Lancaster Environment Centre

Enabling growth and development of environmental monitoring businesses

Environmental monitoring can be defined as the measurement of key environmental indictors over time and within a specific geographical area. The measurement of key indicators such as air quality, land use change, water quality and ecosystem diversity can be used to make detailed assessments into both environmental change and ecological health.

The Lancaster Environment Centre offers businesses a valuable resource to increase competitiveness and boost growth in the environmental monitoring sector. Benefits are delivered by enabling access to our extensive technical, R&D and consultancy and resources. Furthermore co-location of your company alongside us maximises the above opportunities through integration with the largest environmental research institute in Europe.

Lancaster Environment Centre has core areas of expertise in environmental monitoring, spanning from subsurface imaging to weather observations.

Air Quality Monitoring

Through collaboration with our atmospheric scientists, environmental chemists and the Environment Agency, Lancaster Environment Centre has specific expertise in air quality monitoring. Through the deployment of active/passive sampling technologies, the development of analytical methodologies and the application of atmospheric dispersion models LEC is well positioned to offer industry a comprehensive capability in all aspects of air science.

Furthermore the Centre for Chemicals Management, an integrated research centre of LEC, is also the main contractor for the DEFRA funded Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants (TOMPs) Network which is tasked with the continuous monitoring of persistent organic pollutant concentrations across the UK.

Water Quality Monitoring

Through collaboration between scientists in the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, The Centre for Sustainable Water Management and the University’s Aquatic Chemistry and Radioactivity Research Group, Lancaster Environment Centre is well positioned to offer industry a comprehensive resource for water quality monitoring. Core areas of expertise include the development of novel sampling technologies (e.g. DGT), diffuse pollution, fresh water ecosystems, flood prediction modelling, pathogen transfer, metal speciation, chemical tracers, chemical bioavailability and chemical analysis.

Flood Monitoring and Prediction

Collaboration between our scientists at LEC and the University’s Infolab 21 has lead to the development of an intelligent flood monitoring and warning system. The novel system is based on a network of intelligent sensors that can be placed in floodprone sites, that promise rapid, low-cost warnings to regulators, local authorities and residents so that preemptive action can be taken.

Environmental Imaging

Imaging technologies and analysis techniques provide powerful tools for understanding fundamental environmental processes. Within the Lancaster Environment Centre and across Lancaster University, the Environmental Imaging Network facilitates the exchange of expertise in imaging systems and image data analysis. The network links those who develop image understanding and processing techniques with those who use such methods across the diverse disciplines of the environmental sciences.

GIS

The GIS and Remote Sensing Unit, within Lancaster Environment Centre, uses geographic information systems to capture, store, update, manipulate, analyse and display all forms of geographically referenced information. It is an integrative technology, used to bring spatial data together from a variety of disparate sources, to generate new or enhanced forms of information. The GIS and Remote Sensing Unit supports state-of-the-art GIS software including ArcGIS, Arc/Info, ArcView and MapInfo and is developing expertise in the use of internet-based map services such as ArcIMS.

Chemicals Analysis

LEC boasts considerable analytical facilities to support our key research areas, including an array of instrumentation, dedicated wet/dry-chemistry laboratories and clean room facilities. Chemical analysis tools include GC-MS, HRGC-MS, GC-FID, LC-MS, HPLC, ICP-MS, AAS, a TOC/TN analyser and a radioisotope analysis suite.

Hazelrigg Field Site

Hazelrigg is LEC’s Weather Station which is located approximately one kilometre North-East of the University Campus on top of a small hill, and is about ten kilometres from the Irish Sea coast. Daily weather observations have been made at Lancaster University since 1966 and the subsequent data reported to the UK Met Office. Hazelrigg also serves as the location for a number of research projects including air quality monitoring and atmospheric flux work.

Subsurface Investigation

Our geophysics at Lancaster Environment Centre boasts specific expertise in Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). This remote sensing technique has been successfully applied at a range of scales and environments to characterise sub surface features and processes (e.g. mapping preferential flow through undisturbed soil columns; cross borehole imaging of permeability structures in fractured limestone, fissured chalk and unsaturated sandstone). Supporting this research is the development of new algorithms to allow the visualisation of two and three-dimensional resistivity structures in the subsurface. In addition the research group also has experience in a cross borehole radar tomography and cross borehole resistivity tomography.

Centre for Environmental Informatics

The Centre for Environmental Informatics, an integrated research centre within LEC, develops heterogeneous networks of self-managing ground based sensors for observing the environment and its processes. The Centre aims to advance data analysis and processing techniques for the development of self-managed technologies. To play a leading role in the emergence of commercial applications based on the results of the research.

For further information on how Lancaster Environment Centre can help your business please contact Martin Gilmore Tel: 01524 510229