content@managingwater.co.uk


Conservation & the Environment


River life could be profoun droughts, a study warns


The Mayfly - in danger from drought


£2.5m global lake research project


A consortium of scientists from six UK universities and research institutes has been awarded a £2.5m grant to create the world's first satellite-based global lake surveillance system.


Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the consortium project, entitled GloboLakes, will be led by Dr Andrew Tyler, Head of Biological & Environmental Sciences at the University of Stirling.


Scientists hope to use satellite images to monitor how lakes and reservoirs are being affected by environmental change.


The University of Stirling heads the consortium, which includes the universities of Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.


Dr Tyler said:


"There are approximately 304 million lakes worldwide which are important for biodiversity and provide many ecological goods and services vital to human survival, such as the supply of fresh water, food and energy. They are also important for the facilitation of carbon cycling, flood alleviation and recreational pursuits."


Previous research has already shown how the ecological structure and function of lakes can be damaged by external changes such as the influx of certain nutrients, increased sediment load and climate change. Frequently the changes lead to algal blooms that can deplete oxygen concentrations and produce toxins that are harmful to human health.


Dr Tyler said that only a small number of lakes have been studied consistently and in any detail.


"This world-leading research will enable us to observe the conditions of over 1000 lakes around the globe in a consistent way and also retrospectively, by using archived images from over a decade ago,” he said.


“This will allow us to gain deeper insight into their responses to environmental change and enable us to develop an early warning system to detect the onset of harmful algal blooms."


GloboLakes aims to allow monitoring to be carried out on an unprecedented scale and will provide the power to detect even the smallest changes. Additionally, it is hoped that by monitoring other environmental conditions, the project will produce a step-change in scientists' ability to understand and attribute the causes of change within lakes - a task which has been arduous thus far.


Professor Stephen Maberly, Head of the Lake Ecosystem Group at the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology said that the new scheme would be an important development for monitoring freshwater.


He said:


"This project will help to cement the UK's position at the forefront of international research on freshwater ecosystems and will benefit the environment, society and industry.


"Information garnered will provide essential knowledge on the condition and response of lakes to environmental change, which will prove invaluable for the monitoring and management of lakes and reservoirs in the future."


34


Critically low water levels in many rivers could lead to the partial collapse of food chains that support aquatic life, according to research led by the University of Birmingham published in the journal Nature Climate Change


This is the conclusion of one of the longest experiments on drought ever conducted in freshwaters.


The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Freshwater Biological Association and included scientists from Queen Mary University of London (Dr Guy Woodward), the University of Leeds (Dr Lee Brown), and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Dr Francois Edwards).


The team periodically lowered water flow in artificial streams,


LATTENBURY SERVICES ‘Caring for the


Countryside’


Watercourse Management


Channel maintenance Dredging Silt Traps Vegetation Maintenance Weedscreens Bank retention Culverts


Water Storage


Bridges & Footbridges


Civil Works


Reservoir Construction Lake & Pond construction


Bridges Walkways


Dipping platforms


(English Oak, Softwoods, Steel or recycled plastic)


Street Works Fencing Footpaths Carparks


Tel: 01480 830224 lattenbury@aol.com


www.lattenburys ervices.co.uk Lattenbury Farm, Godmanchester, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE28 9PA


www.fadsdirectory.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36