diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 9752fe56..21e184f3 100755
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ New:
 
 Changes:
 * UWGeodynamics - 'ressources' folder is now 'resources' (but previous name is still supported).
+* Modify docker building script to allow changing MPI implementation. 
 
 Fixes:
 * Update UWGeoTutorials.rst #693.
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/docker-builder.sh b/docs/development/docker/docker-builder.sh
index 183506fb..609090ea 100755
--- a/docs/development/docker/docker-builder.sh
+++ b/docs/development/docker/docker-builder.sh
@@ -7,54 +7,81 @@ set -e
 #   - mpi and lavavu dockers are automatically generated via github actions
 #   - petsc and underworld2 must be created by runn the following script.
 
-UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04
-PYTHON_VERSION=3.12
+PYTHON_VERSION=3.11
 OMPI_VERSION=4.1.4
+MPICH_VERSION=3.4.3
 PETSC_VERSION=3.22.2
 
+MPI_IMPLEMENTATION=opmi
+
+BASE_IMAGE="python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim-bookworm"
+
+#### x86 images can be built on mac arm architecture using rosetta
 ARCH=$(uname -m)
-echo "Will build docker image locally for architecture type: $ARCH"
+echo "Will build docker image locally for architecture type: $ARCH, with mpi implementation: $MPI_IMPLEMENTATION"
 echo "************************************************************\n"
 
-# Get the ubuntu image
-podman pull ubuntu:$UBUNTU_VERSION
+
+# Get the base image
+podman pull $BASE_IMAGE
 
 ## The mpi and lavavu images should be automatically made via github actions
-podman build . \
-  --rm --squash-all \
-  -f ./docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi \
-  --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=$UBUNTU_VERSION \
-  --build-arg OMPI_VERSION=$OMPI_VERSION \
-  -t underworldcode/openmpi:$OMPI_VERSION-$ARCH
+
+if [ "$MPI_IMPLEMENTATION" = "MPICH" ]
+then
+  ## Default is openmpi, but can be switched to mpich
+  podman build . \
+    --rm --squash-all \
+    -f ./docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.mpich \
+    --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=$BASE_IMAGE \
+    --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
+    --build-arg MPICH_VERSION=$MPICH_VERSION \
+    -t underworldcode/mpich:$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH
+    
+  MPI_IMAGE=underworldcode/mpich:$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH
+  mpi_lowercase="mpich"
+else
+  podman build . \
+    --rm --squash-all \
+    -f ./docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi \
+    --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=$BASE_IMAGE \
+    --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
+    --build-arg OMPI_VERSION=$OMPI_VERSION \
+    -t underworldcode/openmpi:$OMPI_VERSION-$ARCH
+    
+  MPI_IMAGE=underworldcode/openmpi:$OMPI_VERSION-$ARCH
+  mpi_lowercase="ompi"
+fi
 
 podman build . \
   --rm --squash-all \
   -f ./docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile \
-  --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=$UBUNTU_VERSION \
+  --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=$BASE_IMAGE \
   --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
   -t underworldcode/lavavu:$ARCH
 
 podman build . \
   --rm --squash-all \
   -f ./docs/development/docker/petsc/Dockerfile \
-  --build-arg MPI_IMAGE="underworldcode/openmpi:$OMPI_VERSION-$ARCH" \
-  --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=$UBUNTU_VERSION \
+  --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=$BASE_IMAGE \
+  --build-arg MPI_IMAGE=$MPI_IMAGE \
   --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
   --build-arg PETSC_VERSION=$PETSC_VERSION \
-  -t underworldcode/petsc:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH
+  -t underworldcode/petsc-$mpi_lowercase:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH
 
 ### don't use pull here as we want the petsc image above
 podman build . \
   --rm --squash-all \
-  --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=$UBUNTU_VERSION \
+  --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=$BASE_IMAGE \
   --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
-  --build-arg PETSC_IMAGE="underworldcode/petsc:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH" \
+  --build-arg PETSC_IMAGE="underworldcode/petsc-$mpi_lowercase:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH" \
   --build-arg LAVAVU_IMAGE="underworldcode/lavavu:$ARCH" \
   -f ./docs/development/docker/underworld2/Dockerfile \
-  -t underworldcode/underworld2:2.16.0b-$ARCH
+  -t underworldcode/underworld2-$mpi_lowercase:2.16.0b-$ARCH
+
 
