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NEWSLETTERSPRING 2016

Welcome to the Spring 2016 Geography department newsletter. Our cover image was taken on Glastonbury Tor during the 2015 Bath fieldtrip - there are more images from this trip inside. This edition also features news of our forthcoming fieldtrips to Belize, the USA, Portugal and Sweden. Student and graduate successes are highlighted and we also cover the activities of the popular Geography Society. Two of our academics have recently gained media coverage for their high profile research and the newsletter showcases their work alongside coverage of an international project helping to combat soil erosion and resulting siltation in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Dr Nichola Harmer

GEOGRAPHYWITHPLYMOUTHUNIVERSITY

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Volunteer teaching in New Delhi is rewarding experience for Plymouth Geographer Rosie

“In August 2015, I took it upon myself to arrange a trip to India for three weeks to do voluntary work. This decision was driven by my desire to help out and contribute to one of the fastest developing countries in the world, and also to make good use of free time.

During my first week I visited India’s most famous landmarks. The Taj Mahal was undoubtedly the most breathtaking of them all. This week helped me to acclimatise to India’s seemingly chaotic culture. It felt busy, dangerous, and relentless and took a lot of getting used to.

In the following two weeks I taught children at a school in a New Delhi slum. The children were eager to learn and were overjoyed with any kind of praise. It was challenging to work with an education system so different to ours. However, this didn’t stop me from appreciating the opportunity I had in helping children to improve their English skills.

During weekends I spent my time in Rishikesh, a city beside the Ganges River, and would explore the local markets. Silver jewellery was abundant, extremely cheap and often my favourite buy! India is a colourful, vibrant and welcoming place that offers a very unique cultural experience. It is a destination I would highly recommend to anyone making travel plans.”

Rosie McKeown, Stage Two Geography.

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In 2013 former Plymouth geography student Daniel Graham and his twin brother Jake set out on an ambitious 3,000-kilometre walk across Europe to raise money for the charity Water Aid. Now Daniel’s account of the journey has been published in his book A Walk to the Water: six million steps to the Mediterranean Sea, which details the challenging and inspiring five-month expedition.

Daniel graduated from Plymouth with a BSc Geography in 2009 and spent six years travelling and working overseas before embarking on the challenge to walk from his home in Bristol, unsupported and on a tight budget, through the Benelux countries, to the French Alps and finally the Mediterranean Sea. The walk raised over £7000 for Water Aid, a charity which helps transform lives with water and sanitation, and Daniel is currently planning his next expedition.

A Walk to the Water is published by Silverwood Books and is available in booksellers or online at: http://silverwoodbooks.co.uk

Geography student on marine internshipFinal Year Geography student Autumn Elbourn recently returned from a three-month marine conservation internship in Key West, Florida with the education conservation charity, Reef Relief.

She taught schoolchildren aged 3-13 about marine ecosystems and ecology, climate change, marine pollution, marine policies and species protection schemes. She participated in marine buoy maintenance, snorkel patrols and reef surveys, and helped raise social awareness at local environmental events whilst collecting data for her dissertation on challenges facing marine conservation in the Keys.

Autumn is about to start her second placement in Cambridge working for a rural conservation charity which focuses on educating school groups on ecology, geology, impacts of global warming, and local species diversity.

Geography graduate’s epic walk for Water Aid described in new book

Rosie in front of the spectacular Taj Mahal

Autumn leading a reef dive

Daniel trekking through the Doubs River Gorge in France

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Melting Scandinavian ice provides missing link in Europe’s final Ice Age storyA paper co-authored by Plymouth Geography Associate Professor Dr Nicki Whitehouse, which describes a breakthrough in scientific understandings of historic climate change, has recently been published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. The article describes how molecular-based moisture indicators, remains of midges and climate simulations have provided climate scientists with the final piece to one of the most enduring puzzles of the last Ice Age.

Nicki and her former PhD student, Dr Jenny Watson, who now works as a scientific advisor for the Scottish Government, were part of an international team of scientists, led by Swedish researchers from Stockholm University. The research was carried out in partnership with UK researchers from the Natural History Museum (NHM) London. The team found evidence in the sediments of an ancient Swedish lake that it was the melting of the Scandinavian ice sheet that provides the missing link to what occurred at the end of the last Ice Age.

Francesco Muschitiello, a PhD researcher at Stockholm University and lead author of the study, said: “Moisture-sensitive molecules extracted from the lake’s sediments show that climate conditions in Northern Europe became much drier around 13,000 years ago.”

