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Raising awareness of the rapidity of past sea level change

Summary of the impact

Research at the University of Southampton has redefined understanding of the potential rapidity of sea level rise above the present, and of the relationship between climate change and sea level. It has informed the "worst-case scenario" for climate change flood risk assessment in the UK as well as key adaptation policy documents throughout Europe, North America and Australasia. Impact generation occurs mainly though active public engagement, which ensures widespread international media attention, and through direct interaction with the Environment Agency (EA) and UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) which have now joined the research group in a £3.3 million consortium project to better define the "worst case scenario".

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology, Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Sea-level rise and critical transport infrastructure

Summary of the impact

Research conducted at Plymouth University on the coastal environment has informed climate strategy and transport planning in the UK. The research resulted in the United Kingdom Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) re-analysing and correcting rates of coastal land movement to improve predictions of sea-level change, in its UK Climate Projections science report (Lowe et al. 2009). These data now help underpin government policy related to climate change impacts. A follow-on project, focusing on the impact of sea-level rise on the Dawlish-Teignmouth stretch of the London-Penzance Railway line, was used by Network Rail in the implementation of its climate change adaptation strategy. This stretch of railway is recognised as critical infrastructure as it is the only means of access to west Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall by train from the rest of the country. Devon County Council also used the work to inform its third Local Transport Plan (LPT3) and the future management of coastal infrastructure.

Submitting Institution

Plymouth University

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Assessing the effect of climate change on the flood risk to London to inform flood management strategies

Summary of the impact

Protecting London from the threat of flooding is of prime importance to the nation. Work in the Unit on regional sea-level rise and on the effect of storm surges was used in the Environment Agency's Thames Estuary 2100 (TE2100) plan to assess potential change in risk. The Unit's work estimated a very unlikely maximum rise in sea level of 2.7m by 2100, considerably lower than the previous worst-case scenario of 4.2m. It confirmed that 90 centimetres was the figure that should be used for developing the plan. TE2100 concluded that a second Thames Barrier (estimated cost £10-20 billion at today's prices) would not be needed not by 2030, but may be needed by 2070. Our results have been used to define procedures for the monitoring of regional sea and Thames water levels over the next few decades, and to review decision-making procedures to ensure that the risk of flooding in London is kept within acceptable levels, while avoiding unnecessary costs

Submitting Institution

University of Reading

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Strategic Environmental Assessment

Summary of the impact

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) research conducted in the Spatial Planning and Impact Assessment Research Group (SPIA) since 2004 has examined how policy makers can support a high level of environmental protection through integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of policy. Research has made a key difference to the capacity of policy makers to shape more environmentally sustainable policy through evidence based policy making which is informed by environmental assessment procedures and techniques. Research findings have fed into guidance and other documents of national and international organisations in relation to designing environmentally sustainable policy.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

Measuring Changes in Land and Sea Levels

Summary of the impact

The University of Nottingham has played a key role in shaping public policy in relation to flood risk management. Its work on novel methods of measuring and projecting changes in land and sea levels has provided new information on subsidence in the South East of the UK, leading to revised and more accurate estimates of how flood risk will develop over the course of the 21st century. These insights are being used to help protect more than a million people and billions of pounds' worth of property and are also being applied to major Europe-wide studies intended to inform civil protection agencies, disaster-management organisations, transport authorities and the wider public.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Earth Sciences: Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Engineering: Geomatic Engineering

Informing public perception of the impact of climate change on Earth’s ice masses

Summary of the impact

Supported by world-leading research, Geography and Earth Sciences' Centre for Glaciology (CfG) operates as a highly-effective hub for providing information to the public concerning the relationships between climate change and Earth's ice masses. The impact of this engagement has been to inform the knowledge base of an international audience of people concerning the reality of climate change and its consequences for the cryosphere. This has been achieved through (i) extensive involvement in television, radio and newspaper coverage, (ii) the design and provision of a broad range of innovative internet-based and social media resources, and (iii) authorship and presentation of lectures, books and articles specifically designed to improve public understanding.

Submitting Institution

Aberystwyth University

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology, Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Quatenary Geology: minerals and resource planning in the UK

Summary of the impact

Researchers in the Earth Surface Processes and Environmental Change (ESPEC) Research Group have communicated Quaternary geology to user communities explicitly guiding the location of sites for mineral extraction and infrastructure (airports / wind turbines) in terrestrial and offshore environments. This ranges from contract investigations in Wales, English Heritage Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) research in Kent, Sussex and Lancashire to the current NERC BRITICE-CHRONO Consortium. The understanding provided has informed infrastructural and mineral resource planning, aiding mitigation for heritage and environmental assets. Data are embedded in National and Regional Planning (e.g. Welsh Assembly, Lancashire County Council, Natural England, English Heritage).

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology, Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

ECONOMIC BENEFITS DERIVED FROM EXPLOITATION OF NORTH SEA OIL AND GAS FIELDS

Summary of the impact

Impact: Economic benefits arising from new exploitations of North Sea oil and gas fields (2008 - June 2013), including oil production at the Bentley field by Xcite Energy Ltd and gas production at the Wissey field by Tullow Oil plc.

Significance and reach: The Bentley field produced 47,000 barrels of oil (value ~$4.7M) over the period 2011 — 2012, with an estimated ~900M barrels in place. [text removed for publication].

Underpinned by: Research into the identification of geological features through seismic and sequence stratigraphy, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (1993 - June 2013).

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology, Geophysics
Engineering: Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

Vibration modelling

Summary of the impact

A new hybrid analysis method, arising from research at the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng), unites Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to enable full-spectrum vibro-acoustic analysis of large and complex structures with modest computing resources for the first time. The method also allows for uncertainties in the manufacturing process. This research breakthrough has been exploited by ESI Group (ESI), which is a company that provides virtual prototyping solutions, in commercial software licensed to more than 600 companies across a wide range of industrial sectors to improve product design and performance with regard to vibrations and noise. Typical applications include the prediction and reduction of interior noise in automotive and aerospace structures, and the assessment of launch- induced vibration levels in satellite structures.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics, Information Systems

Dowdeswell Museum

Summary of the impact

Polar research at SPRI has been made accessible to wider audiences through the Polar Museum, which is unique as Britain's only museum dedicated to the Arctic and Antarctic. The Museum's formal plan has at its core the use of displays to communicate SPRI's research findings to a general, non-specialist audience; for example, showing the public how this research is deepening the understanding of environmental problems such as sea-level rise. A complete redesign in 2009- 10 utilised SPRI research in polar science and humanities to underpin museum displays (which had previously related only to polar exploration) and to project the significance of the rapidly changing polar environment — climatic, social and cultural — to a diverse audience (c. 50,000 in 2012) with international reach. Research is communicated through captioned museum exhibits, interactive screens and audio-guides, talks and tours, and Internet resources. Wide secondary reach includes substantial media coverage in newspapers, TV and radio. The Polar Museum was shortlisted for the Art Fund's prestigious Museum of the Year Award in 2011 and for European Museum of the Year in 2012.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology, Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

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