Research fellows
If you are interested in becoming a Cabot Institute research fellow, please visit the Bristol University Fellowships web page for more information.
Dr Dai Yamazaki - JSPS/Cabot Fellow
My research field is global hydrology and water resources, and my specific topic is modelling of hydrodynamics in continental-scale rivers and floodplains. Global river floodplain models are important as a component of earth system models and also helpful for integrated water resources management and flood/drought forecast. My task is to improve the accuracy of global hydrodynamic simulation by incorporating various kinds of information/dataset from field surveys to satellite measurement.
I am also working for NASA/CNES future satellite mission, SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography), which will be launched in 2019. The SWOT will measure spatio-temporal distribution of inland water surface elevations with global coverage at very high resolution using a swath altimeter. I am developing a way to incorporate SWOT observation into my global river-flood model to estimate river channel bathymetry and to realize near real time flood forecast via data-assimilation.
My stay in Bristol is supported by the Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research Abroad by JSPS (the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science). Prof. Paul Bates (Cabot Institute Director) is my host researcher here in Bristol, and I am in corroboration with the hydrology research group in School of Geographical Science.
You can find my detailed information in my research web page.
Dr Joanna House
My research focuses on the carbon cycle; land use change and greenhouse gas emissions; climate impacts on forests; mitigation of climate change through avoided deforestation, forestry and bioenergy; climate mitigation scenarios, emissions pathways and policy implications. I was PI for a joint project between the Environment Agency and QUEST on Climate change and the UK uplands (fate of UK upland peat soil carbon under climate change – implications for ecosystem services and management).
I was a lead author for the IPCC Third Assessment Report (carbon cycle chapter, for which we were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize), and contributing author in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. I was a convening lead author on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (Ecosystem services and climate chapter, for which we received the Zayeed Prize for Environmental Science).
I managed the QUATERMASS project on biospheric climate mitigation (forestry, bioenergy) and was involved with the QUEST-GSI Global Scale Impacts of Climate Change project carrying out specific research on impacts on the forestry sector. I also ran the QUEST Working Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change.
I liaised with policy makers, industry, NGOs, etc. to make sure that the work QUEST funded met the needs of users, and that information exchange is timely and high-impact. I synthesized the science produced, from within the program and in the literature, in response to policy questions and consultations.
I have produced several policy briefings and contributed to reports such as the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (2006) and the Eliasch Review of forests and Climate Change (2008). I regularly respond to government consultations, reviews and questions e.g. for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, The Committee on Climate Change, Defra, BIS and DfID.
Dr Steve Simpson – NERC/Cabot KE Fellow
I am a marine biologist, working on the effects of global environmental change on fish, fisheries and marine ecosystems. My research focuses on effects of warming seas on fish life histories and commercial fisheries, impacts of anthropogenic noise on fish and whole marine ecosystems and impacts of ocean acidification on fish behaviour. You can read more on my research pages.
I am also a Knowledge Exchange fellow, funded by NERC and the Cabot Institute, so alongside my research I am work with research end-users (aka the real world), including policy makers, marine industries, fisheries scientists and conservation groups. I have a diverse range of partners, including Defra, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, the IUCN, the UK Underwater Sound Forum, and the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology, with whom I organise workshops, develop policy documents and policy briefings and build science-industry links to ensure the science we produce is of real value to society.
I am committed to developing a sustainable, productive, prosperous, and aesthetically inspiring marine environment from which future generations can draw economic benefit and enjoyment in equal measures.
Related link: Read Steve's Cabot position paper 2050: Sustainable oceans in a changing climate (March 2012). PDF 132 kb