Steve Brooks, Researcher at the NHM, added: “The remains of midges, contained in the lake sediments, reveal a great deal about the past climate. The assemblage of species, when compared with modern records, enable us to track how, after an initial warming of up to 4° Centigrade at the end of the last Ice Age, summer temperatures plummeted by 5°C over the next 400 years.”

Plymouth’s Dr Nicola Whitehouse explained: “The onset of much drier, cooler summer temperatures, was probably a consequence of drier air masses driven by more persistent summer sea-ice in the Nordic Seas.”

The project leader, Professor Barbara Wohlfarth from Stockholm University, concluded: “The Scandinavian ice sheet definitely played a much more significant role in the onset of this final cold period than previously thought. Our teamwork highlights the importance of paleoclimate studies, not least in respect to the ongoing global warming debate.

The paper, Fennoscandian freshwater control on Greenland hydroclimate shifts at the onset of the Younger Dryas, is available at: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151117/ncomms9939/full/ncomms9939.html

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Study site at Hasseldala port, Sweden Core showing late glacial sequence

images courtesy of Prof Barbara Wohlfarth, Stockholm University

Sea-level rise to cause increasing loco-commotion on south west rail line Former and current Plymouth Geographers have recently gained significant media coverage of their research into the effects of sea level rise on south west rail services.

The study by researcher Dr David Dawson, who studied for his PhD at Plymouth, Jon Shaw, Professor of Transport Geography at Plymouth and former Plymouth professor Roland Gehrels (now at York University) demonstrated that current levels of disruption on rail services to and from the South West of England could rise by more than 300 per cent by 2040 and by up to 1170 per cent by 2100. Rail services could be disrupted for more than ten per cent of each year by 2040 and by almost a third by 2100.

The research, published in the Journal of Transport Geography, focuses on the Dawlish to Teignmouth stretch of the London to Penzance route, which was closed for two months in 2014 due to coastal storms. But the authors say there could be similar implications for other vulnerable stretches of railway throughout Wales, South East England, the Cumbria coast and Scotland, as well as internationally.

Jon Shaw said: “Billions of pounds have been committed to the HS2 rail link, but our predictions suggest that just eight years after its completion, rail users in the South West will be facing a situation where their only service cannot function for 40 days each year. The closure of the line at Dawlish in 2014 was unprecedented, but it had significant knock-on effects for the whole South West in both economic and social terms. It was a demonstration of the threats posed to the region’s infrastructure, and this study is a further reminder of the potential impact future climate change could have.”


Students visit best of the west in semester one fieldtrip The famous seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare was a popular new fieldwork destination this academic year on the annual Stage One South-west England field trip.

In glorious autumn sunshine, students learned about the history of the Victorian resort town, visiting the dilapidated Birnbeck pier (recently further damaged by Storm Frank), sea front flood defences, and the site of the Banksy Dismaland phenomenon.

The student groups then embarked on their own mini-research projects in the town, including surveying the contribution of arts and culture projects to the local economy, measuring wind speed and temperatures at different locations to establish urban micro-climates, and plotting retail and tourism uses as an indication of socio-economic changes and the characteristics of tourism in the town.

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Over 140 students and thirteen staff took part in the four-day field trip, which was based in Bath, but which also covered Glastonbury, the Somerset Levels and Cheddar Gorge.

During the four days, students had a chance to visit the Roman Baths at night to hear from museum staff about the ancient complex. They climbed to the top of Cheddar Gorge to learn about the geology and land use of the area and to enjoy the stunning vistas across Somerset; and they also walked up Glastonbury Tor, visited Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve on the Avalon Marshes, and carried out coring in the Somerset Levels to help understand past climate change and sea level change.


Final year Geography students gearing up for fieldtrips worldwideAs our Stage Four students put the finishing touches to their dissertations, most of them are also looking forward to fieldtrips to exciting worldwide destinations for the final module of their Geography degrees before graduation.

Fieldtrips this summer include the tiny Central American country of Belize, The Pacific North West of the USA, Portugal and Sweden.

Professor Chris Balch, Belize field trip leader, explained students will be based at the Monkey Bay study centre in the first week. “This will involve a series of trips exploring the natural and built environment of this former British colony on the western shores of the Caribbean. During the second week students will undertake projects ranging from forest and heritage conservation to sustainable tourism and urban development. Our last trip will be to Caye Caulker. It's a tough assignment!”