-#docker push underworldcode/petsc:3.19.4-$ARCH 
-#docker push underworldcode/underworld2:2.15.0b-$ARCH
+#docker push underworldcode/petsc-$mpi_lowercase:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH
+#docker push underworldcode/underworld2-$mpi_lowercase:2.16.0b-$ARCH
 
 #### if updates for both arm64 and x86_64 build manifest, ie
 # docker manifest create underworldcode/petsc:3.18.1 \
@@ -64,3 +91,20 @@ podman build . \
 # docker manifest push underworldcode/petsc:3.18.1
 #
 # in future this should be automated
+
+
+
+## How to use image on HPC with singularity/apptainer
+
+### save the docker image
+# podman save -o underworld2-$mpi_lowercase-2.16.0b-$ARCH.tar underworldcode/underworld2-$mpi_lowercase:2.16.0b-$ARCH
+### upload to hpc
+# scp underworld2-$mpi_lowercase-2.16.0b-$ARCH.tar user@setonix.pawsey.org.au:/path/to/store/container
+### extract using singularity/apptainer on HPC
+# module load singularity...
+# singularity build underworld2-mpich-2.16.0b-x86_64.sif docker-archive://underworld2-mpich-2.16.0b-x86_64.tar
+
+
+### Some good resources for using containers on HPC:
+# (1) checking mpi is using system install not container
+# https://pawseysc.github.io/containers-astro-python-workshop/3.hpc/index.html
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile
index c80882c6..97f45a92 100644
--- a/docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile
+++ b/docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION="24.04"
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+ARG BASE_IMAGE="python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim-bookworm"
 
-FROM ubuntu:${UBUNTU_VERSION} as base_runtime
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} as base_runtime
 LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
 
 # need to repeat ARGS after every FROM 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
@@ -33,11 +32,13 @@ RUN mkdir ${VIRTUAL_ENV} \
 # install runtime requirements
 RUN apt-get update -qq \
 &&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        python3-minimal \
-        python3-venv \
-        python3-pip \
-        libpng16-16t64 \
-        libjpeg8 \
+        # python3-minimal \
+        # python3-venv \
+        # python3-pip \
+        # libpng16-16t64 \
+        libpng16-16 \
+        #libjpeg8 \
+        libjpeg-dev \
         libtiff-dev \ 
         libglu1-mesa-dev \
         libosmesa6 \
@@ -53,15 +54,14 @@ RUN apt-get update -qq \
 
 FROM base_runtime AS build_base
 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 # install build requirements
 RUN apt-get update -qq 
 RUN DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
         build-essential \
-        python3-setuptools \
-        libpython${PYTHON_VERSION}-dev \ 
+        # python3-setuptools \
+        # libpython${PYTHON_VERSION}-dev \ 
         libpng-dev \
         libjpeg-dev \
         libtiff-dev \
@@ -76,14 +76,14 @@ RUN DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
         cmake \
         libopenblas-dev \
         libz-dev \
-        gcc \
-        python3-full
+        gcc
+        # python3-full
 
 
 # lavavu
 # create a virtualenv to put new python modules
 USER $NB_USER
-RUN /usr/bin/python3 -m venv --system-site-packages ${VIRTUAL_ENV}
+RUN python3 -m venv --system-site-packages ${VIRTUAL_ENV}
 RUN pip3 install -U setuptools  \
 &&  pip3 install --no-cache-dir \
         "numpy<2" \
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ COPY --from=build_base /usr/local /usr/local
 # ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
 # Record Python packages, but only record system packages! 
 # Not venv packages, which will be copied directly in.
-RUN PYTHONPATH= /usr/bin/pip3 freeze >/opt/requirements.txt
+RUN PYTHONPATH= pip3 freeze >/opt/requirements.txt
 # Record manually install apt packages.
 RUN apt-mark showmanual >/opt/installed.txt
 
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.mpich b/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.mpich
index fb003e1a..2589b529 100644
--- a/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.mpich
+++ b/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.mpich
@@ -14,9 +14,10 @@
 #####################################################################
 
 ARG MPICH_VERSION="3.4.3"
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION="24.04"
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+ARG BASE_IMAGE="python:${PYTHON_VERSION}-slim-bookworm"
 
-FROM ubuntu:${UBUNTU_VERSION} as runtime
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} as runtime
 LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
 
