The aim is to develop a critical mass in the cognate areas of environment and climate change and to attract high-profile recruits with a reputation for excellence not only in their specific area of expertise but also with proven ability to initiate and lead cross-disciplinary research collaboration for the Environment & Climate Change Theme in particular – but keeping in mind cross-Theme potential.
This Theme concentrates on understanding the science of the environment, and especially the impact on human life. Although human society has always had an impact on its environment, first with the development of organised agriculture and then with the industrial revolution, we now know that impact to be global, long-term and potentially threatening to the future of our economy, society and civilisation itself.
To address this challenge, the first aspect is to understand the nature of changes to the environment and the complicated chain of interacting factors that cause them. Secondly, developing knowledge and technologies to minimise negative impacts and adapting our behaviour should be addressed, and thirdly, the potential to advise organisations on methods of measuring and managing their carbon emissions.
Finally, our perception of the climate change problem and willingness to adjust to a low carbon lifestyle also needs to be researched. Combining biologists’ work with the specialist techniques developed by chemists and physicists whose skills, together with those of our mathematicians and statisticians, are needed to build the theoretical models that allow data to be understood.
Finally, our perception of the climate change problem and willingness to adjust to a low carbon lifestyle also needs to be researched. Combining biologists’ work with the specialist techniques developed by chemists and physicists whose skills, together with those of our mathematicians and statisticians are needed to build the theoretical models that allow data to be understood.
Major initiatives include:
- Significant investigation into the physical and ecological basis of the natural environment and the process of chance work in and on it.
- Focus on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Modelling and analysis of population processes in ecology, ranging from predator-prey relations, to contributions to the prediction and control of disease.
- Multi-disciplinary centre in ecology, making full use of our external collaborations in marine sciences and spanning our interests in mitigation of environmental impacts.
- a comprehensive cross-School, multidisciplinary MSc course programme in Climate Change (for more details see links from http://www.postgraduate.hw.ac.uk/academic-life/climate-change-programme.htm)