Unit of Assessment: Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

REF impact found 235 Case Studies

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Accurately dating the past – OxCal: free software for the calibration of radiocarbon dates

Summary of the impact

OxCal is the most popular software package world-wide for calibrating and analysing dates within the carbon dating process, enabling the accurate dating of objects from the past. The brainchild of Prof. Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU), OxCal is based on chronologies refined by the use of Bayesian statistical methods, and provides users with access to high-quality calibration of chronological data, now the basis for global chronologies. It is available online and free to download, and has played a highly significant role in establishing the ORAU as one of the pre-eminent international radiocarbon dating facilities. Funded by the NERC, and used widely within professional archaeology as well as other disciplines, OxCal has also played a key role in research projects (within Oxford and beyond) brought to the attention of the general public by the media.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Earth Sciences: Geology
History and Archaeology: Archaeology

ARC02 - Impact on Mesolithic heritage preservation, conservation and presentation

Summary of the impact

Founded in York in 1996, the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) has transformed how archaeological research is communicated in the UK, and impacted digital archiving throughout the world. Without the ADS, much of the fragile digital data (often the primary record of sites now destroyed) would have been lost. Instead, they are freely available to all. This impact extends across national heritage agencies, local government, commercial archaeology, and the public. Our resources are widely used with over two million page requests per month; almost half from beyond the HE sector. A recent study has concluded that the ADS is worth £5m per annum to the UK economy (Beagrie & Houghton 2013). The ADS has helped shape the digital preservation policy of English Heritage and informed practice in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany.

Submitting Institution

University of York

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Data Format
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Agricultural Change in the Welsh Marches: its impact on agricultural policy and practice

Summary of the impact

A body of research on agricultural geography, with a strong regional focus on the Welsh Marches (the English counties bordering Wales), has led to changes in conservation policy and practice relating to rare breeds, primarily at the national level but also internationally; it has shaped farming policy at the regional level, particularly in Herefordshire, specifically leading to increased diversification in the farming sector across the county; and it has stimulated policy debate around the place of farming in society.

Submitting Institution

University of Worcester

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Agriculture, Land and Farm Management

An innovative partnership between academic researchers, coastal management groups and end-users delivers targeted research and enhances communication.

Summary of the impact

A research partnership between Edge Hill University and Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council developed innovative methods of identifying gaps in knowledge and understanding about sedimentary coastal dynamics and investigating practitioner needs. The partnership enabled the dissemination of scientific information to audiences across the wider community. The partnership provided a framework which enabled and enhanced integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). Within this framework coastal zone managers were supported in the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies, taking account of both long and short term environmental change. Policy and management decisions are now based upon sound scientific evidence wherever possible, ascertained by research where time allows, with significant scientific, social and policy benefits. Practice elsewhere on the UK's Irish sea coast, and elsewhere in the EU, has been influenced.

Submitting Institution

Edge Hill University

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Oceanography, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Protecting Maritime and Coastal Heritage at home and overseas

Summary of the impact

A programme of research conducted by The Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA) at the University of Southampton has influenced, at a national and international scale, the management and protection of underwater and coastal heritage. The research has directly influenced public policy, nationally through the English Heritage Maritime and Marine Historic Environment Research Agenda, and internationally by underpinning primary legislation and current practice in Uruguay. Capacity building has resulted in new educational infrastructure, the Centre for Maritime Archaeology and Underwater Cultural Heritage (CMAUCH) in Alexandria, Egypt, which has changed attitudes towards maritime heritage throughout the region.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Architecture
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
History and Archaeology: Archaeology

Archaeology and World Heritage Status on the Cape Verde Islands

Summary of the impact

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island nation of approximately 500,000 people off western Africa. Following a history of European colonization, particularly in the context of slave trading, it achieved independence in 1975. Its economy is largely service- and tourism-oriented, making enhanced recognition of its heritage of paramount social and economic importance. At the invitation of the University Jean Piaget, Cape Verde, and working with the country's Ministério da Cultura, the University of Cambridge has conducted excavations since 2006 and trained local archaeologists since 2007. This work helped underpin the Ministry's successful bid, in 2008 to 2009, for Cape Verde's first World Heritage Site (WHS) - overturning a previous negative decision by the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee in 1992.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Other Studies In Human Society
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Archaeology in the City: cultural, educational and environmental benefits from researching post-medieval Sheffield

Summary of the impact

Our research `In the City' has uncovered new histories of post-medieval and modern Sheffield. We have worked with local charities, heritage groups, arts organisations and Sheffield City Council, to transform the historic environment, to make places safer and more accessible for people to enjoy and value, and have used our research to benefit economically and socially deprived communities and particularly young people. Our initiatives have delivered cultural, social, educational, economic and environmental impacts for the people of Sheffield.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Revealing Avebury's prehistoric landscape

Summary of the impact

The University of Southampton's long-term archaeological research at Avebury forms the basis upon which national and international heritage organisations such as the National Trust and UNESCO manage and preserve one of the most important prehistoric landscapes in the world. Local councils have used the research findings to inform their own policy and planning decisions. Research disseminated through museum exhibitions, public engagement events and publications has resulted in increased public interest and understanding of the site, stimulating greater tourism and local economic benefit.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Peru - Aridification and Landscape Modification: Lessons from the Past

Summary of the impact

Palaeoenvironmental research in the Ica Valley of Peru's southern coast is revealing how agriculture acted with climate change to trigger major social upheaval in the past. This history is informing and educating people and policy-makers in the present, thereby sustaining sympathetic land use for the future. Specific impacts include a Defra-funded project on Peruvian biodiversity by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (RBG), the implementation of Peruvian decrees regarding education and forest conservation, and the establishment of forest-management agreements with major landowners.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology
Biological Sciences: Ecology
History and Archaeology: Archaeology

Assessing the Hull Floods of 2007: establishing future flood management and protection strategies for the UK and the region

Summary of the impact

Exceptional rainfall in June 2007 lead to widespread flood damage in the UK; Hull was particularly badly affected with 8600 houses and 1300 businesses flooded, the closure of schools and cancellation of many events. At the instigation of the City Council, Hull University geographers produced two influential reports that explained how and why the flooding happened and what might be done to improve flood readiness for the future.

The reports had impact at a national scale. They fed into the findings of the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (published 7 May 2008) and the Pitt Report (a Government Independent Review, published 25 June 2008), which were both tasked with addressing the summer 2007 floods. Significant elements of `The Flood and Water Management Act' (2010), which was enacted subsequently, were informed by our research.

The reports also impacted at the regional scale. Their findings were adopted by Hull City Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water. Therefore, our research also shaped several practical strategies to improve flood prevention policies and minimise danger, damage, distress and expense in future floods.

Submitting Institution

University of Hull

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

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

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