 ################
@@ -46,7 +47,12 @@ FROM runtime as build
 
 ARG MPICH_VERSION
 # Build options for Dockerfile
-ARG MPICH_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS="--enable-fast=all,O3 --prefix=/usr/local --with-device=ch4:ofi FFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch FCFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch"
+# ARG MPICH_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS="--enable-fast=all,O3 --prefix=/usr/local --with-device=ch4:ofi FFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch FCFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch"
+
+### pawsey config from pawsey base image
+### from https://quay.io/repository/pawsey/mpich-base/manifest/sha256:ca1cf20a4f1a8793ec794b7f927a03289f4ad449b51bc821ac98c5a269ea5e8a
+ARG MPICH_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS="--enable-fast=all,O3 --enable-fortran --enable-romio --prefix=/usr/local --with-device=ch4:ofi CC=gcc CXX=g++ FC=gfortran FFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch"
+
 ARG MPICH_MAKE_OPTIONS="-j4"
 
 RUN apt-get update -qq \
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi b/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi
index 4c353c7e..d872ea32 100644
--- a/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi
+++ b/docs/development/docker/mpi/Dockerfile.openmpi
@@ -15,9 +15,10 @@
 
 # https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#understand-how-arg-and-from-interact
 ARG OMPI_VERSION=4.1.4
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+ARG BASE_IMAGE="python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim-bookworm"
 
-FROM ubuntu:${UBUNTU_VERSION} as runtime
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} as runtime
 LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
 
