Wetlands can provide several environmental benefits to both human beings and wildlife. However, to ensure that wetlands function sustainably, designers need to understand where and how water is being used. This has been studied using an instrument called a lysimeter which measures evaporation from patches of wetland surface containing varyious kinds of vegetation.
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Regarding the establishment of wetland vegetation, we are researching several different methods - such as seeding, plug planting and stem cutting – and we are comparing the costs and benefits of these methods. The results will be valuable to those making decisions about how to create new wetlands sites across the UK. More information >
Wetlands are often constructed within wastewater treatments plants where they are used to ‘polish’ the effluent to the high standard needed for discharge into rivers. Such as wetlands are often referred to as reedbeds. Our research here is about understanding how the water flows through the reedbed and what can be done to prevent the reedbed from becoming clogged. Case study >
Biodiversity loss is increasingly moving up the business and political agenda and is seen as being an integral part of sustainable development. Our current research aims to both contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity in practical terms, and to provide tools which will enable business to manage their biodiversity responsibilities. In practical terms our focus is on refining water budget design methodologies for wetland habitats, together with their management, restoration, creation and enhancement. From the business perspective research involves biodiversity risk to focal companies within their supply chain, guidance on selection of key performance indicators, and ensuring the continuity of biodiversity throughout the lifecycle of development projects.
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Predictions of climate change paint a troublesome picture for agriculture in the world’s hot and arid reasons. In this project we aim to develop a cooled greenhouse for food production. It will be cooled by a refrigeration system that gains its energy from the sun. The fluid used inside the ‘refrigerator’ will be concentrated seawater. Our research activities involve studying the properties of the seawater, developing an experimental model in the lab and a computer model that shows how it will perform when scaled up.
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Water for drinking and irrigation are essential but scarce resources in many areas of rural India. In this project, out in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, we are aiming to provide a way of desalting groundwater using solar energy. A problem with current desalting systems is that, in addition to providing freshwater, they produce concentrated salty water as a by-product which has to be got rid of somewhere. As a solution we propose to use this salty water for greenhouse cooling. In this way it will become concentrated to a solid which is much easier to dispose of.
Lack of access to energy services is an important factor linked with poverty in India and other parts of the developing world. Reliable electricity supplies are important for lighting, communications and computers. In addition, thermal energy and cooling are needed for processing and conserving food which might otherwise perish or have to be sold at very low prices.
In this project, carried out in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, we are developing a tri-generation system that can provide all these types of energy service from one fuel which can be diesel of plant oil. As well as promoting self-reliance for village people, this corresponds to the maximum efficiency of energy conversion.
A central tool in this research area is Geographical Information Systems, software used to process complex data obtained from satellites and other sources. We have applied this and related tools to a wide range of questions about water resources, the spread of serious diseases (MRSA) and the transportation of municipal waste for conversion into energy.
Other aspects of the research focus on improving the computer tools themselves and using them more effectively. Examples include the fusion of data from different sources and the development of low-cost remote sensing systems.
Electricity in the UK is mostly generated in large power stations which dump more than half of their energy output into the environment. If a miniature power station could be built in the home, this heat would no longer be wasted but could be used to keep the building warm. So far, however, the goal of developing a micro combined heat and power system that is reliable, cost effective and efficient has proved elusive. This project aims to overcome this problem by developing an ultra-efficient micro gas turbine.
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Optimizing the configuration of low carbon vehicle architectures, such as electric vehicles, hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, requires a detailed understanding of end user usage patterns. This information is used by vehicle manufacturers to select the optimal powertrain configuration to minimize environmental impact through CO2 reduction and by energy providers and regional authorities to cost effectively site recharging/fueling points within the built environment.
Current research projects focus on analysis of real-world data from prototype fleets to establish representative vehicle use profiles. These profiles are incorporated into journey simulation programs to maximize the environmental impact reduction of Low Carbon Vehicles.
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