WSKEP news

Once established, the Networks will foster collaborative activities between academic researchers and business representatives at all career stages to identify and develop new approaches to tackle major research challenges and help deliver key benefits to the UK Aquaculture sector. The Networks will be interdisciplinary, working across the boundaries of biological and environmental science. The participation of other disciplines including engineering, economics, social science, remote sensing and computational modelling is strongly encouraged.

NERC and Biotechnology & Biological Science Research Council are inviting proposals for Networks in aquaculture. Researchers may apply to lead an interdisciplinary network to build community and develop research strategy in the UK Aquaculture research base, enabling links to industry and other sector stakeholders. Up to £600K is available for up to two networks. This may be used to fund a full or part-time coordinator, workshops, website and other activities.

More information can be found here.

This project assessed the performance of different types of public water supply systems in England and Wales in a range of droughts, including those that are more severe than the worst droughts in the historical record.

This information was used to identify the relative sensitivity of different supply systems under stress. The results of these ‘stress tests’ will help to improve our understanding of water supply system sensitivity to drought.

You can read the report here.

The National River Flow Archive has released an expanded data download facility which allows users to download data from all the gauging stations held on the national archive. Previously, only data for around 400 gauging stations were accessible for direct download from the NRFA website, with the remaining 1,100 or so requiring users to contact the NRFA by telephone or email to retrieve information and data.

The full station data release means river flow records for around 1,500 gauging stations totalling 59,000 years’ of daily data, are now available to download directly from the NRFA website.

More information can be found here and you can search for data on the NRFA website.

Long-term records of daily weather variables over the UK since 1962 have been re-processed to produce a 1km gridded meteorological and land state dataset for Great Britain, now publicly available through CEH’s Environmental Information Platform.

The dataset, called CHESS (Climate, Hydrological and Ecological research Support System), currently consists of daily mean meteorological variables. It draws largely on MORECS data (temperature, humidity, wind speeds and sunshine hours) downscaled to 1km resolution using information about the impact of topography, such as hills and mountains.

It can be used with the CEH GEAR rainfall dataset to drive other models such as the UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), or to identify meteorological-causal links with the environment of the UK.The dataset is freely available for download and use for research purposes.

More information can be found here.

The Chief Executive of the Environment Agency says revitalising natural landscapes can reduce flood risk.

Sir James Bevan visited the uplands in the Peak District National Park on Friday to see firsthand how the Environment Agency’s investment is supporting the Moors for the Future Partnership in reversing the effects of hundreds of years of industrial pollution and helping to reduce flood risk.

The partnership is leading a series of visits for Environment Agency staff to moorlands in Derbyshire, near to Sheffield, where conservation work has transformed the peat landscape that had been damaged by more than 150 years of pollution from coal-fired factories on either side of the Pennines, and devastating wildfires.

The work also ‘slows the flow’ of water running down from moorland into the River Derwent, which in turn reduces the flood risk and improves water quality for communities in Derbyshire and the Trent Valley.

More information can be found here.

Despite being regarded as a country of fairly inclement weather, the UK has less water available per person than most European nations. Using water more efficiently will help ensure that bills remain affordable and water supplies are reliable now and in the future.

Reducing pressure on water resources is necessary, not only by developing new resources, but also in tackling the inefficient use of water. Being water efficient means taking simple steps to reduce water use and employing water-saving technologies which will also save both energy and money.

Read more in CIWEM's report here.

The Environment Agency has carried out 16,000 inspections and identified around 660 flood defences needing repair work in the wake of record-breaking wet weather in December.

Heavy rain throughout December led to it becoming the wettest month on record, with 14 rivers across the north recording their highest ever flows. Almost 200 Environment Agency river level gauges recorded their highest ever river level, 10 per cent of the total across England. Honister Pass in Cumbria saw the highest amount of rainfall ever in a 24-hour period, as more than 341mm fell.

Environment Agency flood defences protected 12,500 properties during Storm Desmond and 10,900 during Storm Eva but more than 20,000 properties flooded as a result of the extreme weather. 

Mire information about the upcoming recovery and repair projects can be found here.

NERC invites the environmental science community to submit new ideas for strategic research.

NERC is seeking ideas for research challenges that should be priorities for strategic research investment through either highlight topics or strategic programme areas. NERC would welcome ideas from both researchers and those who use environmental science research.

Ideas for new highlight topics should be submitted by 9 May 2016 while ideas for new strategic programme areas should be submitted by 1 September 2016 to be considered in the next round. Guidance is available to explain what we are looking for, how to submit ideas, and how NERC staff can help.

More information can be found here.

Europe’s biggest ever floating solar panel array is being installed on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir as part of Thames Water’s ambitious bid to self-generate a third of its own energy by 2020. 

Just over 23,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will be floated on the reservoir near Walton-on-Thames, utilising a normally redundant suburban space on the surface, following an agreement between Thames Water, Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy.

The innovative floating pontoon will cover around a tenth of the reservoir – enough to fill eight Wembley football pitches.

More information can be found from Thames Water.

The current river basin district (RBD) management plans (RBMPs) published in 2009 have been updated and published today by the Environment Agency.

A RBD covers an entire river system, including river, lake, groundwater, estuarine and coastal water bodies. The RBD RBMPs are designed to protect and improve the quality of our water environment. Good quality water is essential for wildlife, agriculture and business to thrive. And is one of the means for boosting regeneration (both structural and economic), recreation and tourism.