 ################
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/mpich.dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/pawsey/mpich.dockerfile
deleted file mode 100644
index 115c0893..00000000
--- a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/mpich.dockerfile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-#####################################################################
-# Multi stage Dockerfile structure:
-# 1. runtime 
-# 2. build
-# 3. final == runtime + min. build
-#
-# It begins with layers for runtime execution. 
-# The runtime environment (packages, permissions, ENV vars.) 
-# are consistent accross all layer of this Dockerfile. 
-# The build layer takes the runtime layer and builds the software
-# stack in /usr/local.
-# The final image is a composite of the runtime layer and 
-# minimal sections of the build layer.
-#####################################################################
-
-ARG MPICH_VERSION="4.2.3"
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.11"
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION="4.0.1"
-
-FROM python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim as runtime
-LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
-
-################
-## 1. Runtime ##
-################
-# Dockerfile ENV vars - for all image stages
-ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
-# openmpi lib will be install at /usr/local/lib
-ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-# add user jovyan
-ENV NB_USER jovyan
-ENV NB_HOME /home/$NB_USER
-RUN useradd -m -s /bin/bash -N $NB_USER
-
-#install runtime packages
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        ssh \
-        bash \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-################
-## 2. Build   ##
-################
-FROM runtime as build
-
-ARG MPICH_VERSION
-# Build options for Dockerfile
-
-### from https://quay.io/repository/pawsey/mpich-base/manifest/sha256:ca1cf20a4f1a8793ec794b7f927a03289f4ad449b51bc821ac98c5a269ea5e8a
-ARG MPICH_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS="--enable-fast=all,O3 --enable-fortran --enable-romio --prefix=/usr/local --with-device=ch4:ofi CC=gcc CXX=g++ FC=gfortran FFLAGS=-fallow-argument-mismatch"
-
-ARG MPICH_MAKE_OPTIONS="-j4"
-
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        wget \
-        gcc \
-        gfortran \
-        g++ \
-        make \
-        file \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-# build mpi
-RUN mkdir -p /tmp/src
-WORKDIR /tmp/src
-RUN wget http://www.mpich.org/static/downloads/${MPICH_VERSION}/mpich-${MPICH_VERSION}.tar.gz --no-check-certificate \
-&& tar -zxf mpich-${MPICH_VERSION}.tar.gz 
-WORKDIR /tmp/src/mpich-${MPICH_VERSION}              
-RUN ./configure ${MPICH_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS} \
- && make ${MPICH_MAKE_OPTIONS} \
- && make install \
- && ldconfig \
- && rm -rf /tmp/src/
-
-### Add mpi4py for testing
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION
-# RUN pip --no-cache-dir install --no-deps mpi4py==${MPI4PY_VERSION}
-# RUN pip install mpi4py==${MPI4PY_VERSION}
-RUN pip install --break-system-packages mpi4py==${MPI4PY_VERSION}
-# record build packages used
-RUN apt-mark showmanual > /opt/installed.txt
-
-################
-## 3. Final   ##
-################
-FROM runtime as final
-
-COPY --from=build /usr/local /usr/local
-COPY --from=build /opt/installed.txt /opt/installed.txt
-
-# switch to user and workspace
-WORKDIR $NB_HOME
-USER $
-
-### default location
-CMD [ "/bin/bash" ]
-
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/pawsey_docker_builder.sh b/docs/development/docker/pawsey/pawsey_docker_builder.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index dcc1314b..00000000
--- a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/pawsey_docker_builder.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,89 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-set -e
-
-# Example Usage:
-#   - Run from underworld2 repository head
-#   - mpi and lavavu dockers are automatically generated via github actions
-#   - petsc and underworld2 must be created by runn the following script.
-
-
-MPICH_VERSION=3.4.3 #3.4a2 #3.4.3 #4.0.1
-MPI4PY_VERSION=3.1.6 #3.1.6 #3.1.6 #4.0.1
-PYTHON_VERSION=3.11
-PETSC_VERSION=3.22.2 #3.22.2
-
-ARCH=$(uname -m)
-# ARCH=x86_64 ### pawsey
-echo "Will build docker image locally for architecture type: $ARCH"
-echo "************************************************************"
-echo ""
-
-if [ "$ARCH" = "x86_64" ]
-then
-  PLATFORM="linux/amd64"
-else
-  PLATFORM="linux/arm64"
-fi
-
-
-
-
-echo " .. Now building mpich"
-# The mpi and lavavu images should be automatically made via github actions
-podman build . \
---rm --squash-all \
--f ./docs/development/docker/pawsey/mpich.dockerfile \
---platform $PLATFORM \
---build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
---build-arg MPICH_VERSION=$MPICH_VERSION \
---build-arg MPI4PY_VERSION=$MPI4PY_VERSION \
--t underworldcode/mpich:$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH
-
-echo " .. Finished building mpich"
-
-#podman save -o mpich_$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH.tar underworldcode/mpich:$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH
-
-# echo " .. Now building lavavu"
-# podman build . \
-#   --rm --squash-all \
-#   -f ./docs/development/docker/lavavu/Dockerfile \
-#   --platform $PLATFORM \
-#   --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=$UBUNTU_VERSION \
-#   --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
-#   -t underworldcode/lavavu:$ARCH
-
-echo " .. Now building petsc"
-podman build . \
- --rm --squash-all \
- -f ./docs/development/docker/pawsey/petsc.dockerfile \
- --platform $PLATFORM \
- --build-arg MPI4PY_VERSION=$MPI4PY_VERSION \
- --build-arg MPI_IMAGE="underworldcode/mpich:$MPICH_VERSION-$ARCH" \
- --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
- --build-arg PETSC_VERSION=$PETSC_VERSION \
- -t underworldcode/petsc:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH
-
-echo " .. Finished building petsc"
-# podman save -o petsc_$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH.tar underworldcode/petsc:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH
-
-echo " .. Now building UW2"
-### don't use pull here as we want the petsc image above
-podman build . \
-  --rm --squash-all \
-  -f ./docs/development/docker/pawsey/underworld.dockerfile \
-  --platform $PLATFORM \
-  --build-arg MPI4PY_VERSION=$MPI4PY_VERSION \
-  --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION \
-  --build-arg PETSC_IMAGE="underworldcode/petsc:$PETSC_VERSION-$ARCH" \
-  --build-arg LAVAVU_IMAGE="underworldcode/lavavu:$ARCH" \
-  -t underworldcode/underworld2:2.16.0b-$ARCH
-
-### save to compressed file (tar), which can be converted by singularity on the HPC
-podman save -o underworld2_2.16.0b-$ARCH.tar underworldcode/underworld2:2.16.0b-$ARCH
-
-### transfer to HPC using rsync/scp
-# rsync -P -a underworld2_2.16.0b-$ARCH.tar username@setonix.pawsey.org.au:/container/directory
-
-### how to build from tar on HPC
-# singularity build underworld2_2.16.0b-$ARCH.sif docker-archive://underworld2_2.16.0b-$ARCH.tar
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/petsc.dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/pawsey/petsc.dockerfile
deleted file mode 100644
index 252335c2..00000000
--- a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/petsc.dockerfile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,167 +0,0 @@
-#####################################################################
-# Multi stage Dockerfile structure:
-# 1. runtime 
-# 2. build
-# 3. final == runtime + min. build
-#
-# It begins with layers for runtime execution. 
-# The runtime environment (packages, permissions, ENV vars.) 
-# are consistent accross all layer of this Dockerfile. 
-# The build layer takes the runtime layer and builds the software
-# stack in /usr/local.
-# The final image is a composite of the runtime layer and 
-# minimal sections of the build layer.
-#####################################################################
-
-ARG MPI_IMAGE="underworldcode/openmpi:4.1.4"
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.11"
-ARG PETSC_VERSION="3.22.2"
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION="3.1.6"
-
-FROM ${MPI_IMAGE} as mpi-image
-
-FROM python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim as runtime
-LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
-
-# need to repeat ARGS after every FROM 
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-
-################
-## 1. Runtime ##
-################
-
-
-#### Dockerfile ENV vars - for all image stages
-ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
-# mpi lib will be install at /usr/local/lib
-ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-
-# python env vars. 
-# prepappending on PATH means all pip install will goto the PYOPT
-ENV PYVER=${PYTHON_VERSION}
-ENV PYOPT=/opt/venv
-ENV PATH=$PYOPT/bin:$PATH
-ENV PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$PYOPT/lib/python${PYVER}/site-packages
-ENV PETSC_DIR=/usr/local
-ENV PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$PETSC_DIR/lib
-
-# add user jovyan
-ENV NB_USER jovyan
-ENV NB_HOME /home/$NB_USER
-RUN useradd -m -s /bin/bash -N $NB_USER
-
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        bash-completion \
-        ssh \
-        libopenblas0 \
-        python3-full \
-        python3-dev \
-&& apt-get clean \
-&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-# build and open virtual environment
-RUN python3 -m venv $PYOPT \
-&&  chmod ugo+rwx $PYOPT \
-&&  pip3 install -U setuptools \
-                    wheel
-
-################
-## 2. Build   ##
-################
-
-FROM runtime as build
-
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION
-ARG PETSC_VERSION
-
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        ca-certificates \
-        wget \
-        build-essential \
-        gfortran \
-        g++ \
-        cmake \
-        libopenblas-dev \
-        libz-dev \
-        git \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-# copy in from mpi container
-COPY --from=mpi-image /opt/installed.txt /opt/installed.txt
-COPY --from=mpi-image /usr/local /usr/local
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends $(awk '{print $1'} /opt/installed.txt) \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-RUN pip3 install --no-cache-dir \
