Environmental Systems research theme

Understanding risk and resilience

Theme Co-Leads: Dr Ben Williams and Dr Todd Lewis

This theme focuses on diagnosing and understanding the risk and opportunities for our natural environment in the face of our climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Using environmental monitoring and modelling tools and geomorphological, ecological, and remote sensing techniques, this theme explores the quantitative and qualitative changes in our natural environment (air, water, earth, and nature).

Central to this is the focus on environmental and public health, existing and emergent air quality and water pollutants from both anthropogenic and biogenic sources, and multi-scalar effects of climate change, including floods/drought. We also incorporate a strong existing theme of conflict and resource insecurity, in recognition of the increasingly destabilising global conditions and the recognised potential for climate change to exacerbate conflict occurrence.