These updated 2015 plans build on the work already done to protect and improve over 9,320 miles of our rivers over the last 5 years. They set out how a minimum of 680 (14%) of waters will improve over the next 6 years from around £3 billion investment.

To see the plans please click here.

Wet and mild conditions again dominated the UK in January contributing to the warmest and wettest November-January on record.  It was the fourth wettest January for the UK (in a series from 1910) with all regions registering above average rainfall; more than double the average was recorded in north-eastern areas and along the south coast.  Although unsettled and stormy at the beginning and end (including named storm ‘Gertrude’ on the 28^th/29^th), a cold snap mid-month brought snow to many regions, with the deepest falls in northern and upland areas.  

The full summary can be found here.

SUMMARY

The outlook for February is for normal to above normal river flows and groundwater levels over the next one to three months for the majority of the UK, whilst parts of eastern and central England are likely to be normal. This spatial distribution reflects the rainfall patterns across the UK during January and early February. Groundwater levels in parts of the southern Chalk are likely to be notably high for the next one to three months, and exceptionally high levels in the Permo-Triassic sandstone of northern England and southern Scotland are likely to persist over the next three to six months. Meteorological projections indicate an equal probability of above and below-average precipitation.

The full Outlook can be found here.

Following Storm Desmond last December, the government launched a National Flood Resilience Review.  The review will be chaired by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Letwin.

The Review will assess how the country can be better protected from future flooding and increasingly extreme weather events.  It will focus on four key areas: updating our climate modelling and stress-testing the nation’s resilience to flood risk; assessing the resilience of our important infrastructure like electricity substations; our temporary defences; and our future investment strategy.

This call for evidence specifically focuses on the need to carry out a new assessment of the damage that extreme rainfall could cause across England. This will focus on the impacts on populated areas including urban areas and crucial elements of infrastructure such as significant roads, bridges, energy infrastructure, water treatment plants, telecoms and hospitals. We want to understand the possible implications of extreme events and to review our current modelling assumptions.

More information can be found here.

If you are interested in joining DREAM to study for a PhD in Big Data, Risk and Environmental Analytical methods, the 2016 call for projects has now been opened for applications, closing on Friday, 26^th February, 2016 at midnight.

Background: The DREAM Centre for Doctoral Training will support three cohorts of 10 students, who will join the programme in October 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. We are now calling for applications for the second Cohort of Dream studentships (commencing October 2016). Two of the studentships in this forthcoming student intake will be interdisciplinary studentships co-funded by ESRC and NERC. These will focus on linking the social science research areas with environmental sciences research areas. The Doctoral studentships and topics we offer are advertised here and will also be disseminated across other routes.

If you are interested in joining us in DREAM to study for a PhD more information can be found here.

Finding new ways to understand how the lives of people in the UK are affected by government decisions is a central aim of the new Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN).

These policy areas operate within complex settings and require a robust approach to their evaluation. Each member of the core CECAN team is a world-leading researcher in their field, has worked with policymakers or in policy-relevant areas, and has already contributed to pioneering methodological approaches to policy evaluation.

Led by Director Nigel Gilbert, Professor of Sociology, the centre will launch on Tuesday 1 March, ahead of a public launch event this summer.

More information can be found on the NERC website.

This report explores the current landscape of the water sector, health and hydration science.

Water is an essential nutrient vital for our health and hydration with several routes for consumption - from plain water, from other drinks, and from food. The body doesn't distinguish. The role of water in improving public health is important especially given the rising problems of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay as it provides a natural alternative to soft or sugary drinks.

The full report can be found here.

Application closing date: 15 February 2016

NERC, Unilever, the Big Innovation Centre and Hackmasters are inviting expressions of interest from academic partners to collaborate in a five-day hack-week focused on the challenge of water scarcity. Academics are invited to apply to take part in this event by completing the form below.

The hack-week will be held in London on 7-11 March 2016, 09:00-18:00 daily. Applicants must attend for the entire week.

For more information about this event, please click here.

The aim of this free symposium is to bring together researchers from the Historic Droughts project and its community of stakeholders and international advisors, with the wider community of scientists and practitioners. A number of speakers will discuss issues related to understanding past droughts in order to inform decision-making in the future.

The event is hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology at its Wallingford site. It is free to attend but spaces are limited.

More information about this event can be found here.

A research initiative which will see six universities collaborate on meeting the water challenges of the next 50 years has been formally launched.

The ‘Twenty65’ project is being carried out by a consortium of academic institutions led by the University of Sheffield, with the other five being Imperial College London, Newcastle University, University of Exeter, The University of Manchester and University of Reading. The project is backed by £3.9M in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

More information about the project can be found here.

For generations, smallholders who live on the products of their livestock have used scouts, indigenous knowledge and “dagu,” or verbal exchange within their semi-nomadic communities, to find good pasture and water sources.  But this traditional form of pastoralism is increasingly difficult to sustain in Ethiopia as rangelands dry up due to prolonged drought linked to the El Niño weather system. The sheer size of Ethiopia's agricultural population and the government's controversial land policies are also shrinking accessible grazing land, pastoral experts and researchers said.

The full story can be found here