-      "cython==3.0.10" \
-      "numpy<2"
-
-RUN pip --no-cache-dir install --no-deps mpi4py==${MPI4PY_VERSION}
-
-# get petsc
-RUN mkdir -p /tmp/src
-WORKDIR /tmp/src
-RUN wget https://web.cels.anl.gov/projects/petsc/download/release-snapshots/petsc-lite-${PETSC_VERSION}.tar.gz --no-check-certificate \
-&& tar -zxf petsc-lite-${PETSC_VERSION}.tar.gz
-WORKDIR /tmp/src/petsc-${PETSC_VERSION}
-
-# install petsc as root
-RUN PETSC_DIR=`pwd` ./configure --with-debugging=0 --prefix=/usr/local \
-                --COPTFLAGS="-g -O3" --CXXOPTFLAGS="-g -O3" --FOPTFLAGS="-g -O3" \
-                --with-shared-libraries         \
-		--with-petsc4py=1               \
-                --with-zlib=1                   \
-                --with-shared-libraries=1       \
-                --with-cxx-dialect=C++11        \
-                --with-make-np=4                \
-                --download-hdf5=1 \
-                --download-mumps=1              \
-                --download-parmetis=1           \
-                --download-metis=1              \
-                --download-superlu=1            \
-                --download-hypre=1              \
-                --download-scalapack=1          \
-                --download-superlu_dist=1       \
-                --download-pragmatic=1          \
-                --download-ctetgen              \
-                --download-eigen                \
-                --download-superlu=1            \
-                --download-triangle             \
-                --useThreads=0                  \
-&&  make PETSC_DIR=`pwd` PETSC_ARCH=arch-linux-c-opt all \
-&&  make PETSC_DIR=`pwd` PETSC_ARCH=arch-linux-c-opt install \
-&&  rm -rf /usr/local/share/petsc
-
-# install h5py with MPI enabled, does not currently work in containers on pawsey
-#RUN CC=mpicc HDF5_MPI="ON" HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
-#RUN HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
-RUN pip install --no-cache-dir jupyterlab
-
-# record builder stage packages used
-RUN pip3 freeze > /opt/requirements.txt \
-&&  apt-mark showmanual > /opt/packages.txt
-
-################
-## 3. Final   ##
-################
-
-FROM runtime as minimal
-
-COPY --from=build /opt /opt
-COPY --from=build /usr/local /usr/local
-
-# add LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-
-# switch to not-root user and workspace
-USER $NB_USER
-WORKDIR $NB_HOME
-
-# default command is to run jupyter lab
-CMD ["jupyter-lab", "--no-browser", "--ip='0.0.0.0'"]
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/underworld.dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/pawsey/underworld.dockerfile
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a1ed7fb..00000000
--- a/docs/development/docker/pawsey/underworld.dockerfile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,220 +0,0 @@
-#####################################################################
-# Multi stage Dockerfile structure:
-# 1. runtime 
-# 2. build
-# 3. final == runtime + min. build
-#
-# It begins with layers for runtime execution. 
-# The runtime environment (packages, permissions, ENV vars.) 
-# are consistent accross all layer of this Dockerfile. 
-# The build layer takes the runtime layer and builds the software
-# stack in /usr/local.
-# The final image is a composite of the runtime layer and 
-# minimal sections of the build layer.
-#####################################################################
-
-# The following are passed in via --build-args
-# Used for github actions on the underworld repo
-# Must go before the 1st FROM see
-# https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#understand-how-arg-and-from-interact
-ARG PETSC_IMAGE="underworldcode/petsc:3.22.2"
-ARG LAVAVU_IMAGE="none"
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.11"
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION="4.0.1"
-
-# 'petsc-image' will be used later on in build stage COPY command 
-FROM ${PETSC_IMAGE} as petsc-image
-FROM ${LAVAVU_IMAGE} as lavavu-image
-
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-
-FROM python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim as runtime
-LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
-
-################
-## 1. Runtime ##
-################
-
-# need to repeat ARGS after every FROM 
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-
-#### Dockerfile ENV vars - for all image stages
-ENV LANG=C.UTF-8
-# mpi lib will be install at /usr/local/lib
-ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-
-# python env vars. 
-# prepappending on PATH means all pip install will goto the PYOPT
-ENV PYVER=${PYTHON_VERSION}
-ENV PYOPT=/opt/venv
-ENV PATH=$PYOPT/bin:$PATH
-ENV PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$PYOPT/lib/python${PYVER}/site-packages
-# taken from PETSC images
-ENV PETSC_DIR=/usr/local
-ENV PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$PETSC_DIR/lib
-
-# add user jovyan
-ENV NB_USER jovyan
-ENV NB_HOME /home/$NB_USER
-RUN useradd -m -s /bin/bash -N $NB_USER
-
-# runtime packages
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        ca-certificates \
-        bash-completion \
-        ssh \
