind, because I am the speaker and it's up to other people to make the case and in many cases to make the decisions."


Turkish top-tier club Genclerbirligi have fired their fifth coach since the start of the season after only one match in charge.

Yilmaz Vural, 62, managed the side for six days and one away league game which they lost 2-0.
Genclerbirligi have 13 points from 17 matches and are 16th in the 18-team Super Lig.
Ilhan Cavcav, president of the Ankara-based club, has appointed 51 different coaches since taking over in 1981.
Turkish media reported Vural was sacked after asking to sign players in the mid-season window, a request Cavcav rejected saying the squad was big enough.


Residents from the southern Indian city of Chennai (Madras) are using social media to help those stranded in floods.

Hundreds have taken to social media platforms to co-ordinate search, rescue and food distribution efforts and also reach out to people who need help.
Others have opened their houses to provide shelter to people who cannot reach their homes.
The rains have suspended flights and trains and hundreds of people in the city are without power.
Pushparaj Britto told the BBC that he tweeted about welcoming flood-affected people in his house after seeing similar posts on social media.
"If we can't offer help in this hour of crisis, then what's the worth of human life? I am feeling helpless that I can't go to the affected areas because the roads are submerged. The least I can do is to open my house to people," he said.
Naveen Kumar is hosting three people in his house and says he has space to accommodate two more.
"So many people are affected and they don't have food or a place to stay. We have to help each other. If you do your bit, others will follow you," he told the BBC.
Amba Salelkar has also opened her house to anyone who needs shelter.
"I have lived in Mumbai and have seen terror attacks and flooding. In these scenarios, people need shelter and food. I am a single woman and could have been stranded anywhere. This thought prompted me to offer help," she said.
A temporary website Chennairains.org has also been set up to co-ordinate offers of shelter and food.
The website has asked people who are willing to offer their house as temporary shelters to add their names onto a public document, which is being shared widely.
Others like popular south Indian actor Siddharth are co-ordinating the distribution of food.
People from other parts of the country are offering mobile phone top-ups (recharge) to flood-affected residents.
Several people, including actor Anil Kapoor, have praised the "brave folks" of the city.


The last time he managed was 20 years ago.

He last played in anger more than 30 years ago.
Maybe the only time you have seen him is as part of a Fifa Ultimate Team. A punchy 94 overall rating by the way.
So why the fuss over Johan Cruyff?
Before Cruyff, players used to just run straight into each other and hope for the best.
Well, not quite.
But when the Dutchman left Sweden's Jan Olsson staggering like a closing-time drunk in the 1974 World Cup, no-one had seen anything like it.
A dropped shoulder, a dummied pass, a flick off the instep, swivel and away.
It makes little sense written down. But watch the video and you'll recognise it instantly.
The 'Cruyff turn' is now a standard in every playground fancy-dan's box of tricks, and it all started with this man.
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Where do you play?
An easy question. But there were no easy answers when you were part of the Netherlands' 1974 World Cup squad.
The orange shirts would endlessly bomb forward, cover back, switch wings and swap positions, creating space and causing havoc.
Stick with your man? Good luck with that.
After winning everything going in the Netherlands with Ajax, Barcelona bought Cruyff for a then world record fee of £922,000.
Cheap at twice the price.
As a player, he won one La Liga title at the Nou Camp.
He returned as a manager to win another four. And a European Cup.
But his greatest legacy is not in the trophy cabinet. It is La Masia.
Before Cruyff took charge, Barcelona's academy concentrated on strength and fitness. He put the ball at the centre of everything and the small-but-beautiful generation  of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi emerged.
As Pep Guardiola said: "Johan Cruyff painted the chapel. Barcelona coaches since merely restore or improve it."
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Last month, a Barcelona penalty sent ripples through soccer, social media and the world at large.
Instead of shooting at goal in the 6-1 win over Celta Viga, Messi cheekily rolled the ball sideways off the spot for team-mate Luis Suarez to smash home.
A true original? Nope, another riff on the Cruyff playbook.
Back in 1982, Cruyff and team-mate Jesper Olsen did the same for Ajax. But better.
After controlling Cruyff's pass off the spot, Olsen drew the keeper and rolled it back for the original penalty-taker to slot into an empty net.
Might Messi and Suarez have been paying tribute to Cruyff with their recreation?
Before David Beckham aped Michael Jordan with number 23, before Mario Balotelli used 45 (4+5) as a shortcut to number nine, Johan Cruyff was the first superstar to stray from the usual one to 11 shirt numbers.
The Dutchman took to wearing 14 for good luck after an Ajax win over rivals PSV Eindhoven. He was allowed to keep it on international duty when an alphabetical system would have seen him play in number one.
In the wake of his death, financial traders paid tribute by placing orders for 14 shares in his former club Ajax. It rose 4% in value on the back of their purchases.
And the shirt shenanigans didn't stop with Cruyff senior.
With the Cruyff name weighing heavily, Johan's son Jordi, now sports director at Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv, used his first name instead on his shirt.
When he moved to Manchester United in 1996, he became one of the first players to be allowed to have something other than their surname across their shoulders in the Premier League.


Four so-called "urban explorers" who scaled buildings in Lowestoft have been banned from climbing manmade structures in England and Wales.

Police took action against Matthew Adams, Daniel Batchelor, Javier Centeno-Gomez and a 17-year-old youth, all from Suffolk, after concerns were raised.
The four pleaded guilty to a public order offence of threatening behaviour.
They were each fined Â£100 and banned from climbing manmade buildings.
Police said Adams, 23, of Raglan Street, Batchelor, 26, of Newark Road and a 17-year-old boy, all from Lowestoft, and Centeno-Gomez, 24, of Benacre Road, Ellough, near Beccles.
They were prosecuted following reports of a number of incidents where men were reported to be climbing on structures around Lowestoft.
The ban, which is active for two years, prohibits the four from climbing any structure more than 3m above the ground, unless it is specifically designed to be climbed, or unless they have written permission of the structure's owner and safety equipment is used.
Officers showed footage to court from the quartet's head cameras, including images of two of the group lowering themselves over the edge of the roof and hanging off the side of St Peters Court in the town - 15 storeys above the ground.
It also showed one of them parachuting from the wind turbine at Kessingland.
A Suffolk Police spokesman said the threatening behaviour offence relates to them causing alarm and distress to residents of Lowestoft through their climbing and posting footage of their exploits on the internet.
"Police felt they had no alternative but to take action due to the extreme danger of their actions. As was pointed out during sentencing, they may have fallen and not only killed themselves but innocent passers-by on the ground," he said.
Adams disputed whether they put lives at risk.
"What people don't understand is that we put a lot of training into this. I accept what I am doing is dangerous, but we prepare for it and we don't encourage other people to do it," he said.
The four appeared at Lowestoft Magistrates' Court on 10 March, where they all pleaded guilty.
They were also ordered to pay Â£20 victim compensation and Â£85 costs.


A woman had a "lucky escape" when her car was buried underneath a pile of hay bales, police said.

The accident happened near Whittlebury in Northamptonshire when a tractor overturned, dumping the hay on top of a Mercedes Benz car.
Northamptonshire Police tweeted photographs saying it was a "lucky escape for this driver".
The ambulance service said a woman was taken to hospital but could not give details of her condition.
More news from Northamptonshire
East Midlands Ambulance Service said the accident happened at about 11:50 BST on Tuesday at the Wood Burcote roundabout on the A413.
They were called to "reports of hay bales on a car" and one female patient was taken to Northampton General Hospital, a spokeswoman said.


Paul Trollope missed the start of Wales' pre-Euro 2016 training camp to have his first meeting with Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan.

