Theme action plans - Phase 2 summaries
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability
Themes: biodiversity
NERC budget: £13m
This will be a large-scale, integrated research programme with the following scientific goals:
- To understand the functional role of biodiversity in UK ecosystems across a range of ecosystem goods and services, environmental gradients and scales typical of real landscapes;
- To identify critical levels of biodiversity required to deliver a range of ecosystem services that meet societal needs, and the land and resource use associated with these biodiversity levels; and
- To develop impact assessment tools to explore the implications of land and resource use change on biodiversity and a range of ecosystem services in a changing environment.
The scientific goals will be addressed through an integrated research programme replicated across a number of UK landscape-scale study areas, which might include, for example, a mixture of upland, lowland and coastal landscapes; or alternatively a series of catchments in different geographical regions with contrasting land and resource use.
Network of Sensors
Themes: technologies
NERC budget: £5m
This programme will support the development of up to five environmental sensor network demonstration projects - where it is the density, location and/or resolution of the observational approach that is novel and not necessarily the underlying sensor technology. The aim is to demonstrate end-to-end integration and the scientific opportunity of the approach using the latest developments in distributed computing, communications technology, scientific data repositories and mature or close-to-market sensors technology. The programme is expected to be delivered with partners and make substantial and clearly identified contributions to other NERC science themes and environmental research questions. Links will be made with other research programmes where appropriate.
Macronutrient Cycles
Themes: sustainable use of natural resources, biodiversity, environment pollution & human health, Earth system science, technologies
NERC budget: £9·5m
This programme aims to quantify the scales (magnitude and spatial/temporal variation) of N and P fluxes and the nature of transformations through the catchment under a changing climate and perturbed C cycle. 'The catchment' is defined as covering exchange between the airshed and land surface, with a delimitation for the aqueous environment of ending at the estuarine margin.
The programme will pursue an integrated approach to research on macronutrient cycles. It will seek to maximise the value of the funding investment through promoting interdisciplinary working of the different elements of its research community, for example by bringing together those in the freshwater and atmospheric sectors. It will address problems at an appropriate range of scales.
Ice Sheet Stability
Themes: Earth system science, climate system
NERC budget: £7·4m
This programme will focus on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and improving understanding of key ice sheet processes and their incorporation within models, leading to better projections of future ice sheet stability. The goal is to improve fundamental understanding of the interaction of ice with the oceans and the resulting ice sheet response, and incorporate this new understanding into predictive models. This programme on the WAIS will therefore have two closely linked components to be addressed by both ship-based and ice-sheet based research:
- Ocean forcing of the ice sheet
- Ice sheet response to ocean forcing
Arctic Research Programme
Themes: Earth system science, climate system, natural hazards, biodiversity
NERC budget: £15m
The overarching programme objective is "to improve capability to predict changes in the Arctic, particularly over the next 50-100 years, including regional impacts and the potential for feedbacks on the global Earth system." This will be achieved via improving understanding of key Arctic processes, integrating process-based understanding and data with models and application of these models to understand potential Arctic climate change impacts over a range of scales. Integrated and innovative research, across all science areas and process studies, palaeo work and modelling, will be needed to achieve the programmes objectives. The programme aims to address scientific uncertainties within the Arctic region that are strategically important, associated with rapid change and where the UK can make a significant contribution.
The programme will focus on four linked scientific objectives:
- Understand and attribute the current rapid changes in the Arctic
- Quantify Arctic processes leading to methane and carbon dioxide release
- Reduce uncertainty in Arctic climate and associated regional biogeochemistry predictions
- Assess the likely risks of submarine hazards associated with rapid Arctic climate change
Valuing Biodiversity and Natural Resources
Themes: biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources
NERC budget: £0·5m
This will be a network, where the overall goal is to develop methods and skills and build consensus on approaches used for the valuation of ecosystem services. The objective is to embed science-based understanding of relevant environmental processes in the valuation of ecosystem services. A secondary goal is to quantify and narrow the uncertainty in the environmental data used to inform valuation approaches.
Critical are three generic issues:
- identification of cases where science-based metrics used in the valuation of ecosystem services would have an impact on short-term immediate issues and those of long-term consequence,
- identification of instances where irreversible change (eg loss of species, unique habitat, resource availability) would result in a permanent cost, and
- identification of cases where data availability and quality limit the predictive capacity of valuation approaches.