The small island of Caye Caulker in Belize

The route of the Pacific North West USA field trip

In Portugal, students will stay in the rural Algarve and study features and geographical themes associated with this amazing Mediterranean climate zone located on the Atlantic coast of Europe. The field sites are within two of Portugal’s national parks, and subject to extra protection and control. The students will have the opportunity to experience the real Algarve environment, and explore some of the unique geography found in this part of the Iberian Peninsula.

The field course in the USA is structured as a road trip with staff and students visiting Washington State, Oregon and Idaho. Mount St. Helens will be one of the trip highlights, with students also travelling the spectacular Columbia River Gorge, learning about about water rights in Richland, and visiting the two big urban centres of Seattle and Portland.

Developing new techniques for tackling soil erosion in Ethiopia and Tanzania Four visiting scientists from universities in Tanzania and Ethiopia worked with Geographers in Plymouth last semester to help pioneer and practice cutting edge techniques for understanding and combatting soil erosion and resulting siltation in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

The scientists are part of the European-funded international IMIXSED project, co-ordinated by Plymouth Geography Professor Will Blake, which is helping develop tools for sediment management. IMIXSED is short for ‘Integrating isotopic techniques with Bayesian modelling for improved assessment and management of global sedimentation problems’. The research project aims to combine the strengths of isotopic sediment tracer technology in the EU with ecological source apportionment models developed by US scientists, to deliver a powerful tool to combat threats to global food and water security. The tool will be showcased in Tanzanian and Ethiopian water-supply catchments where sediment and nutrient pollution from agriculture threatens food, water and energy security.


During their visit the four scientists worked in Plymouth University’s laboratories and in the field at Bidwell Brook, near Totnes, collecting and analysing sediment samples and practicing the IMIXSED methodologies. This UK-based work is linked to a local wetland restoration programme. They also spent time with project partners at the University of Liverpool, Ghent University and at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, in Spain, before returning to Tanzania and Ethiopia to apply the new model to help address problems of soil erosion in their countries.

Dr Amsalu Nebiyu and his colleague Bayu Dume are researchers at Jimma University in South West Ethiopia, an area dominated by coffee growing and where soil erosion is linked to de-forestation and high rainfall. Soil erosion is also leading to the silting up of a large hydroelectric dam, leading to potential energy security issues. Amsalu explained: “We have gained techniques and skills in Plymouth and will apply these in our catchments to identify potential erosion hotspot areas and sediment areas and will then adopt these as management tools. But what we are realising from this research is that the background to the issues we are trying to address is not as simple as some policy documents in the past have put it. So it requires a broader, in-depth understanding and it is possible now to give some more comprehensive

suggestions and recommendations to the local administration and government. ”

Dr Linus Munishi from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Tanzania, who was accompanied by his colleague Dr Kelvin Mtei explained: “Our site is focused on the Lake Manyara Basin where we have more or less the same sediment and soil erosion problems as in the Ethiopian site but the challenges are different in terms of socio-economic activities, biodiversity concerns, agricultural production and livelihood activities, which are all affected by the siltation problems”. He explained that their time in Plymouth had been very successful in providing an introduction to the new tools: “Now the major challenge is to ascertain the causes and consequences at a local level to see whether these techniques could help in addressing these problems on a wider scale and to provide some definitive recommendations in terms of future land use and management”

The project is funded through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) programme. The visitors will return to Plymouth later in 2016 with samples from their study sites in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

For more information on the IMIXSED project see:

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/school-of-geography-earth-and-environmental-sciences/imixsed-project

News from GeogSocGeogSoc President Hannah Fishwick writes: “we’ve had an exciting first term, with our football and netball teams as well as our socials, most recently the GeogSoc Winter Ball to end the year. We have also got a group training for the Plymouth half marathon in April, so if you are interested in getting fit and raising money for some great charities, get involved! Next term we are looking forward to getting involved with some volunteering events, as well as more walks and socials. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact a committee member!”

GeogSoc Winter Ball a resounding successMore than one hundred Geography students danced the night away at a winter ball held just before the festive break. The event was organised by Stage Two Geography student Ellen White with the Geography Society. Ellen said: “The event was a great success with 101 guests. We had a beautiful three course meal, with welcome drinks and wine on the table in the Ballroom at the New Continental Hotel. Everyone looked fantastic and really made an effort to dress up for the evening. Music went on until 1am, with a busy dance floor for most of this time, and many people going on afterwards”!