The new Bluebirds boss is also part of Chris Coleman's Wales coaching team.
Trollope was appointed on 18 May and flew to Malaysia for his first meeting with Tan and will rejoin the national squad in Portugal later in the week.
Meanwhile, Cardiff have announced they will play Borussia Mönchengladbach in a pre-season tournament in July.
The Bluebirds will FC St. Pauli, and VfL Osnabrück as well as Borussia, who finished fourth in the 2015-16 Bundesliga.
Trollope will stay with Wales throughout the European Championship, but Coleman has believes Trollope is unlikely to be able to do both jobs after the tournament.
BBC Sport has learned that the first meeting between Trollope and the sometimes controversial Tan was positive as the new head coach prepares to put his own backroom staff together at the Cardiff City Stadium.


The fight to reopen Kent's Manston Airport has received a double boost.

Transport Minister John Hayes said he was satisfied the local council would be financially protected in a proposed Compulsory Purchase Order.
And he has paved the way for a search and rescue helicopter service to return to the airport - which closed last year - "when" it opens.
But the airport's new owners, Trevor Cartner and Chris Musgrave, claim his statements breached election rules.
After 30 March, the general election pending period prevents the government from making announcements about new or controversial matters.
Mr Cartner and Mr Musgrave said the timing of his statement was "a disgrace" and Mr Hayes as Transport Minister "should have exercised an element of impartiality and objectivity".
"We are now taking legal advice with a view to making a formal complaint to the Electoral Commission," they added.
Mr Hayes described his announcements as "huge steps towards securing Manston's future as a working airport".
Dr Beau Webber, of the Save Manston Airport Campaign, said: "This means Manston has a chance... we have good people who want to put good jobs in place for Thanet."
The airport closed in May 2014, seven months after being bought by Stagecoach Group co-founder Ann Gloag.
A majority stake was sold to Mr Cartner and Mr Musgrave for redevelopment several months later but the nature of the sale and the true ownership of the airport was called into question by a recent Commons Transport Select Committee.
Financial risk
The government has supported a "five point plan" to reopen the airport, including compulsory purchase of the site.
However, there has been concern about the financial indemnities offered by RiverOak - the US firm interested in buying and running the airport.
But Mr Hayes said on Thursday that he was "satisfied by the indemnity offered by RiverOak to protect the council against the costs of the Compulsory Purchase Order".
RiverOak's Stephen DeNardo welcomed the news and said it remained "absolutely committed to reviving Manston as an operational airport".
Bristow, the company that provides search-and-rescue services for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, had originally planned to base two helicopters at Manston.
The government has now announced that instead of agreeing a long-term contract for Bristow to base its helicopters elsewhere, it has agreed a one-year deal to temporarily base them at Lydd Airport, also in Kent.
Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP also support the reopening of Manston Airport but have criticised the way the Conservatives have handled the issue.


Senior Police Scotland officers have been recalled to answer further questions from MSPs about officers carrying firearms at routine incidents.

Thursday's meeting of the Holyrood justice sub-committee had to be curtailed due to lack of time.
A further hour-long session will now be held next week.
The committee heard that armed officers had engaged with the public at more than 1,600 non-firearms incidents since October.
In that month, Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said that armed officers would no longer be sent to non-life-threatening calls, but the committee heard they had attended call-outs including drink-driving offences and pub fights since then.
Assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins told the Holyrood committee that the 1,644 engagements was a "huge reduction" on the 30,000 recorded in the first year of Police Scotland.
Mr Higgins, deputy chief constable Iain Livingstone, Scottish Police Authority board member Iain Whyte and Derek Penman, Her Majesty's inspector of constabulary in Scotland, are all to return for further questioning by MSPs.
Mr Livingstone said the force "welcome the opportunity to return and give further evidence on what is a very important policing issue".
A Scottish parliament spokesman said: "The committee has agreed to extend the evidence session that had to be curtailed yesterday and will reconvene another hour-long session with the same witnesses on Thursday, 19 March."
Scottish Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Alison McInnes welcomed the move.
She said: "I am pleased that we will have another chance to get the public the answers that they need on this hugely controversial issue.
"It is no surprise that we ran out of time yesterday given how long it look to tease answers out of the senior officers. I had pressed for an extra hearing to get to the bottom of this and am pleased that the convener agrees with me.
"There are serious questions to be asked over the manner in which the police have approached this issue and it would have been wrong to leave unfinished business."


Scientists interested in fluid mechanics are being sought for a Cambridge engineering professorship.

Â£1.4m has been put up by James Dyson, the bagless-cleaner inventor, to pay for the post over a 10 year period.
The appointed professor will be charged with investigating ways to boost the efficiency of any fan, be it in a cleaner, computer or car dashboard.
However, said Sir James, there would be no pressure on the successful candidate to produce results.
"What we need is a very good piece of lateral thinking or unusual discovery to make a real breakthrough," Sir James told the BBC.
"We are willing to accept that something might not come out of it."
He added that many Dyson products would benefit from an improved understanding of how air moves, the sources of turbulence and ways to cut noise.
"It's the kind of research we think universities should be doing," said Sir James.
"Someone should be given a free rein and an open-ended brief to come with something that's not in anyone's sights at the moment."
Candidates were already being interviewed and an appointment would be made as soon as possible, he said.
Alongside the theoretical work, Sir James said Dyson also funded research at the University of Cambridge into topics, such as carbon nanotubes, that would have a direct impact on some of its products.
"Carbon nanotubes could be a replacement for copper as they are conductive, very strong and incredibly thin," he said.
"We believe there are other applications that will come out of that."
The company also announced plans to double the research, design and development team at its Malmesbury base to 700.


A man discovered unconscious in the middle of a road has died in hospital.

Police said they were called to Pitt Lane in Bideford just after 06:00 GMT on Christmas Eve.
The 64-year-old victim was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with serious head injuries. He died on Boxing Day.
Officers said they do not know how the man was injured. His death is currently being treated as unexplained.
Officers want to hear from anyone who was in Pitt Lane in the early hours of Christmas Eve.


Welsh colleges are planning further takeovers of private training providers, according to a leading corporate finance expert.

Frank Holmes helped broker a deal for Cardiff and Vale College to buy training business ACT and he is now aiding other colleges to follow suit.
The merger changes how training and apprenticeships are delivered.
"This has been going on for some time in England and we'll see more of it in Wales," said Mr Holmes.
He said he was helping "progressive colleges" in Wales looking at "similar transactions not only in Wales but over the border".
The partnership with ACT makes Cardiff and Vale College one of the top five in the UK with an income of Â£75m a year and 30,000 students enrolling annually.
The number of training providers in Wales has risen since the financial crisis as the Welsh Government and European Union invested in skills and apprenticeships.
The Welsh Government has committed to creating 100,000 new apprentices by 2021 and improvement in skills is seen as vital if Wales is to increase its productivity which currently "lags behind the rest of the UK", according to Mr Holmes.
However, much of the funding of skills came from the European Union, so it is unclear to what extent that will be replaced when the UK leaves the EU.
An Apprenticeship Levy - a tax on larger businesses to be spent on training - is being introduced by UK ministers and, while Wales will receive a proportion of that, the Welsh Government has not committed to spending it on skills.
ACT managing director Andrew Cooksley, who helped grow his business to 350 employees since 1988, said their link with Cardiff and Vale College would give learners the best of private and public sector training expertise.
Michael James, the chief executive of the Cardiff and Vale College Group, said no public money was used as the deal was financed by borrowing and college funds.
He described it as a "bold move" but one that would pay for itself within a few years and allow them to invest in staff and students.


Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says Theresa May could re-think her approach to the timing of a second Scottish independence referendum.

18 March 2017 Last updated at 17:34 GMT
She made the remark during her speech to her party's conference meeting in Aberdeen.
Ms Sturgeon told more than 2,000 delegates: "She has time to think again and I hope she does. If her concern is timing then - within reason - I am happy to have that discussion.
"But let the prime minister be in no doubt. The will of our parliament must and will prevail."


