environmental sciences research institute - University of Ulster

In Freshwater Science, the EU-INTERREG Blackwater TRACE project
revealed the sources and magnitudes of low flow phosphorus transfers
using an integrated series of methods and, for the first time, characterised
phosphorus transfers in rivers using unique, automated high resolution
monitoring. As a visiting scholar, Professor Tom Sims of the University of
Delaware participated in an important publication from the project in Science
of the Total Environment. Further sponsored research on river and lake
ecology has centred on species-environment relationships. The influence of
the environment on species at scales from single species in one lake to largescale
biotic patterns was investigated and a new bioassessment methodology
for rivers and lakes proposed (Freshwater Biology). Dr Hans Jurgen Hahn
(Koblenz Landau) spent four weeks working with us as a visiting scholar in
2006 on a pilot study of Irish groundwater ecology. The successful outcome
eventually led to a substantial grant from the Irish Environmental Protection
Agency to take the work further.
In Coastal and Marine Research work has been carried out on ice-ocean
atmosphere interactions, coastal and shelf dynamics, seabed environments,
and coastal management to interpret environmental change and inform
public policy. The research on seabed environments has taken a wholeecosystem
approach and cuts across numerous marine research disciplines
(i.e. ecology, geophysics and geology). Novel methods are currently being
applied for predictive mapping of seabed habitat over large spatial areas for
the assessment of potential anthropogenic impacts on seabed ecosystems.
The group welcomed Professor Andrew Short from the University of
Sydney as a visiting scholar. Andrew Cooper became Chair of the Northern
Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum. In Quaternary Science a new NERC UK
collaboration (Oxford, British Antarctic Survey, Sheffield and Durham) was
initiated, developing theories of subglacial bedform generation.
In the Centre for Maritime Archaeology, a special issue of the journal
Historical Archaeology on ‘Maritime Archaeology in Ireland’ was published in
2007. This resulted from a session on Irish maritime archaeology at the SHA
conference in Quebec in 2000, and includes seven full-length papers from the
CMA. Also in 2007, the Journal of Archaeological Science released a series of
three virtual issues which brought together articles from ‘hot topics’ in the
area (DNA/Environmental History/Shipwrecks and Harbours). The special
issues on ‘Shipwrecks and Harbours’ contains 24 feature articles from the
mid-1980s to present, with three full length papers from the CMA. A team
from the CMA were invited participants in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival,
Washington DC, demonstrating the impact of Northern Irish archaeology to
international heritage. The CMA highlighted pioneering studies on shipwrecks
and coastal sites, including the discovery of the earliest known tidal mill in
the world at Strangford, and Northern Ireland’s rich shipping legacy from
the Girona to the Titanic. Over one million people visited the Smithsonian
Festival over the Independence Day holiday on the 4th of July.
In Landscape Ecology, work was started on the Northern Ireland Countryside
Survey 2007 funded by more than £1M from DoENI-EHS. NICS 2007 is the
third in a series of competitively commissioned research projects which are
enabling EHS to set science-based targets for the Northern Ireland Biodiversity
Strategy and guide the development of agri-environment schemes. In Human
Geography, this year saw the final phase of the AHRC Border/lands project,
which has been one of the largest sustained investigations in Ireland of social,
economic and political change in everyday lives. Two new lecturers, Sara
McDowell and Frances Fahy, have been appointed to develop research on
socio-environment interactions.