Photos courtesy of Ali Blackmore


GeogSoc Football top of the leagueThe Geography Society has two football teams in three different intramural leagues. GeogSoc Tornadoes, run by second year Geographer David Waterson, are currently top of their league after winning all three of their games. GeogSoc Hurricanes run by Rory O’Reilly, a third year Geographer, play in two intramural leagues, one on a Wednesday and one on a Sunday. Similarly to the Tor-nadoes, the Hurricanes have won all the three of their Wednesday league games and are currently joint 1st with Business Society Harriers. The Hurricanes are also unbeaten in their Sunday league, scoring 31 goals and only conceding one. It has been a good year so far for the football teams and long may it continue!

GeogSoc Netball winnersIt was a really successful 2015, with two teams entering the intramural league and 20-30 students regularly attending training. Our Third Year team (GeogSoc Sharks) won all of their games in semester one and our first and second year team (GeogSoc Tigers) won two out of four games. GeogSoc also had a team in the charity netball tournament to raise money for When You Wish UK, which came second in its pool. Both teams have improved hugely with each training session and work incredibly well together. In the New Year the league will re commence and both teams will continue to improve and put everything into each game! In the next few weeks we will also resume going to Brass Monkey on a Friday evening for a few drinks with the guys from GeogSoc Football.

Graduate Profile- Amy KhanWhere were you born and brought up?

I was born and brought up in Bromley, in the suburbs of South London/North Kent. It is still debatable whether or not I’m a true Londoner!

What did you study in your degree and what grade did you get?

I achieved a 2:1 in BSc Geography with most, if not all, of my modules specialising in Physical Geography. I preferred studying the physical features that shaped the Earth along with understanding the effects of climate change. Tectonic Geomorphology, and Cold and Coastal Environments were my favourite modules, which were complemented by the field trips, especially to Iceland! Although my degree was based on physical Geography my dissertation, believe it or not, was human based. I was curious about understanding why young children are obsessed with their appearance in society today. It just goes to show that you can take any social topic, collate the right data from the right audience, and turn it into an interesting research project!

Why did you choose to study geography?

It sounds a bit clichéd but Geography has always been an interest since primary school! Making volcanoes from papier-mâché was the real decision maker. My interest in climate change persuaded me to study further and understand how our day-to-day activities affect the Earth’s climate in the long term. I guess I wanted to save the world from Global Warming. And of course because of the field trips!

What were the highlights of your degree? What did you particularly enjoy about studying geography?

The main highlight was finding out that I had achieved a

2:1. I had struggled from the start and always doubted myself, but the sweat, blood and tears combined with late nights that I had put into my work really did pay off. I had never been so proud! The most amazing field trip to Iceland was another highlight. Being able to study glaciers in lectures and then having the opportunity to see them and actually walk on them, was just phenomenal. I knew I had studied the right degree! Having easy access to Dartmoor and nearby coastlines really complemented my learning experience. Plymouth is set in such an ideal place for a physical geographer - it really was the icing on the cake!

What have you done since you graduated?

I was very lucky as I walked straight into a job, which was sorted months before I graduated! I actually wanted to work with the company as part of the Work Based Learning module, but it wasn’t great timing for them and they asked me to contact them in the future. A year later, we arranged an interview and a few weeks after that (on my way to another interview), I was offered the job! I still can’t get over how lucky I was!

What job are you in now?

I now work as an Environmental Consultant for a small business, Lustre Consulting Limited, located at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent. My job is extremely varied, which can range from being on site for weeks, to being in the office a few hours. We specialise in land contamination and brownfield regeneration. I don’t really have one specific responsibility, but I work with the rest of the team to make sure we get the work done! Tasks include writing up Phase I Desk Studies (looking up the history of the site, determining the risks to human

Crannog researchers pioneer aDNA analysis to cast light on early Celtic societiesPlymouth Geographers Dr Nicki Whitehouse and Dr Kim Davies are leading exciting new research to shed light on the social roles and uses of crannogs, ancient island dwellings mostly found on lakes and mires in the north of Ireland and Scotland.

The AHRC funded project: ‘Celtic Connections and Crannogs’ is a collaborative project with researchers at the University of Southampton (Professor Tony Brown, Professor Pete Langdon and Dr Maarten van Hardenbroek) Newcastle (Dr Andrew Henderson and Dr Helen Mackay) and Queen’s University Belfast (Dr Finbar McCormick, Dr Emily Murray). Project partners include Historic Scotland, AOC Archaeology Group and Northern Ireland’s Environment Agency, NEA.

Nicki explained that relatively little is known about the role of crannogs, many of which were built in the Iron Age and used up until the medieval period: “Were they long-lived or restricted to a short period of use, permanent settlements, seasonally occupied or ‘boltholes’? Were they functional for storage, craft or manufacture and/or ritual sites or did they have a defensive/protective function for the elite?”