Google's UK chief has defended the search giant's tax arrangements in a hearing before MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

Matt Brittin said he understood public anger about the amount of tax it paid.
However, he said Google was paying 20% tax on its UK profits, not the 3% figure cited in some reports.
The £130m in UK tax it paid for the 10 years from 2005 was reached following a "six-year rigorous, independent tax audit" by HMRC, Mr Brittin said.
Tom Hutchinson, Google's global tax chief, told MPs that the company did not negotiate its tax settlement with HMRC.
He told the committee that the tax authorities did not "throw out a number - it's not a negotiation", adding: "There was no top-line figure; that's not how the process works."
The £130m payment included £18m in interest, Mr Hutchinson told MPs, but no penalties or payments under the government's diverted profits tax - also known as the "Google tax".
Today's Public Accounts Committee hearing was interesting less for Google's explanation of its tax arrangements - we've heard much of that detail before - and more for HMRC's defence of the settlement.
There Dame Lin Homer, the head of HMRC, made two significant points.
First, she said that under the law HMRC could not have demanded more from Google, pointing out that the £130m settlement was the largest the technology giant had signed outside the US.
Dame Lin said it would not have helped if HMRC had gone to court.
Certainly, proving that the company had acted "unreasonably" is difficult.
Second, Dame Lin said that HMRC applied the same tax laws to Google as it did to any business and that at any one time up to two-thirds of large businesses are under-going some form of tax audit process.
HMRC says it is constrained by the complicated tax laws. If they are to change, it is politicians who need to act.
MPs also questioned HMRC officials about their settlement with Google.
Jim Harra, its head of business taxation, said the company was not fined, despite underpaying tax, because proving "insufficient care" was "very difficult".
Dame Lin Homer, HMRC chief executive, admitted that the six-year investigation into Google's tax affairs took a long time to complete, but said that similar inquiries into far smaller firms could be just as lengthy.
Mr Brittin said there had been no co-ordination with the Treasury about the timing of Google's announcement about the tax settlement late last month. The Chancellor, George Osborne, described it as a victory for the government.
The timing was determined by the fact that the figure was due to be made public when the company's UK accounts were filed, Mr Brittin said.
Dame Lin told MPs that HMRC informed the relevant minister that a big company was to make a tax announcement the following day, but did not name the firm.
"What we don't, and never, do is share taxpayer information with ministers and Treasury colleagues," she said.
In a statement released after the hearing, Google said that it had 2,329 staff in the UK last year compared with 156 in 2005.
In an article for the Telegraph published on Thursday, Mr Brittin said Google wanted the international tax system to be reformed.
He said the company paid $3.3bn in corporation tax last year, mostly in the US, where most of Google's products were designed and created.
"We have long been in favour of simpler, clearer rules, because it is important not only to pay the right amount of tax, but to be seen to be paying the right amount," Mr Brittin wrote.
"But changes to the tax system are not Google's call. Reform must come from governments, not from the companies who are subject to their rules."
He was asked four times by Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, how much he was paid. Mr Brittin said: "I don't have the figure, but I will happily provide it."
"You don't know what you get paid?" responded Ms Hillier.
"Out there, taxpayers, our constituents, are very angry, they live in a different world clearly to the world you live in, if you can't even tell us what you are paid."


West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Pulis has revealed how he tried to sign Swansea striker Fernando Llorente.

The Baggies face the Swans in the Premier League on Wednesday hoping to halt the Welsh club's progress after Saturday's 3-0 win over Sunderland.
Spain international Llorente scored twice in that victory, and Pulis admits he tried to sign the striker when he was in charge of Stoke.
"He picked Juventus instead of Stoke," said the Welshman.
"We watched him when we were at Stoke City and when he was playing for [Athletic] Bilbao and doing exceptionally well there.
"We thought he was a very good player and someone who would suit us but he went on to Juventus."
The 31-year-old Llorente was signed for Swansea by Francesco Guidolin, who was replaced by American Bob Bradley as manager in October after he was sacked.
Llorente scored twice in the win over Sunderland which lifted Swansea off the base of the Premier League.
The goals took his tally to five for the season and four in his last three Premier League matches.
West Brom are eight points and eight places above Swansea, who dropped back into the relegation zone after West Ham drew 1-1 with Manchester United on Sunday.
American Bradley is looking for his third win since taking over at the Liberty Stadium but expects a tough challenge from Pulis' team, who were beaten 1-0 by Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
"His team has a lot of very tall guys and they utilise that with some direct play, while it also gives them good match-ups at set-pieces," he said.
"They do a lot of things well, and we will have to do the same if we are going to get a result there."


Unemployment has continued to fall in Wales and is once again lower than the UK average, according to the latest figures.

The rate of unemployment in Wales for January to March fell to 4.8%.
The UK average was unchanged at 5.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figures show the number of people working in Wales is also 74,000 higher than for the same period a year ago.
The number of people not working and not able to work is 26,000 lower.
Wales has seen the biggest proportional increase in employment of all the regions and nations of the UK in the last year.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns called it a "hat-trick of good news" for the Welsh jobs market with employment up, unemployment falling and a drop in the claimant count.
"Across the country, the investment we have put into rebalancing the economy and welfare reform is now paying dividends with record numbers coming off benefits and into work," he said.
"Yet again, we are seeing an unemployment rate below the national average as Wales shows an increasingly confident and entrepreneurial face to the world."
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "It is pleasing to see the labour market in Wales outperform all other regions of the UK and continue to go from strength to strength.
"Over the past year Wales has also seen the largest fall in unemployment of any other part of the UK and now has a rate substantially below that in Scotland and the UK as whole."
Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb called it "fantastic news".
"This month's figures show a record 1.45m people in work in Wales and the country's employment rate is at a record high of 72.5%.
"More people in work means that more families across the UK are benefiting from the security of a regular wage and the fulfilment that employment brings."


The road from Cleveland to Philadelphia takes you through the Rust Belt of America, the towns where they once made steel and the hills where they mined the coal.

That territory, between the two convention cities in this presidential year, is where the battle will be fiercest because that's the cradle of discontent.
Two conventions over and angry in different ways.
Donald Trump told Republicans that the country was being destroyed by Democrats - its jobs, its self-respect, even its spirit. But he understood what to do about it.
He knew the system better than anyone else, he told them, so he alone could fix it. And he personalised the contest more sharply than any recent candidate has dared, calling Hillary Clinton corrupt and crooked. "Lock her up!" they chanted from the floor.
The unhappiness seeping through her convention was different, coming from supporters of Bernie Sanders - beaten in the primaries - with some of them still willing to boo her name when their hero urged everyone to get behind her to defeat Trump.
The Sanders army from the left is not unlike Trump's own on the right - driven by a passionate but sometimes inchoate rage at what they call "the establishment", for which Clinton stands as a convenient symbol. The candidate for the way things have been.
So the conventions exposed the candidates' weaknesses.
Trump's capacity for crude verbal brawling - even, some Republicans would whisper to you, demagoguery - and the feeling that he might say anything.
And - even with Obama's oratory and her own masterclass of a speech - Clinton's difficulty in persuading some of the most liberal voices in her party that she is indeed the one to beat him. She spoke after being nominated of making a crack in the glass ceiling that had held women back. But there's another invisible barrier for her campaign: reluctance in many electors to give her trust.
They've now laid it all out. When he's questioned, Trump's answer to how he's going to "make America great again" - the theme of his campaign - is vague, as if explanation is unnecessary. "Just watch me," he says. For Clinton, in her convention speech - a one-woman solution ("I alone can fix it") was wrong and dangerous.
And that deep personal divide is also a sharp fork in the road for Americans. Whether on foreign policy, health care, guns and abortion - perhaps above all on the all-important make-up of the Supreme Court - these two candidates talk about a different kind of country.
Democrats spent the four days reminding Americans of Clinton's life story - the young lawyer who fought segregation, the First Lady who championed liberal causes, the senator and secretary of state. Experience that deserved trust, but it makes her dangerously like a status quo candidate at a moment when people want change. Trump says it's his time - a time to take a chance.
So each heads into the campaign with heavy baggage. Trump's unpredictability and volatility are a handicap. What other candidate would celebrate the suggestion that it was the Russians who'd hacked into Democratic National Committee emails, and suggest that they might do more? Then say the next day he was only joking.
And for Clinton, the private email server that she used when she was secretary of state is a mistake that she can't shrug off: Republicans say if you can't trust her to handle classified messages, why should you trust her to run the country? She says if you can bait Trump with a tweet would you trust him with nuclear weapons?
We'll see an intensely personal campaign in which one candidate is accused of having not enough experience and the other too much.
That means that the most decisive moments will probably come when they meet in three debates, the first in late September. The irresistible force will meet the immovable object. A confrontation, with nowhere to hide. By the time of the last debate - appropriately in Las Vegas, home of the big fight - we should know which of them has best overcome the doubts of the electorate.
America is more partisan than it used to be and divided more deeply. The minority of voters with open minds will decide this election and, with the set-piece conventions over, it may be those face-to-face encounters that will settle the matter.
The first woman candidate against an opponent with no political experience whatever.
However you look at it, we've seen nothing like this before.
James Naughtie is BBC News Book Editor and presents Bookclub on BBC Radio 4. He was a presenter on the Today programme from 1994 to 2015.


