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Lancaster Environment Centre hosts meeting on ozone depletion and increased UV radiation

More than 40 scientists from 20 countries will produce a report focussing on the effects of ozone depletion and increased UV radiation following a meeting at Lancaster University's Environment Centre. The report will include sections on:

Two Funded PhD Studentships in the Centre for Chemicals Management

The Centre for Chemicals Management is looking for candidates for two MPhil/PhD studentships to undertake projects on the fate and behaviour of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment.

LEC research on organic contaminants in the news

Two recent articles from Prof Kevin Jones' team in LEC's Centre for Chemicals Management have attracted media attention in recent weeks.

Lancaster exerts heavy research influence in environment and ecology

Lancaster University has been ranked at number 5 in the UK and 32nd globally for citations per paper in the field of environment and ecology according to the Times Higher Education magazine.

Bill Davison wins RSC Sustainable Water Award 2010

Bill Davison wins RSC Sustainable Water Award 2010

Professor Bill Davison has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Sustainable Water Award 2010 for his major and lasting contributions to the field of aquatic environmental chemistry in particular for his work on dynamic speciation, lake neutralisation processes and his invention of two new measurement techniques, DET and DGT.

LEC Volcano Research in the Headlines

Photo by Þórdís Högnadóttir Photo by Þórdís Högnadóttir

LEC Environmental Geoscience research is in the spotlight with the ongoing eruption in Iceland.

Our recent research addresses the way in which ash is generated at ice-covered Icelandic volcanoes such as Eyjafjallajökull, and whether thinning of ice due to climate change will make such eruptions more commonplace in the coming century.

The media coverage to date includes articles in the New York Times, Guardian and Telegraph.

For more details contact Hugh Tuffen, Jennie Gilbert and Steve Lane

LEC wins Queen's Anniversary Prize for University

The development of water saving techniques for agriculture which have helped farmers in some of the driest regions of the world , has won Lancaster University a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. It is the third time the University has received one of these prestigious awards.

Queens Anniversary Logo

The Prizes, announced on the 18th November, highlight world-class work taking place in higher and further education, in Lancaster’s case its contribution to one of the biggest challenges facing humankind - feeding seven billion people against a background of climate change. The prize winning research has been developed by a Lancaster team of plant biologists, led by Distinguished Professor Bill Davies in the Lancaster Environment Centre, who have shown how the signals that roots in drying soil send to the shoots can help plants cope more successfully with drought and produce better yield. This new understanding of how plants reacts to stress has now been exploited with the agriculture industry by the group working in collaboration with researchers around the world. Water saving approaches to irrigation and to the management of crop production have resulted in significant water saving and better crop production in regions of the world which suffer water scarcity. This means increased profitability for farmers and better conditions for people living in challenging environments which are becoming even more challenging as the climate changes.

Lancaster science has been used to develop new systems to grow cereals in North China, grape vines and top fruit in Australia and in viticulture and vegetable production around the Mediterranean and in the USA. New water saving techniques have also been developed with the UK horticultural and agricultural industries. The Lancaster team has trained a large number of research biologists who work around the world on projects aimed at contributing to food security. The prize also recognises the teams work with industry in passing on new knowledge through training programmes and partnerships run through the University’s specialist environmental business centre, the first of its kind in the UK.

Lancaster University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings said: “The Lancaster Environment Centre is working at the forefront of science and is helping to provide real solutions to the challenges of climate change . We are absolutely delighted that this exceptional contribution has received such prestigious recognition." This research also won the coveted Times Higher Research Project of the Year 2009.

Upcoming Events

Catchment & Aquatic Processes PhD Seminar Day

September 2010 - Date and time to be confirmed
Furness Lecture Theatre 2

11:00 Coffee and Welcome

Food Security and Safety Symposium

Monday 13th - Wednesday 15th September 2010 - Date and time to be confirmed
Lancaster University

Organised jointly between the SEB Education & Public Affairs Section and Lancaster University.

Understanding and Interpreting Climate Model Ensembles

Julia Hargreaves and James Annan, Research Institute for Global Change, JAMSTEC, Yokohama, Japan

September 2010 - Date and time to be confirmed
LEC Training Room 1