She explained that the recovery of several high status Christian artefacts has also raised questions around the role of crannogs in the spread of Christianity through the Celtic world, in a region with almost apparent isolation from Roman Britain and the rest of the Roman Empire, to the south and east.

The project will use archaeological excavation and palaeoenvironmental techniques to trace the signal of the crannogs in the surrounding lake sediments in order to help better understand the crannogs as both a cultural and environmental


health depending on the contaminants on site), carrying out Site Investigations which involve taking soil samples, understanding the strength of soils and determining the infiltration rate of the soils for future developments. I also carry out gas monitoring and groundwater monitoring, and validate topsoil samples. Every site is always different which makes my job interesting. Not only that, I travel around the country, meet so many different people and drive our company van - all expenses paid!

How has your geography degree helped you to get (and do) the job you do now and how useful has it been in your career so far?

It may seem really simple, but actually knowing what to include and how to write a structured interpretive report, has really been beneficial. Spending time at Plymouth has really enhanced my time management and communication

skills; I thank Freshers’ week for the latter! Even the Work Based Learning module was an excellent opportunity to sharpen up on my professionalism; it enabled me to interact with people with significant responsibilities and to question their career choices, without being too nosey! I cannot thank Plymouth University enough for the support it has given me.

Did you expect or plan to be doing what you are doing now? Any plans for the future?

I knew that I had always wanted to get a job within the ‘environment sector’, so getting one that relates to my degree was a huge bonus! Plans for the future? I’d like to own my own business, and probably get onto the property ladder quite early. But with regard to my career, I still don’t know the answer to that dreaded question – ‘what do you want to be when you’re older?’ Knowing that my degree covers a variety of professions and with a few years of consulting under my belt, I’m fairly confident I am capable of applying for jobs, ranging from teaching to surveying.

Would you recommend others to study geography for a degree?

Indubitably! Geography is such a diverse subject; it allows you to develop a variety of skills, even if it’s out in the field or on a computer. Gaining practical skills including report writing or describing different soil types can be extremely beneficial towards any career choice, as I have found out in mine. I’m pretty biased, but if you enjoy travelling and are interested in the way the world works, socially, physically or both, then Geography’s your subject!

Lough Na Crannagh, N Ireland. An example of a crannog.


phenomenon that link Iron Age and Medieval communities of SW Scotland and N Ireland.

At Plymouth University, Dr Kim Davies will focus on palaeoentomological proxies in her role as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant. These will include Coleoptera (beetles) and ectoparasites (fleas, lice) which will provide insights into crannog function (food storage, human/animal waste, living conditions) and Chironomids (non-biting midges), which will provide an understanding of the local environmental conditions across the period of crannog construction, use and abandonment. Dr Katie Head, Technical Specialist (palaeoecology) in Geography, is also assisting the project with her palynological expertise. She will be examining the pollen in order to reconstruct the vegetation of the past, such as determining land use practices (arable/pastoral farming) at the sites.

Occupation of crannogs or human activities on the crannogs will be traced through geochemical techniques to be completed at the partner institutions of Southampton and Newcastle. In addition to the lake sediments, experimental work will be undertaken to extract aDNA from the archaeological excavations. This will be one of the first uses of aDNA barcoding in environmental archaeology and the corresponding lake sediment cores will maximise its archaeological value.

The debate about Crannog longevity, continuity and function is integral to the wider discussion of Celtic culture and connectivity across the Irish Sea from the Iron Age through to the Medieval period.

In July 2015, members of the project joined AOC Archaeology Group at the Black Loch of Myrton excavations in SW Scotland to collect archaeological samples and corresponding lake sediments from nearby. This site will be very important for the project, as it is one of only a few sites that have been fully excavated and the timing of the excavation allows for aDNA and palaeoenvironmental data to be collected alongside archaeological evidence. Further work on the site is planned for April 2016.

Three undergraduate students in Geography will be undertaking their dissertations as part of the project team, undergoing analyses of fossil pollen and Chironomids, with further opportunities also available.

Kim Davies and Maarten van Hardenbroek coring at Lough Enagh, N Ireland - photo by Helen Mackay

A beetle elytron (forewing) - photo by Kim Davies

A chironomid (non-biting midge) head capsule - photo by Kim Davies

Work-based learning module provides Geography and Ocean Science student with valuable experience in coastal monitoring

A work placement with Plymouth Coastal Observatory has helped provide Stage Four Geography with Ocean Science student Joshua Webborn with valuable experience and even gained him a job interview with the organisation.