Indian police have arrested 10 people who tried to illegally sell a 17C edition of the holy Koran.

The 604-page Koran is written in black italics on golden paper and has gems embedded on the cover.
Experts estimate it to be around 410 years old, written soon after the death of Mughal emperor Akbar who ruled from 1556 to 1605.
Police said the 10-member gang had been asking for 50m rupees ($770,000; Â£500,000) for the book.
"The calligraphy is exquisite. I have seen many old Korans in India, but nothing like this one," prominent historian Professor Sheikh Ali told BBC Hindi.
"What is remarkable about the calligraphy is that the font is crystal clear on a page that is just six inches by four inches," he said, adding that such clarity had only been seen in old editions in Turkish museums.
The last page of the book mentions that it was written around 1050 as per the Islamic calendar.
"We think it landed in the hands of the accused through a chain. Our information is that it came to this gang from Hyderabad. We are investigating," superintendent of police in the southern city of Mysore Abhinav Khare told BBC Hindi.


Housing owned and built by groups of people could help turn "reluctant renters" into home owners, a new report suggests.

But co-operative housing schemes are little known in Wales, the study for the Wales Co-operative Centre warns.
The research was commissioned following the Welsh government's own decision to back such projects as a way to build affordable homes.
Currently, co-operative housing accounts for less than 1% of UK homes.
In Estonia, nearly 10,000 co-operative housing organisations own 60% of the country's houses while they account of one in five homes in Sweden and Poland.
Under co-operative housing models, groups of like-minded people can come together and buy land to provide housing, and members of that co-op group can then buy shares in the new homes.
It is an alternative to renting properties, and gives those in the new homes a financial stake in the housing, without resorting to heavy mortgage debt.
"Wales has a long tradition of co-operation and a government with a strong commitment to co-operative approaches," said Keith Edwards, from the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru (CIHC), which was one of the report's authors.
"The housing crisis we face demands imaginative responses and co-operative housing is at the forefront of new thinking," he added.
The study was commissioned by the Wales Co-operative Centre, and carried out by the CIHC and the Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH).
They spoke to nearly 300 people in Wales, most of them living in the private rented sector at the moment and what the researchers termed "reluctant renters".
All of them expressed an interest in what such schemes could offer them but 67% had never heard of co-operative housing before.
"It was really exciting that so many of the ordinary people who came to the sessions had never heard of co-operative housing before but immediately got it," said Nic Bliss, chair of the CCH.
"And that they were particularly into it for community reasons.
"The potential for co-operative housing in Wales is great and there are several different models being explored which meet different needs."
At present, there are 836 co-operative and mutual housing societies registered in the UK - but just 3% of those are in Wales.
Dave Palmer, project manager of the Welsh government funded Co-operative Housing Project within the Wales Co-operative Centre, said it was clear that schemes in Wales "are at an early stage in development".
"But the pioneer projects that we are working with are getting ready to deliver a number of co-operative homes," he said.
The report, which is being presented at the Co-operative Congress in Cardiff on Saturday, says there are already 10 potential schemes in the pipeline, including a 50-home site in Cardiff, an estate redevelopment in Newport, an expansion of a community land trust at Rhyl in Denbighshire, and even an artistic community housing project in the Vale of Glamorgan.
"The Wales Co-operative Centre and Welsh government are keen to continue supporting and encouraging this positive start, by empowering the pioneers to deliver these much needed homes," Mr Palmer added.


Tranmere Rovers winger Joe Thompson has been given the all-clear by doctors following a battle with cancer.

The 25-year-old, who was diagnosed with nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma in October, announced on Twitter that he was in "complete remission".
Thompson has undergone a six-month course of chemotherapy.
The former Rochdale midfielder, who has spent the past two seasons at Tranmere, is now targeting a quick return to first-team football.
Speaking to BBC Late Kick Off in March, Thompson revealed he had received support from other sporting cancer survivors following his diagnosis, which was made after he complained of increased fatigue and illness.
Among them was tennis player Ross Hutchins, who successfully beat Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013.
While undergoing treatment, Thompson has raised more than £16,000 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research as part of the "Grow 4 Joe" campaign, with team-mates and footballers from other clubs pledging to grow their hair in the closing weeks of last season.


It's been a busy couple of years for electronic music duo, Disclosure.

Since Sam Smith collaboration, Latch, catapulted Surrey brothers Guy and Howard to fame (and triple platinum status in the US alone), they have racked up Grammy, Brit, and Mercury Prize nominations, along with a number one album Settle.
As they return with their sophomore album, Caracal, Howard spoke to the BBC about their whirlwind success and what we can expect from their much anticipated comeback.
So why did you call this album Caracal?
We work with a lot of different vocalists and ended up writing about a wide array of completely unrelated subjects so there isn't one message that runs through every song. It isn't a concept album. For that reason we couldn't pick one title that would sum up everything on the record so we thought we'd just stick an art work on there which was amazing in its own right, and name the album after the art work.
A caracal is a cat, right?
It is. It's been my favourite animal since I was a little boy because they look so cool and no one seems to really know about them.
How has your sound evolved since your debut album, Settle?
It's not so much the actual sounds that we use that have changed because they are a quintessential part of what Disclosure is, but it's the context that we're putting them in. What has changed is the types of songs that we're writing.
A lot of this album isn't house music. We just wanted to experiment with some other genres because we weren't raised by house music and, although we love it, it's not where we're from. It's more influenced by R&B, soul and jazz.
Was it a natural decision for Sam Smith to be the featured artist on the single, Omen?
To be honest, Sam is the only person from the last record that we thought we might use on this one again, purely because he's such a good friend of ours. It would feel like a waste to not get him on board. We work with him all the time anyway and I'd say he's probably our favourite person to write with in the world. We got in the room for a catch-up, more than anything, and ended up writing about five songs.
Featuring on Latch helped to propel Sam from a relative unknown to a global superstar. Are there any new artists featuring on this album that you expect to head in a similar direction?
I'd like to hope that all of them are. There's no reason that someone like Kwabs couldn't be equally huge as Sam. He has such a beautiful soulful voice, and some great songs too.
How did you decide who to work with?
We have three criteria. They have to be good singers. They have to be able to write music, because when we work with someone we sit down around the piano with them and write a song from start to finish. We don't want to just finish the song ourselves and tell them to sing it, because we like them to feel what they're singing about and have a connection to the song. And they have to be nice.
It must be very interesting seeing each artist's songwriting process?
Absolutely. But more than anything it's been very educational. We wrote this whole album with Jimmy Napes who likes to come up with the title of the song before writing the actual song. He says it gives him a base of subject to work around and build on. I like that idea.
Lorde was definitely one of the more interesting ones to write with. She has such a clear idea of what she wants to do and that's why she's such a good artist, you know? She has such an identity with her music. She got involved in everything, even the production.
What is the biggest way in which the success of Settle changed your life?
It's allowed us to make music for a living. Before this, Guy was working in a clothes shop and I was at school. Now we're both professional musicians. And we've moved out of our parents' house and into London.
The success of Latch in America has also completely blown our minds. That song is nearly four-years-old now and it's still playing on the radio in America. It actually broke the world record for staying in the top 40 for the longest amount of time ever in US.
What's next?
The album comes out at the end of the month. We're doing a big American tour including Madison Square Garden. When we were growing up we used to watch a video of Led Zeppelin playing Madison Square Garden with our dad every weekend. After that we go on a world tourâ€¦all over again!
Caracal is released on 25 September on Island Records.


