Centre Member Research in the Field | Centre for Aquatic Environments

Centre for Aquatic Environments members’ Newly Published Article highlights water pollution reporting failures”

Pioneering research by Dr Sarah Purnell on flaws in water and sewerage company pollution reporting has been published in a leading global journal. 7 October 2021 The study published in the journal PLOS ONE by Dr Purnell – a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Applied Sciences – marks the first external analysis of…

Meet Our Newest Member – Dr Lorna Linch

Our newest member Dr Lorna Linch has written a blog to introduce herself please join us in welcoming her to the Centre for Aquatic Environments “My research interests are in glacial and periglacial processes, cold climate geomorphology, reconstructing Quaternary Environments, sedimentology and micromorphology. I am passionate about the environment and inspired by the outdoors –…

Ocean Symposium “Think Global Act Local” 2nd October 2021

On behalf of the United Nations Association Climate & Oceans we would like to invite all of you to the The Ocean Symposium – Sussex 2021 : “Think Global, Act local” , on Saturday 2 October. An exciting in-person/ online fusion event! 2021 is an important year for marine conservation with the United Nations…

Scuppered Dreams – Abandoned Boats

The ocean is the final sink for most of the anthropogenic waste. Concern about accumulation of marine debris has increased in the past decades and scientists at the University of Brighton have recently uncovered a new emerging contaminant – FibreGlass reinforced plastic (FRP or GRP). One of the main challenges to dealing with this ever…

Writers Retreat to Go Forwards!!!

This September, ten Centre members enjoyed a relaxing and productive writing retreat at the idyllic setting of Dean’s Place Hotel, Alfriston, East Sussex. By escaping some of the pressures of preparing for the start of the new academic year, for three days members were able to concentrate on their watery research by drafting or completing…

New PhD opportunity in the Centre for Aquatic Environments

Novel methods using field surveys, drones and computer modelling to evaluate saltmarsh evolution The aim of the project is to evaluate the evolution of saltmarsh habitat from ecological and sedimentary perspectives following construction of a tidal wall flood defence scheme along the Adur Estuary in Sussex. This will involve plant community surveys in the field,…

Researcher provides vital input to major report on natural carbon capture

Dr Ray Ward’s work on how aquatic plants extract carbon from the environment provides a key strand of a new Natural England report into carbon sequestration. 30 April 2021 The large-scale report – entitled Carbon Storage and Sequestration by semi-natural habitats – draws on research carried out by Dr Ward and recent Brighton…

Scuppered Dreams: A community action research project to explore the impacts of microfibre pollutants from abandoned boats on marine environments

An exciting new project led by two Centre for Aquatic Environments researchers, Dr Corina Ciocan, Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology from PABS , and Dr Mary Gearey, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography from SET, is underway in 2021. Funded by the University of Brighton’s Radical Futures initiative(https://www.brighton.ac.uk/research-and-enterprise/organisation/brighton-futures/radical-futures/index.aspx) this one year project builds on research already…

Centre Director wins prestigious international award

The Director of the Centre for Aquatic Environments, Professor Chris Joyce, has been recognised for his wetland research by the world’s leading organisation representing wetland professionals. Professor Joyce, an ecologist in the School of Environment and Technology who specialises in the study of wetland vegetation, management and restoration, has received a special 40th Anniversary Award…

Tackling Aquatic Contamination in Partnership with Southern Water

Dr Sarah Purnell, Principal Research Fellow within our Centre for Aquatic Environments, has recently published research conducted in collaboration with Southern Water. This research addressed the challenge of mapping and predicting metaldehyde ( a synthetic aldehyde pesticide used worldwide to remove molluscs by the agricultural sector) using existing water industry and publicly available datasets. Metaldehyde…