Funding addresses environmental challenges
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will investigate critical challenges facing the UK, thanks to new funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). A £47m investment to several UK research institutes will enable more ambitious, integrated approaches to large-scale research challenges that would not be possible for any single research centre to deliver alone.
The six projects will help society better understand coastal flooding, greenhouse gas emissions, changes in biodiversity and other critical environmental issues. BAS researchers will play key roles in three of these major projects.
Dr Iain Williams, NERC Director of Strategic Partnerships, says:
“This investment in NERC’s research centres will advance our understanding of the drivers of climatic and biodiversity changes, their impact on the UK environment and how we can mitigate and adapt to such changes. By bringing together the wide-ranging expertise and specialist facilities from across NERC’s centres, along with our key partners, these projects will power scientific discoveries that will help us adapt to, tackle or predict the impact of changes to our climate.”
Professor Geraint Tarling from the BAS Ecosystems Team, who’s the lead on the BIOPOLE project, says:
“The productivity of the oceans that supports fisheries and marine food-webs worldwide is heavily reliant on nutrients exported from polar oceans. BIOPOLE will increase our understanding of how these export processes operate and how they are likely to be affected by the rapid changes to ice and temperatures at the poles. We will tackle this problem using the latest autonomous technology, highly advanced computer models and one of the world’s most advanced research vessels, the UK’s new polar ship RRS Sir David Attenborough.”
Further information:
For the first time in NERC’s National Capability funding, project teams submitted plans to consider their environmental and social impact; this encourages the research to be as sustainable as possible and contribute to NERC’s Responsible Research agenda.
Project summaries of the three projects with BAS involvement:
Biogeochemical processes and ecosystem function in a changing Polar system (BIOPOLE), £9m
Led by the British Antarctic Survey, in collaboration with the British Geological Survey, Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, National Oceanography Centre and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Project partners include the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany; University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA; University of Alberta, Canada; University of Bristol, UK; University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen.
Climate change is proceeding faster at the poles than any other region, resulting in sea-ice loss and glacial melting. There is a clear urgency in understanding the full implications of these changes for the polar regions themselves and for the wider Earth system. BIOPOLE will provide a step change in the knowledge and predictive capability concerning how polar ecosystems regulate the chemical balance of the world’s oceans and, through it, their effect on global fish stocks and carbon storage.
Climate change in the Arctic–North Atlantic region and impact on the UK (CANARI), £12m
Led by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, in collaboration with British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, National Centre for Earth Observation, National Oceanography Centre and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Project partner is the Met Office Hadley Centre, UK.
The weather and climate of the UK is shaped by the large-scale circulation of the atmosphere and ocean in the North Atlantic. This project will advance understanding of the impacts on the UK arising from climate variability and change in the Arctic–North Atlantic region, with a focus on extreme weather and the potential for rapid, disruptive change. This will enable the UK to play an internationally leading role in addressing the challenges of understanding regional climate change and provide detailed information about impacts on the UK.
Future impacts risks and mitigation actions (TerraFIRMA), £9.5m
Led by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, in collaboration with British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Polar Observation & Modelling, National Centre for Earth Observation, National Oceanography Centre, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Project partner is the Met Office Hadley Centre, UK.
This project will provide reliable guidance on the risks and impacts of future climate change. It will assess a range of mitigation strategies: impacts on allowable carbon budgets and pathways to Net zero; and wider environmental, economic and societal impacts (e.g., Sustainable Development Goals) and co-benefits (e.g. air quality).