-        python3-venv \
-        python3-dev \
-        libopenblas0 \
-        python3-full \
-        libxml2 \
-        vim \
-        git \
-        gdb \
-#        libpng16-16t64 \
-#        libjpeg8 \
-        libtiff-dev \
-        libglu1-mesa \
-        libosmesa6 \
-#        libavcodec60 \
-#        libavformat60 \
-#        libavutil58 \
-#        libswscale7 \
-        zlib1g \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-# start a virtual environment install runtime modules in 'build' as some
-# packages need gcc
-RUN python3 -m venv $PYOPT \
-&&  chmod ugo+rwx $PYOPT
-
-################
-## 2. Build   ##
-################
-
-FROM runtime as build
-
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-ARG MPI4PY_VERSION
-
-
-RUN apt-get update -qq \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends \
-        swig \
-        cmake \
-        make \
-        gfortran \
-        python3-dev \
-        pkg-config \
-        libxml2-dev \
-        ninja-build \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-
-
-# Remove this for future versions
-# setuptools=65.6.0 has a unfixed error, so forcing version
-RUN pip3 install setuptools --force-reinstall --no-cache \
-&&  pip3 install --no-cache-dir \
-         matplotlib \
-         "cython==3.0.10" \
-         "scipy==1.13" \
-         "numpy<2" \
-         pint \
-         rise \
-         pytest \
-         nbmake \
-         gFlex \
-         tabulate
-
-# Lets grab lavavu & requirements
-# COPY --from=lavavu-image /opt       /opt
-# COPY --from=lavavu-image /usr/local /usr/local
-# RUN apt-get update \
-# &&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends $(awk '{print $1'} /opt/installed.txt) \
-# &&  apt-get clean \
-# &&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* 
-# RUN pip3 install -r /opt/requirements.txt
-
-# mpi, petsc, mpi4py, petsc4py, h5py
-COPY --from=petsc-image /opt       /opt
-COPY --from=petsc-image /usr/local /usr/local
-
-RUN apt-get update \
-&&  DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq --no-install-recommends $(awk '{print $1'} /opt/installed.txt) \
-&&  apt-get clean \
-&&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-RUN pip3 install -r /opt/requirements.txt
-
-
-
-### install h5py
-ENV PETSC_DIR=/usr/local
-# install h5py with MPI enabled, does not currently work in containers on pawsey
-#RUN CC=mpicc HDF5_MPI="ON" HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
-# RUN  pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py 
-RUN pip3 install h5py
-
-
-
-WORKDIR /tmp
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users . /tmp/underworld2
-WORKDIR /tmp/underworld2
-RUN pip3 install -vvv .
-RUN pip3 install setuptools --force-reinstall --no-cache-dir \
-&&  pip3 install --no-cache-dir \
-       "git+https://github.com/drufat/triangle.git" \
-       "badlands @ git+https://github.com/julesghub/badlands.git@julesghub/meson-build#subdirectory=badlands" \
-       jupyter_contrib_nbextensions
-
-
-
-RUN pip3 freeze >/opt/requirements.txt
-# Record manually install apt packages.
-RUN apt-mark showmanual >/opt/installed.txt
-
-
-################
-## 3. Final   ##
-################
-
-
-# Build the final image, a combination of the runtime and build stages
-FROM runtime as final
-
-ARG PYTHON_VERSION
-
-COPY --from=build --chown=$NB_USER:users /opt /opt
-COPY --from=build --chown=$NB_USER:users /usr/local /usr/local
-
-# must make directory before COPY into it for permissions to work (!!!)
-RUN mkdir -p $NB_HOME/workspace $NB_HOME/Underworld/UWGeodynamics \
-&&  chown $NB_USER:users -R $NB_HOME \
-&& jupyter-server extension enable --sys-prefix jupyter_server_proxy
-
-#Copy in examples, tests, etc.
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/examples   $NB_HOME/Underworld/examples
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/cheatsheet $NB_HOME/Underworld/cheatsheet
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/user_guide $NB_HOME/Underworld/user_guide
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/test       $NB_HOME/Underworld/test
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/UWGeodynamics/examples  $NB_HOME/Underworld/UWGeodynamics/examples
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/UWGeodynamics/benchmarks  $NB_HOME/Underworld/UWGeodynamics/benchmarks
-COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users ./docs/UWGeodynamics/tutorials  $NB_HOME/Underworld/UWGeodynamics/tutorials
-
-EXPOSE 8888
-WORKDIR $NB_HOME
-USER $NB_USER
-
-### fix for error: ImportError: /opt/cray/pe/gcc-libs/libstdc++.so.6: version `GLIBCXX_3.4.32' not found (required by /usr/local/lib/libpragmatic.so) ???
-# ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
-### for gmsh
-# ENV PYTHONPATH=${PYTHONPATH}:/usr/local/lib
-
-# Declare a volume space
-VOLUME $NB_HOME/workspace
-
-CMD ["jupyter-lab", "--no-browser", "--ip='0.0.0.0'"]
-
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/petsc/Dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/petsc/Dockerfile
index 902aa18d..b74dbda0 100644
--- a/docs/development/docker/petsc/Dockerfile
+++ b/docs/development/docker/petsc/Dockerfile
@@ -14,16 +14,15 @@
 #####################################################################
 
