A two-year ESRC/DFID Joint Scheme-funded research project led by the Global Insecurities Centre, University of Bristol (Professor Mark Duffield) and the Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute (Dr Sarah Collinson).
An "implementation showcase" presentation demonstrating the impact of previous research investments in the UK. Part of the Flooding and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Research Strategy Workshop with Prof Paul Bates.
This project funded by Cabot Institute Open Call funding 2012/2013 looked at melting ice sheets and the impact of this on ocean productivity and biodiversity.
A project that will study diseases and how they are transmitted between wildlife and livestock.
A consultation seminar will be held on sustainable medical education to help research carbon reduction and help transform the health system to be more resilient and health-promoting.
Tamsin Edwards (Geographical Sciences ) and co-applicant Jonty Rougier ( Maths) won funding from the Cabot Institute's annual Open Call 2012 / 2013 to put on a Black Box Workshop. Here they outline what this is and why such a workshop is important.
Harmful insects can be controlled by insecticidal traps, which often rely on olfactory cues to attract the target insects. However, exploiting insect colour preference to design more efficient traps has proved a successful, low environmental impact technique for one bloodsucking insect, the tsetse fly, which carries trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in Africa. This prompts the question whether a more complete understanding of the visual systems of disease causing insects and pests would allow us to extend this approach to other species. By applying modern techniques and insight from a different discipline, Ecology of vision, to insect pest control, we have the opportunity to better understand key visual cues, improve trap design and ultimately reduce crop damage and the incidence of disease.
This scoping project will use existing samples of volcanic ash from the recent Eyjafjallajokull and Grimsvotn eruptions and modify existing experimental apparatus located at the University of Oxford to measure the electrical charge generated as ash samples fall under gravity.
We don’t know how roots stabilise soils. This ignorance could prove costly as population growth demands more food, fuel, timber and fibre production from plants and soils, impacting on water, air and carbon cycles. Climate change may compound the problem by bringing more frequent extreme weather likely to exacerbate soil loss.
An investigation into the potential of social media and mobile apps to support climate change adaptation and resilience activities.
There has been very little written which explores the impact of climate change in relation to certain marginalised groups, including disabled people. We have undertaken a short scoping study to map out the issues, associated relevant literature and formulated pertinent research questions. This included conversations with relevant voluntary organisations, NGOs, environmental groups and groups of disabled people who offered useful insights into the issues raised.
Tungurahua’s 1773 eruption served as the kernel of an idea that has resulted in a major cross-faculty initiative to study the interconnections between climate, volcanoes, and earthquakes, and their social and economic effects over time.
This seminar series brought together a range of speakers from different disciplinary backgrounds, and audiences comprised of academics, students, representatives of industry and members of the public, to reflect on the question What should the future for nuclear power be?
"Geoengineering", the intentional modification of our climate to counteract global warming, is a possible solution, or at least part-solution, to the critical issue of climate change.
The SYMPACT project considers a number of questions on the environmental impact of the digital transformation. To tackle these questions the project will develop a new modelling framework which combine systems modelling, environmental life cycle analysis, scenario development and qualitative representation of uncertainty.
Research being conducted across the Schools of Biological Sciences, Geographical Sciences, and Chemistry is investigating different ways in which crops can be used to help mitigate global warming.
Our research in this area, lead by Professor Richard Evershed, builds upon our identification of bacteria actively oxidising atmospheric methane (Nature 2000), with the aim of linking the capacity of soil methane removal to the activity of these vital bacteria.
The main goal in flood forecasting is to provide reliable information to the general public, local authorities, and emergency services under the threat of potential flooding.
Our research at the University of Bristol has shown that localised foci of persistent disease exist on particular farms, largely in upland farming systems, which act as reservoirs of infection.
To make efficient and informed decisions for catastrophic earthquake risk mitigation, it is essential to develop a viable seismic loss estimation tool for multiple buildings.
The Veterinary School has worked with the Tubney Charitable Trust to tackle the problems of lameness and feather pecking.
Bristol academics lead the field to develop understanding of long-term processes that control the quality and quantity of available freshwaters, and how this is affected by human activity (i.e. land use and land management), and past, present and future climate.
Working in the South West of England (the hot spot of the organic farming in the UK), researchers at the University of Bristol, under the lead of Professor Jane Memmott, compared biodiversity and pest control on 10 organic farms and 10 conventional farms.
Composites (glass or carbon fibre reinforced polymers) show great potential for enhanced design flexibility, durability and performance of new and existing civil structures. To realise this potential, rigorous theoretical work and large-scale tests are being pursued at Bristol, with industrial support.
Recent sequencing and public release, by Bristol, Liverpool and the John Innes Centre, of 95% of the wheat genome means that wheat breeders can now call upon almost any wheat gene, including those responsible for disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Numerical models of loss from flood hazard lie at the base of an uncertainty cascade influenced by uncertainties in precipitation, transformation of precipitation into runoff and hydraulic routing of runoff over complex topography.
The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) has a leading reputation in composite rotor blade research. This is directly relevant to the Wind and Tidal Power industries, where composite materials are widely used to meet strength and fatigue life requirements, whilst minimising structural mass.
Collaboration between modellers from the School of Geographical Sciences and specialists in public service evaluation and delivery, has resulted in a new cross-disciplinary platform for measuring the effectiveness of landslide mitigation in vulnerable urban communities.
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a new public transport mode that is more effective, more convenient and more sustainable than the car.
The VUELCO project consortium has come together for a multi-disciplinary attack on the origin, nature and significance of volcanic unrest from the scientific contributions generated by collaboration of ten partners in Europe and Latin America.
The Aquatest Research Programme is an international, multi-disciplinary consortium led by the University of Bristol. The aim is to deliver a water test that can be used widely in developing countries, with a sustainable basis for manufacturing, distributing and marketing the Aquatest device.
Aeolus is an annual international competition, where teams race vehicles powered only by wind turbines.
Models used to predict how much ash is pumped into the atmosphere and where it goes during a volcanic eruption are being informed by world-leading volcanology experts from the University of Bristol.
Conservation management plans for one of Bristol’s historic woodland sites are being shaped by new findings about the complex reproductive biology of some rare tree species.
A two-dimensional flood inundation model has helped advance the predictive tools used to generate national flood maps, assess flood risk for the global insurance and re-insurance industry and estimate flood damage. The model, LISFLOOD-FP, has served as a blueprint and proof of concept for the multi-million pound flood risk management industry that impacts tens of millions of people annually.
A suite of sophisticated molecular and stable isotopic techniques developed by organic chemists at the University of Bristol has proven to be a powerful diagnostic tool for analysing organic materials.
Changing climate patterns are likely to put ewes at higher risk of parasitic disease, which could have important implications for farmers.
It all started with handing out 1,000 vials containing ‘alien bugs’ in Bristol’s shopping hub of Cabot Circus. Two years later, Conker Tree Science, a hypothesis-led citizen science project, has engaged thousands of people across the UK and generated important data about the spread of an invasive leaf-mining moth.