Plymouth Coastal Observatory (PCO) is part of a national network of six individual regional coastal monitoring programmes around the UK that collect and analyse data in a systematic manner to accommodate coastal and engineering management needs.

The overall aim of the programme is to produce a standard, cost effective and repeatable method of monitoring the coastline in the Southwest. This is made possible by a dedicated, specialist team of three Coastal Process Scientists that analyse and quality check all of the data.

Joshua explained: “As part of my work based learning module on my Geography with Ocean Science degree, I completed 100 working hours on placement with Plymouth Coastal Observatory”.

His main role throughout his placement was to write a scientific report entitled ‘The impacts of the 2013/2014 storms on Seaton beach, Cornwall, UK’ and he also developed his ability to analyse and assess different data sets from topographic to LiDAR data.

Joshua said: “I have used and built upon my surveying skills by assisting the PCO team carrying out beach surveys using RTK GPS in a systematic manner and understanding the essential precision of accuracy while surveying. It has been extremely relevant to my degree, as it has provided me with extended knowledge of the coastal environment and the processes that occur. It has also provided me with the skill set needed to pursue a career in coastal processes which I have always envisaged and has led to an interview for a job with Plymouth Coastal Observatory”.

Joshua on a survey with PCO at Seaton beach, Cornwall


New Publications Climate GovernanceProfessor Ian Bailey is among a select number of contributors to the new Research Handbook on Climate Governance published by Edward Elgar. The book draws on contributions from 70 leading scholars of climate governance to provide a state-of-the-art assessment of the challenges and prospects of meeting the challenges

of mitigating and adapting to climate change. Ian’s chapter, co-authored with Dr Piers Revell from International Relations, examines the need to reinvigorate academic analysis of the nature, causes and consequences of political conflict in shaping the ability of the international community, national governments and non-state actors to address climate change.

Staff NewsInvestigating the development of Southern hemisphere Emissions Trading SchemesProfessor Ian Bailey recently completed research trips to New Zealand and Australia investigating the introduction and design of national emissions trading schemes.

Emissions trading has emerged in recent years as a key policy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. Schemes currently operate in the EU, California, the north East USA, New Zealand and South Korea, while China recently announced that it will introduce a national emissions trading scheme in 2017 following experiments in city/regional emissions trading.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and coordinated by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, and examines how countries might learn from each other on how to design emissions trading schemes to ensure that they deliver sustained and affordable reductions in emissions in the energy, manufacturing, transport and land-use sectors.

Results from Ian’s investigations in Australia and New Zealand will be combined with other country studies with the aim of helping to inform the design of the Chinese scheme and a possible future US federal trading system.

London MarathonGeography Lecturer Richard Yarwood is running this year’s London marathon to raise money for Christian Aid, which is a development charity working to alleviate poverty throughout the world. You can sponsor Richard and follow his progress at:

https://www.justgiving.com/Richard-Yarwood4/ A sponsorship form is available in the SoGEES office.

Grant Successes

Alex Taylor (the School’s recently appointed CoRIF laboratory technician), along with Will Blake, Rupert Goddard and colleagues in BEACH group (Sean Comber, Paul Worsfold and Alan Tappin), has been awarded a Defra research contract (£22k) to explore nutrient dynamics in the West Sedgemoor SSSI on the Somerset Levels.

Alex has also been awarded, with Will Blake, Rupert Goddard and Sean Comber, a Natural England research contract (£22k) to assess the suitability of potential Freshwater Pearl Mussel translocation sites in the River Clun. This is in partnership with Westcountry Rivers Trust.

Will Blake, along with Alex Taylor and Andra Iurian, has been awarded €8k by the International Atomic Energy Agency to develop a ‘Comprehensive illustrated guideline on the advanced use of Be-7 as soil tracer for assessing erosion and sedimentation rates’.

Winning photo captures sharing of wisdom between the generationsProfessor Dave Gilvear has had his winning photo “Salmon fishing for the Future” used as the front cover of a new book. Entitled Visions of Sustainability, the book includes photographs entered into a 2015 sustainability photographic competition. Dave’s photo shows his daughter

discussing fishing flies with a local salmon fisherman on the River Forth in Scotland. A number of the other photographs in the book were taken by Geography staff including images by Jamie Quinn and Stephen Essex.


geography - university of plymouth · extremely cheap and often my favourite buy! india is a...

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