Changes allowing people to keep more of their savings when they move into residential care come into effect on Monday.

The limit will move from £25,000 to £30,000 as part of a Welsh Government plan to raise it in phases to £50,000.
Labour had promised at the assembly election to double the amount people can keep.
The first increase is expected to benefit about 250 care home residents who pay for full time care in Wales.
A total of 4,000 care home residents pay for the full cost of their care.
Social services minister Rebecca Evans said: "Older people who have worked hard and paid in all their lives deserve a fairer deal."
A full disregard of the War Disablement Pension (WDP) is also being introduced, meaning veterans do not need to use any part of it to pay for care they need.
The Welsh Government said there were 6,500 recipients of a WDP in Wales, with an estimated 150 of these receiving social care.


Swansea City coach Alan Curtis says the turbulent 2015-16 season was "a shot across the bow'' for the club.

The 62-year-old briefly took charge of the Swans prior to Francesco Guidolin's appointment in January.
Swansea had been in the relegation zone when Guidolin came in, but he led the club to a 12th place finish in the Premier League after winning seven and drawing four of his 16 games in charge.
"It's been a bit traumatic considering the success we've had," Curtis said.
"I think we probably lost our way as much as anything, but certainly it is a shot across the bow. It's probably the first season we've struggled for any of length of time.
"But 47 points, and certainly the run at the end there when we had some terrific victories and some really good, strong performances as well.
"We showed that we are still a very, very good team. It's just a reminder how tough this league is."
Swansea sacked Garry Monk in December following a run of win in 11 Premier League games, before Curtis was placed in interim charge.
Guidolin was taken to hospital in March, hours before Swansea's 2-1 win at Arsenal. The Italian also missed their 1-0 win over Norwich after receiving treatment for a chest infection.
But the former Udinese, Parma and Monaco coach recovered to help stabilise the club and will remain as manager next season after agreeing a two-year contract.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins has admitted the club's proposed takeover by US investors may not be completed until next season, with the club previously hoping the deal would be done by the end of 2015-16.
"I'm sure that's going to play a big part in what we do as a club in terms of bringing people in," added Curtis.
"I think that probably needs to be resolved quite quickly. We're talking about maybe a little bit of uncertainty again. But it sounds as if it is going to be sorted out fairly quickly.
"We've sorted the manager situation out, we know that we are going to be in the Premier League next season so hopefully there would be a better season to come, not only next season but hopefully the seasons ahead."


Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions as Michy Batshuayi's late goal gave them the victory they required to secure the title at West Brom.

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It looked as though Antonio Conte's side might be forced to delay their celebrations as they were frustrated for long periods by the resilience and organisation of their hosts.
But the mood changed and the title was won with eight minutes left as substitute Batshuayi, who had previously endured a season of struggle after his £33m move from Marseille, ended a scrappy passage of play by steering a finish high past Ben Foster.
The final whistle sparked wild celebrations among Chelsea's fans, and manager Conte was tossed high into the air by his squad.
The Italian can now set his sights on emulating compatriot Carlo Ancelotti's 2010 feat of winning the league and domestic Double as the Blues prepare for an FA Cup final against Arsenal at Wembley on 27 May.
Chelsea's celebrations were fully deserved - the culmination of a superb season's work by Conte and his squad.
They had to work hard for victory against a West Brom side that demonstrated all the qualities that have made this such a satisfactory season for them but, as so often, Chelsea got the job done.
The Blues' main attacking threats struggled to find a spark, with Eden Hazard's frustration summed up with one long-range shot that went out for a corner, but Conte's side found a way to win, illustrating once again why they are worthy champions.
The losses at home to Liverpool and at Arsenal in September that hinted at early struggles seemed an age away, as did the surprise defeat by struggling Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, and the setback at Manchester United.
Chelsea, even when not at their best, proved themselves the strongest and most complete side in the Premier League - and they proved it again on a night they were tested.
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Conte's fingerprints are all over this title triumph - and his sure touch was on show again to fashion the victory they needed to get over the line with two games to spare.
The Italian knew his side needed a catalyst to break down West Brom, and it came with the introduction of Batshuayi and Willian for Hazard and Pedro with 15 minutes left.
Conte's masterstroke should have come as no surprise given the manner in which he has marshalled his forces, particularly the crucial switch to a three-man defence in September that turned Chelsea's season around and started a run of 13 straight league wins that led to the title.
No praise is too high for the 47-year-old, who took over a squad that looked broken after ending last season in 10th place and with the shadow of Jose Mourinho's sacking still hanging over the club.
This was his ultimate reward.
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Batshuayi has been a misfit for much of this season, but whatever the future holds for the 23-year-old Belgian, he will always have a goal that won the title to his name.
Before this game, he had only figured only 24 times, played for 579 minutes and scored five goals - his sixth makes its mark in Chelsea history.
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Chelsea still have two games to play in their title-winning season. They host Watford on Monday (20:00 BST) before receiving the trophy in their final game against relegated Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, 21 May (15:00 BST). They then have the FA Cup final on 27 May.
West Brom travel to Manchester City on Tuesday, 16 May before finishing their season at Swansea the following Sunday (15:00 BST).
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Chelsea 1.
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Chelsea 1.
Offside, West Bromwich Albion. Darren Fletcher tries a through ball, but Salomón Rondón is caught offside.
Foul by Diego Costa (Chelsea).
Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match  (Chelsea).
Substitution, Chelsea. Kurt Zouma replaces Victor Moses.
César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jake Livermore (West Bromwich Albion).
Goal!  West Bromwich Albion 0, Chelsea 1. Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by César Azpilicueta.
Attempt missed. Gary Cahill (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marcos Alonso with a headed pass.
Willian (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Nyom (West Bromwich Albion).
Attempt missed. Nyom (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left following a set piece situation.
Foul by Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea).
Claudio Yacob (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea).
Claudio Yacob (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Gary Cahill.
Foul by Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea).
Claudio Yacob (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Chelsea. Michy Batshuayi replaces Pedro.
Substitution, Chelsea. Willian replaces Eden Hazard.
Attempt missed. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Diego Costa.
Attempt missed. Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Jake Livermore following a fast break.
Marc Wilson (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Victor Moses (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Marc Wilson (West Bromwich Albion).
Corner,  West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by César Azpilicueta.
Attempt blocked. Salomón Rondón (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Claudio Yacob.
Attempt missed. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Nemanja Matic.
Offside, Chelsea. Cesc Fàbregas tries a through ball, but Eden Hazard is caught offside.
Offside, West Bromwich Albion. Ben Foster tries a through ball, but Chris Brunt is caught offside.
Foul by David Luiz (Chelsea).
Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Marc Wilson replaces Gareth McAuley because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion) because of an injury.
Foul by Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea).


Glasgow University has taken delivery of Scotland's most powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.