 ARG MPI_IMAGE="underworldcode/openmpi:4.1.4"
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION="24.02"
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+ARG BASE_IMAGE="python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim-bookworm"
 
 FROM ${MPI_IMAGE} as mpi-image
 
-FROM ubuntu:${UBUNTU_VERSION} as runtime
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} as runtime
 LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
 
 # need to repeat ARGS after every FROM 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 #### Dockerfile ENV vars - for all image stages
@@ -50,8 +49,8 @@ RUN apt-get update -qq \
         bash-completion \
         ssh \
         libopenblas0 \
-        python3-full \
-        python3-dev \
+        # python3-full \
+        # python3-dev \
 && apt-get clean \
 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
@@ -63,7 +62,6 @@ RUN python3 -m venv $PYOPT \
 
 FROM runtime as build
 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 RUN apt-get update -qq \
@@ -127,9 +125,10 @@ RUN PETSC_DIR=`pwd` ./configure --with-debugging=0 --prefix=/usr/local \
 &&  make PETSC_DIR=`pwd` PETSC_ARCH=arch-linux-c-opt install \
 &&  rm -rf /usr/local/share/petsc
 
-# install h5py with MPI enabled
-RUN CC=mpicc HDF5_MPI="ON" HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
-&& pip install --no-cache-dir jupyterlab
+### move h5py install to UW script
+# # install h5py with MPI enabled
+# RUN CC=mpicc HDF5_MPI="ON" HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
+# && pip install --no-cache-dir jupyterlab
 
 # record builder stage packages used
 RUN pip3 freeze > /opt/requirements.txt \
diff --git a/docs/development/docker/underworld2/Dockerfile b/docs/development/docker/underworld2/Dockerfile
index deba8a33..0399a0d5 100644
--- a/docs/development/docker/underworld2/Dockerfile
+++ b/docs/development/docker/underworld2/Dockerfile
@@ -19,19 +19,18 @@
 # https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#understand-how-arg-and-from-interact
 ARG PETSC_IMAGE="underworldcode/petsc:3.22.2"
 ARG LAVAVU_IMAGE="none"
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION="24.02"
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+ARG BASE_IMAGE="python:$PYTHON_VERSION-slim-bookworm"
 
 # 'petsc-image' will be used later on in build stage COPY command 
 FROM ${PETSC_IMAGE} as petsc-image
 
 FROM ${LAVAVU_IMAGE} as lavavu-image
 
-FROM ubuntu:${UBUNTU_VERSION} as runtime
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} as runtime
 LABEL maintainer="https://github.com/underworldcode/"
 
 # need to repeat ARGS after every FROM 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 #### Dockerfile ENV vars - for all image stages
@@ -60,23 +59,29 @@ RUN apt-get update -qq \
         ca-certificates \
         bash-completion \
         ssh \
-        python3-venv \
-        python3-dev \
+        # python3-venv \
+        # python3-dev \
         libopenblas0 \
-        python3-full \
+        # python3-full \
         libxml2 \
         vim \
         git \
         gdb \
-        libpng16-16t64 \
-        libjpeg8 \
+        # libpng16-16t64 \
+        libpng16-16 \
+        # libjpeg8 \
+        libjpeg-dev \
         libtiff-dev \ 
         libglu1-mesa \
         libosmesa6 \
-        libavcodec60 \
-        libavformat60 \
-        libavutil58 \
-        libswscale7 \
+        # libavcodec60 \
+        libavcodec-dev \
+        # libavformat60 \
+        libavformat-dev \
+        # libavutil58 \
+        libavutil-dev \
+        # libswscale7 \
+        libswscale-dev \ 
         zlib1g \
 &&  apt-get clean \
 &&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
@@ -88,7 +93,6 @@ RUN python3 -m venv $PYOPT \
 
 FROM runtime as build
 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 # install build packages
@@ -98,7 +102,7 @@ RUN apt-get update -qq \
         cmake \
         make \
         gfortran \
-        python3-dev \
+        # python3-dev \
         pkg-config \
         libxml2-dev \
         ninja-build \
@@ -138,6 +142,10 @@ RUN apt-get update \
 &&  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 RUN pip3 install -r /opt/requirements.txt
 
+# install h5py with MPI enabled
+RUN CC=mpicc HDF5_MPI="ON" HDF5_DIR=${PETSC_DIR} pip3 install --no-cache-dir --no-build-isolation --no-binary=h5py h5py \
+&& pip install --no-cache-dir jupyterlab
+
 WORKDIR /tmp
 COPY --chown=$NB_USER:users . /tmp/underworld2
 WORKDIR /tmp/underworld2
@@ -156,7 +164,6 @@ RUN apt-mark showmanual >/opt/installed.txt
 # Build the final image, a combination of the runtime and build stages
 FROM runtime as final
 
-ARG UBUNTU_VERSION
 ARG PYTHON_VERSION
 
 COPY --from=build --chown=$NB_USER:users /opt /opt