Environment & Climate Change
61
Keywords
Rivers, coasts, climate, erosion, water quality, flooding
Expertise
The natural world is changing and being shaped by
climatic phenomena, river flows, erosion and the more
severe effects of floods, droughts and other natural
hazards. It is also impacted by human activities.
Our analysis and modelling of these physical processes
can provide insights into the complexities of these
dynamic environments, particularly coasts and rivers,
and the impacts of river and coastal flooding and
erosion. Complex combinations of natural and human
impact variations can occur.
Our research helps to provide evidence and
recommendations for sea and river defences and
schemes for reducing soil erosion, and develop
sustainable solutions, such as the use of natural
sediment circulations and vegetation, that ‘work
with nature’.
We also study longer term environmental changes,
particularly the impact of climate, vegetation and
land use changes. We can look back and use our
observations of an environment to reconstruct
environmental conditions of the past. Similarly, the
modelling of changes and impacts allows us to
develop predictive models, for example for climate
change impact on sea level, on health and disease and
environmental management such as coastal and river
defences on processes and morphology, or how fire
affects vegetation and habitats.
Our physical landscape is vulnerable to gradual change
and sudden events; our analysis and robust models of
the causes, effects and cyclical influences of different
dynamic processes on our environment provides the
insights to plan ahead, prepare for change and work
with nature for sustainable solutions.
Our expertise has also been applied to help identify
deposits of natural resources (eg gravel and sand)
and analyse the likelihood and conditions for
drought in the UK.
Capabilities and facilities
•
Mapping and GIS systems
•
Lab facilities – physical and chemical analysis of
water, sediment and soil
•
Dating of materials and geochronology – OSL,
mineral magnetic, pollen and other techniques
•
Field measurement of environmental changes,
including coring, topographic surveying and
scanning
•
Modelling of climate and environmental changes
•
Numerical and statistical analysis.
Relevant centres and groups
•
Centre for Environmental Change, Adaptation
and Mitigation.
2.3
Earth’s changing environment
Our research helps to provide
evidence and recommendations
for sea defences and schemes
for reducing soil erosion, and
develop sustainable solutions,
such as the use of natural
sediment circulations and
vegetation that ‘work
with nature’.