The £10m device was lifted into place at the new Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE) at the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH).
A giant crane eased the 18-tonne scanner down an alleyway with inches to spare on each side, then through a hole in the wall of the new building.
Once it is installed and calibrated it will be used to research - and help treat - a variety of conditions such as stroke, vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.
In its current condition it looks like a space capsule - a huge, upended metal doughnut with a hole where the patient will go.
And like many a space shot it is a thing of superlatives.
There is enough wire wrapped around its huge magnets to stretch from London to Brussels.
When it is operating, those magnets - but not the patient - will be cooled to minus 269 Celsius.
That is the temperature of deep space. So this particular corner of Glasgow will become one of the coldest places in the universe.
The unit of strength of a magnetic field is a Tesla (T), named after the Serbian-American pioneer Nikola Tesla.
The magnetic fields of the MRI scanners currently in use in Scotland range from around 1.5T to 3T.
The new scanner's field strength will be 7T. Or to put it another way, 140,000 times stronger than the magnetic field of planet Earth itself.
The head of Glasgow University's College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Prof Dame Anna Dominiczak, sees it as an endorsement of the pioneering work already done there.
"Glasgow is a centre of excellence for chronic disease research and management, and also for clinical trials," she says.
"So as a leader in this area we think we are the best to get a 7 Tesla scanner."
With that field strength will come more detail than existing scanners. Much more. It has been likened to going from an ordinary TV picture to HD.
That added detail will mean far greater opportunities to research and teach - and to treat patients from the QEUH campus with new precision medicine techniques.
MRI scanners may seem new-fangled to many of us. If so, we are just showing our age.
Glaswegians have been getting scanned for more than 30 years now. If we ourselves haven't been scanned, chances are we know someone who has.
But do we know what's going on in there?
Happily the university's professor of clinical imaging, Keith Muir, can explain.
"Essentially we're using a very strong magnetic field which is going to line up all the water in your head in one direction," he says.
"And then by applying clever radio pulses it's going to spin them round in various ways that can be detected as very small radio signals which are used through vast computing power to reconstruct a detailed picture of the bit we're imaging."
As with many big ticket science projects, collaboration and co-funding are key.
The university is taking the lead, in partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde.
The ICE which now houses the scanner is costing £32m, with money coming from the UK government's Medical Research Council, the European Regional Development Fund, The Sackler Trust and the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation.
The scanner's proper name is the Siemens Magnetom Terra.
It will take months to set up but once the electrical and civil engineering are over, the science can begin.


Second-row brothers Richie and Jonny Gray will start for Scotland together for the first time against Argentina at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Glasgow Warriors' Mark Bennett will make his debut at outside centre and Adam Ashe will play at number eight.
"We've selected a group we believe can do the job against Argentina," said head coach Vern Cotter.
"There is a genuine desire for this squad and those selected for the Test to play well for the jersey."
On 17 November 2013, Jonny Gray made his debut for Scotland against South Africa, replacing brother Richie just after the hour mark.
Ten of the starting XV are made up of players selected from Glasgow Warriors, who have started the PRO12 campaign in blistering form with only one loss in seven matches this season.
"We have several performance-related themes, and have looked for people who have the ability to control games, take initiative, can pick up the ball and run with it, who like physical confrontation and can keep the ball alive," said Cotter.
"These are things that we have prioritised in our selection and we're now all looking forward to getting out there and putting in a good performance in front of the Scottish people on Saturday."
On debutant Bennett, Cotter added: "I really appreciate what Mark has done because he has been very patient and has been developing his performances week in, week out for Glasgow Warriors.
"Patience and working hard is what you want from your players.
"You can see his determination in the way he breaks the line and scores tries. I'm really pleased he's developed that over the last couple of years and will now make his debut for his country, which is a very special achievement."
The Gray brothers will support an experienced front-row trio of Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford and Euan Murray, who share a total of 173 caps going into the game.
The forwards are completed by the back-row combination of flankers Rob Harley and Blair Cowan forming a unit with Ashe for the first time.
In the backs, all but one player - captain Greig Laidlaw - have been picked from the Warriors' attacking stable, with Finn Russell the half-back partner at stand-off, and Alex Dunbar starting alongside Bennett in midfield.
The back three of Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour in the wide channels complete the side.
Cotter reaffirmed his desire to empower his players' attacking form, adding: "When the players run out they'll do it with a lot of pride and a lot of respect.
"There will be a common cause to have the confidence to attack and take the initiative against Argentina, which is arguably the most improved country in the world.
"We'll try and put a cohesive effort out there technically and tactically, but I can assure you the players are, emotionally, very attached and are working extra hard to put in a good performance.
"So let's be strong, let's be passionate as we always are; play for the people that come to the stadium and the Scots in this country and around the world."
Scotland: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN (Gloucester), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Blair Cowan (London Irish), Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors),
Replacements: Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Gordon Reid (Glasgow Warriors), Geoff Cross (London Irish), Jim Hamilton (Saracens), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Glasgow Warriors),
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Assistant referees: George Clancy (IRFU), Marius Mitrea (FIR), TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)


As the euphoria of delegates at the UN climate talks in Paris fades, it is time to get down to the business of saving the planet and ask what does it mean for me?

Over the past two weeks, almost every nation on the planet has sent a team of negotiators to Paris to pore over page after page of nuanced jargon peppered with what seemed like a world record attempt for the most square brackets in a document.
But these brackets did matter. In the tense talks at a conference centre in north Paris, semantics was king.
Negotiators inhabited a world were "shall" would result in something becoming legally binding and "should" actually meant voluntary, as BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin explained here.
The fortnight kicked off with more than 150 world leaders, including Presidents Obama, Putin and Xi, descending on Paris to tell delegates that climate change was the most important issue facing us in the 21st Century.
Whether that was welcome support or unnecessary pressures it meant negotiators got down to business, often working through the night.
On Saturday evening - to claps, cheers and tears - a new landmark deal was born.
It was agreed by 195 nations. They will attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will limit the global average temperature to a rise "well below" 2C (3.6F) compared to pre-industrial levels - a level of warming deemed to be the point when dangerous climate change could threaten life on Earth.
You can read the final document here.
It depends on a multitude of factors - who you are, where you live, how you get from A to B, how you earn a living, how you spend your cash and how you like to spend your spare time.
If you live on a small low-lying island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the new agreement offers hope.
If nations manage to deliver then it could be the difference between having to flee your ancestral home and starting again thousands of miles away in an unfamiliar foreign land, or being able to plan and build for your family's future.
If you live in an industrialised, developed nation then it all depends on how committed governments and leading businesses are to achieving the goal. It could affect how much tax you pay, it could affect how much it will cost you to run a car - it may affect how much it costs you to feed and clothe you and your family.
But if nations do not commit to achieving the goal of limiting temperature rise to well below 2C, then the cost of adapting to the impact of a changing climate system will also affect the cost of living.
Numerous studies, including the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, say the cost of inaction will cost us all a great deal more than shifting to a decarbonised, climate-friendly way of life.
Some of it is legally binding within the United Nations framework. The regular review and submission of emission reduction targets will be binding.
So too will the $100bn fund from developed economies to help emerging and developing nations decarbonise their energy mix - which means moving away from burning fossil fuels to clean energy sources, such as renewables and nuclear.
What won't be legally binding will be the emission targets. These will be determined by nations themselves.
Within the agreement the targets are known as Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs). To date, 187 countries have submitted their INDCs.
Observers have calculated that all of the targets, if delivered, will only curb warming by 2.7C. This is well above, not well below, the 2.0C goal of the Paris Agreement.
This begs the question why the targets themselves are not legally binding under international law.
This relates back to the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen. Observers say the attempt to impose binding targets on countries then was one of the reasons why the talks failed.
In Paris, a number of big emitting emerging economies - including China, India and South Africa - were unwilling to sign up to a condition that they felt could hamper their economic growth and development.
Nations have not been shy in coming forward to highlight their role in delivering a deal in Paris.
For example, just a few hours after the global climate deal was struck, US President Barack Obama told millions of TV viewers that it provided the "best chance we have to save the one planet we have". He also did not miss the opportunity to highlight the importance of "American leadership" in clinching the deal.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the deal represented "a huge step forward in securing the future of the planet".
The reaction from world leaders echoed the rousing rhetoric of their speeches on the opening day of the two weeks of negotiations.
The fact is that every nation played their part. Under the UN system, a single nation could have objected and refused to adopt the agreement and the deal would have been lost.
Among the more colourful rumours circulating in Paris was a suggestion that there was papal pressure to one president who was wavering.
And one shining star of the negotiations was French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the president of the conference.
People lauded his handling of nations' positioning and posturing, with many saying that his political and diplomatic experience was one of the main reasons why there was a happy ending to the story.
Now the question is not who sealed the deal but who will deliver?
Even the most supportive observers accept that it is going to be a very tall order for the world to deliver a package of measures that will result in limiting global temperature rise to "well below" 2C (3.6F), let alone 1.5C, above pre-industrial levels.
Finance departments of governments around the globe are going to have to put decarbonisation at the heart of their fiscal policies. Past evidence suggests that this will be a big ask. To date, it has - at best - been on the margins and as soon as there have been wobbles in economic activity, green policies have either been put on the back burner, diluted, ignored or removed from statute books altogether.
There will have to be a paradigm shift in the philosophy of political parties. Lip service and nods, accompanied with a little tinkering will not be enough to deliver the aims of the Paris Agreement.
Campaigners say this is where you come in. Fiscal policy shapes economic activities. Governments, made up from elected politicians, shape fiscal policy. You elect politicians.
COP21: In summary
What is climate change?
Did the Pope save the climate?
Papers hail 'historic' Paris deal
COP 21 - the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties - saw more than 190 nations gather in Paris to agree new global pact on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming as a result of human activities.
Explained: What is climate change?
In video: Why does the Paris conference matter?
Analysis: Latest from BBC environment correspondent Matt McGrath
In graphics: Climate change in six charts
More: BBC News special report (or follow the COP21 tag in the BBC News app)


Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC) supporters, including spokesperson Dee Fennell, have angrily confronted high-profile priest Fr Gary Donegan after an Orange Order Parade passed the Ardoyne shops in north Belfast on Saturday morning.

1 October 2016 Last updated at 14:10 BST
A small crowd of protesters accused him of taking sides with Sinn FÃ©in and the Orange Order against a majority of local residents.
Fr Donegan has ministered in the Ardoyne area for the last 15 years.
He is due to take up new duties next week at the Tobar Mhuire retreat centre in Crossgar.


Braintree bounced back from successive National League defeats to see off Sutton.

Michael Cheek scored the only goal of the game nine minutes before half-time with what was one of Braintree's few efforts in the first half.
Sutton, who had won just one of their previous 12 away matches in the league this season, tried to fight back in the second half but found Braintree goalkeeper Sam Beasant in inspired form.
He did well to deny Roarie Deacon immediately after the break and also prevented Dan Fitchett equalising soon after from a great opportunity.
Beasant continued to perform heroics, Craig McAllister unable to beat the 28-year-old when clean through and Adam May seeing another effort saved.
Visiting striker Matt Tubbs saw a late shot come back off the post as Braintree held on to move five points clear of the relegation zone.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Braintree Town 1, Sutton United 0.
Second Half ends, Braintree Town 1, Sutton United 0.
Substitution, Braintree Town. Kyron Farrell replaces Lee Barnard.
Substitution, Braintree Town. Harry Lee replaces Sam Corne.
Substitution, Sutton United. Matt Tubbs replaces Craig Dundas.
Substitution, Sutton United. Adam May replaces Jeffrey Monakana.
Substitution, Braintree Town. Jake Goodman replaces Manny Parry.
Craig Dundas (Sutton United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Substitution, Sutton United. Craig McAllister replaces Maxime Biamou.
Second Half begins Braintree Town 1, Sutton United 0.
First Half ends, Braintree Town 1, Sutton United 0.
Goal!  Braintree Town 1, Sutton United 0. Michael Cheek (Braintree Town).
Lee Barnard (Braintree Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


The UK Parliament is "creaking" and the devolution settlement "messy", a north Wales Labour MP has told the Commons.

Ynys Mon MP Albert Owen said he backed devolution but it was "unbalanced", "asymmetrical" and needed "adjusting".
Calling for a constitutional convention, he said he did not believe UK ministers' plans for "English votes for English laws" would help matters.
Earlier, he told BBC Radio Wales they did not allow for MPs with constituents crossing the border for services.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, Mr Owen said that he had supported devolution since the 1970s, when many in his party did not, and now he wanted to "go a step further than my party".
"I believe in a federal United Kingdom," he said.
"I think we should have an English parliament and I think we should have an English parliament within the United Kingdom and I feel we should retain a UK parliament for foreign affairs, for other bigger issues that concern the whole of the United Kingdom."
But Mr Owen said that devolution had to be "practical" and "real" because it concerned health and transport services, which were  often east-west in the UK.
He said that most of the decisions that affect Wales were made in the Department for Transport.
"We have the debacle over the West Coast line, which affects not just my constituents, the whole of north Wales and the whole of England.
"It's an interconnector and a corridor between Ireland and London, going through north Wales.
"So it would be, I think, crazy, for north Wales MPs not to have a say, not to be able to question the secretary of state when big decisions go wrong like that."
Newport East Labour MP Jessica Morden said that in south Wales 48% of the population lived within 25 miles of the border and in constituencies like hers many Welsh people used education and health services in England.
Conservative MP James Gray said: "My constituents in North Wiltshire may well use the National Health Service in Wales, but I can have no say whatsoever over the way the National Health Service in Wales is run.
"Why should it be one way but not the other?"
Conservative MP for Eddisbury and former assembly member Antoinette Sandbach said the "reality" of Welsh devolution was that "the decisions of the assembly led to a centralising of power out of the regions of Wales and into Cardiff".


Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract at Selhurst Park.

The 26-year-old was linked with Tottenham in the summer but manager Alan Pardew says Palace received no bids for him.
"There was no bid but we know, if he was available for £5m, we'd have a queue from here to wherever," he said.
"He's a lot more money than that, and now we've got three and a half years he's worth a lot more money."
Pardew admits that the former Bristol City man could end up leaving the Eagles - if he can improve his end product.
Bolasie has scored just seven league goals for Palace - who face Watford on Sunday - since joining in 2012.
"I've said all along that this guy needs to deliver the final moment, and when he does that he won't be here in three and a half years," said Pardew.
"If I can develop him and take this club forward, that's great. Then if a big club comes we use that money to take the club forward. Simple equation."


A troubled health board will come under more direct Welsh government control after a report found "institutional abuse" at a mental health unit.

The Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Denbighshire, closed in 2013.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the move to special measures reflected "serious and outstanding concerns" about the leadership at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales.
Its chairman said the board would co-operate fully to improve matters.
In the report, by health specialist Donna Ockenden, relatives said patients on the Tawel Fan ward were treated like animals in a zoo.
The decision followed a meeting involving the Welsh government, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the auditor general on Monday.
It is the first time a health board in Wales has been placed in special measures, the highest of three levels of intervention.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said the government and people in north Wales "have had enough".
"They (the health board) have had enough opportunity to regain the trust of the people of north Wales so we had to take these measures in order that the board can be rebuilt," he said.
"Tawel Fan happened two years ago but we weren't aware of the full picture... the board has lost the support of local people and we can't let that happen anymore and now is the time to rebuild."
In a statement, Mr Drakeford said: "A thorough and balanced assessment has taken place on areas of concern that will form the basis of actions to be taken as a result of special measures."
He added: "Whilst special measures will apply to the organisation, I wish to reassure both patients and communities served by the health board and staff working for it that day to day services and activities will continue as normal."
Further details of what action would be taken in practice will be given by the minister to assembly members on Tuesday.
In response, board chairman Dr Peter Higson said: "I recognise the gravity of the situation and the need for swift remedial action.
"I will ensure that the health board and its officers will work and co-operate fully with the Welsh government in achieving the necessary improvements for the benefit of the patients and public in north Wales."
So, with 11 months to go until the assembly elections, the Welsh government has taken direct control of the biggest health body in Wales.
In one fell swoop, the state of the NHS just became an even bigger political issue than it was already.
Is it a huge gamble or an opportunity for ministers to try to change the narrative of problems in health services across north Wales?
Behind the scenes, it has been stressed the special measures are not a direct result of the scandal at the Tawel Fan mental health ward.
Instead, that was one of a number of problems that contributed to a loss of public confidence in the board.
Whatever the reason, this changes the nature of the debate.
Up until this point, the blame for failures could at least have been shared between ministers and local health managers.
That division no longer exists.
On the flip side, this is simply the right thing to do, regardless of political calculations, and will be portrayed as such by the Welsh government keen to show it is taking charge of matters.
The Conservatives' Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar said: "While I welcome the decision to place this dysfunctional crisis-hit health board in special measures, the move is long overdue and something I've been calling for since governance problems were first identified back in 2013.
"Placing the health board in special measures is the first step to turning the organisation into an effective provider of first class health care, where patient safety comes first."
Mr Millar also called for an independent inquiry into the Welsh NHS, blaming budget cuts by Labour ministers for contributing to management failings.
Aled Roberts of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "I am hugely disappointed that the situation here in North Wales has deteriorated to the extent that this drastic decision has needed to be taken.  I do, however, believe it is the right decision.
"This is a health board in desperate need of help."
Plaid Cymru AM Llyr Gruffydd said there had been "a failure of political leadership regarding Betsi Cadwaladr for some years now", claiming the Welsh Labour government had "washed its hands of the problem for too long".
"Apologies mean nothing without a change of direction and we're not seeing that with this health board," he added.
Earlier on Monday, Ms Ockenden told BBC Radio Wales her report had uncovered "a terrible scandal" and "a stain on the NHS in Wales".
She said the families had "run out of patience" and expected "fair, honest and transparent action in a timely way".
Several members of staff on the ward are facing disciplinary procedures but North Wales Police decided not to pursue criminal charges after investigating allegations of mistreatment.
Since the report was published, opposition parties and local health watchdogs have called for ministers to take action and for senior heads to roll.
In June 2013, the then chairman and chief executive of the Betsi Cadwaladr board resigned after a report condemned management failings and financial problems across its operations.


Fears have been raised an army unit based in Wrexham could be relocated to Somerset.

Council leader Mark Pritchard said he was "led to believe" the 101 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer (REME) unit based in Hightown Barracks could move to Keynsham.
Mr Pritchard said he was "shocked" to hear it could go as part of the Army 2020 Refine restructure.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been asked to comment.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Pritchard referred to a written statement by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on 15 December.
"Whilst this does not mention Wrexham specifically, I am led to believe that REME might be moving out of Wrexham," he said.
He said it had come as a "real shock", adding:  "We are a town with a strong and proud military heritage.  We have always worked very closely with our partners at the barracks in Wrexham and we will be hugely saddened to lose this connection if this comes to pass."
The council has also set up an online petition to the UK government to retain an armed forces presence in Wrexham.


A £20,000 benefit fraudster who went on foreign holidays with her husband while claiming to be a single mother has been given a community sentence.

Elizabeth Moir, 52, told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) she had split from her husband Ian in 2010.
But neighbours told investigators that  the couple were still living together with their children.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, she was told to pay back the full sum and sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid work.
Moir, of Dundee, also was given two years' supervision and placed on a restriction of liberty order confining to her home on an electronic tag from 19:00 to 07:00 every day for 12 weeks.
She admitted a charge under the Tax Credits Act committed between October 2010 and August 2013.
Solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin, defending, said: "She's been a law-abiding, pro-social person and in employment until ill-health hit her.
"Her husband left and then returned over a period of time.
"She has not informed the benefits agency that he was back.
"She has committed an offence and requires to be punished."
Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC told Moir: "You have pled guilty to a serious offence - it is a lot of money to defraud DWP of and I take a very serious view of it.
"The appeal courts have made it clear for this amount of money the court should look at a significant amount of time in custody.
"But in your case there are exceptional circumstances and I can step away from that."


A switch in tactics has provided the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) with some victories in their battle against the so-called Islamic State (IS), notably in Ramadi, says the US military.

The change came in the late summer.
Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland took over the US-led coalition against IS known as Operation Inherent Resolve in September.
Upon assuming his new post, the general began studying what worked and what had not worked in the fight against IS up to that point.
Recognising that IS was a different enemy from the one faced during the last decade, he ordered an adjustment to the training and equipment that was being provided to the Iraqis.
As a result, in the past few weeks, the ISF has closed in on the city of Ramadi - which fell in an embarrassing defeat in May.
Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US Department of Defense, said in a BBC interview that the success is due in large part to conventional warfare tactics recently employed by the ISF, not the counter-insurgency style tactics they were trained by the Americans to use for several years.
The ISF, up to that point, was largely a product of training that followed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Facing the threat of guerrilla fighters for most of the eight-year conflict, the US and its allies fought a counter-insurgency war and trained the Iraqis to do the same.
"Guerrilla tactics, insurgent tactics - it's all about hit and run, it's all about avoiding a major fight," Colonel Warren said. "The insurgents' mission is to convince the people that you're up against to go away and leave you alone."
But IS's strategy is different - working to seize and hold territory in an attempt to establish a state.
"You can't do that through insurgency, you have to do that through conventional warfare," Mr Warren said.
As an example, the colonel pointed to the strategic city of Ramadi, which has been in the hands of IS but Iraqi forces have this week advanced into the city centre.
There is one main road into Ramadi.
To protect the city, IS have littered the road and surrounding area with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in way that makes a sort of makeshift minefield. They then aimed machine guns and mortars at the field of explosives, to deter bomb disposal activities.
While IEDs have been used for years in Iraq, the way that IS is using them today is different.
During the mid-2000s, insurgents would use a single IED hidden inconspicuously to, in the words of Colonel Warren, "instil terror, crack morale, kill and wound a group in one vehicle".
But now they are being used en masse and in the open as a deterrent, not as a one-off ambush to inflict fear.
"The army that we trained was a counter-insurgency army," the colonel said, which included training for dealing with single, hidden IEDs, placed in advance by combatants that had long left the scene.
When the improvised bombs were spotted, bomb disposal robots and experts could be deployed to clear the route.
But the clusters of IEDs being used today, along with the machine guns and mortars protecting the explosive field, render these counter-insurgency tactics largely ineffective.
This, Colonel Warren says, is "exactly how you establish a defensive position".
To counter the minefield, the coalition began working with the ISF to introduce traditional, conventional tactics and equip them with systems that were previously not needed.
The colonel pointed to one manoeuvre called an in-stride breach, which involves using an "explosive rope attached to a rocket" to blast a lane through the explosive field, allowing forces to push through rapidly.
The pseudo-minefield is just one way that IS is "using conventional military tactics in a way that does not perfectly align with the way we had trained the Iraqi army", he said.
For more than a year, the US and coalition forces have been carrying out air strikes against IS, which controls a large part of northern Syria and parts of neighbouring Iraq.
And in recent months, the President Barack Obama has found himself regularly defending his anti-IS strategy - sometimes from criticism by those in his own party.
Critics allege that it has cost large amounts of money with little success.
The small change that has helped in the battle for Ramadi does not constitute a wholesale shift in the mission's strategy, and officials regularly say tactics are constantly reviewed and adjusted.
But while it is too early to tell if these tactics will prove effective in the long term, the ISF does seem to be enjoying success with them in recent weeks.
Colonel Steve Warren was speaking to the BBC at the end of November