Taxonomy and Systematics
Themes: biodiversity
NERC budget: £0·42m
This investment encompasses two key activities:
- An expert review to explore needs and capabilities and allow a UK strategy for taxonomy and systematics to be developed.
- Co-funding support for the new Research Councils Systematics & Taxonomy scheme (SynTax). This is designed to provide short-term funding for preliminary research that will form the basis of novel responsive mode proposals with a substantial systematics/taxonomy component. More about the Taxonomy & Systematics programme
Insect Pollinator Decline
Themes: biodiversity
The UK Insect Pollinator Initiative (IPI) was announced in April 2009. NERC, BBSRC, Defra, Wellcome Trust, and the Scottish Government have agreed to fund a £10m programme over a five year period for this LWEC activity. NERC Council approved a further £1m investment in the existing initiative.
Increasing resilience through multi-hazard assessment of earthquake-prone and volcanic regions
Themes: natural hazards
NERC budget: £4·6m
The high-level goal is to build resilience in earthquake-prone and volcanic regions by reducing risks from multiple natural hazards through improved forecasting and uptake of scientific advice. The specific objectives are to:
- Develop stress-strain change analysis to identify zones of greatest earthquake hazard
- Temporally characterize volcanic hazards to inform decision-making in volcanic crises
- Improve spatial and temporal characterization of landslides and mudflows in earthquake-prone and volcanic regions
- Increase uptake of natural hazard advice in earthquake-prone and volcanic regions through improved risk analysis and communication as well as governance research
Algal Bioenergy Network
Themes: sustainable use of natural resources
NERC budget: £0·6m
This will be a network where the high-level science goal is to understand the opportunities and risks to the quality of freshwater and marine environments of using algal biomass as a source of renewable energy.
The key anticipated outcome is the generation of opportunities for the research community to focus on developing the evidence base to inform decisions on, for example, the best algal feed stocks for the UK, the most appropriate locations and environmental implications of macroalgal production, and predictive modelling of the implications of scaling up microalgae production on the environment. Critically, the network enables early evaluation of the environmental and economic impact of algal bioenergy through development of a 'sustainability framework' using analogues developed for terrestrial bioenergy deployments. The network will also ensure close engagement with technological developments in this area.
Marine Renewable Energy
Themes: sustainable use of natural resources
NERC budget: £2·4m
Working with partners, this programme will support research to understand the environmental benefits and risks of up-scaling marine renewable energy schemes on the quality of marine bioresources (including biodiversity) and biophysical dynamics of open coasts. A secondary aim, to be addressed via engagement with other programmes, is to contribute to predictions of the long-term security of wave and wind energy potential in marine environments under a changing climate.
Analytical Science and Technology Studentships
Themes: technologies
NERC budget: £1·4m
Via a series of PhD studentships, this programme will establish a new cohort of research scientists capable of ensuring that the very latest developments in analytical science and technology are translated across into the environmental science domain. The programme is being undertaken in partnership with and co-funded by the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund of the Royal Society of Chemistry. More about the Analytical Science & Technology programme
Development of Joint Climate Research Programme with the Met Office
Themes: climate system, Earth system science
Additional funds of £0·9m have been allocated to this existing programme to support jointly funded postdoctoral research positions, which will address key science challenges in areas of joint strategic interest, and widen and deepen the engagement of both communities in the JCRP. More about the Joint Climate Research Programme
Next Generation Weather and Climate Systems Prediction
Themes: climate systems, technologies, natural hazards
NERC budget: £4·4m
This action addresses two key areas where scientific and technological advances offer opportunities to maintain UK leadership in environmental prediction:
- Resolution of small scale weather systems in the atmosphere and ocean.
The objective is to work with the Met Office and STFC to research, design and develop a new "dynamical core" suitable for atmospheric modelling on massively parallel computers, and to produce a demonstration integration that provides scientific insight into the impact of hitherto unresolved processes on global atmospheric dynamics. An important additional benefit will be to provide a focus for the active but currently diverse UK research community in this area.
In addition a 10-year roadmap of requirements for scalable ocean model cores will be produced.
- Use of observations to initialise climate predictions.
The objective is to develop and evaluate methods for the initialization of climate predictions, addressing:- coupled initialisation in the context of diverse observational data and model biases;
- design of ensembles including assessment of "stochastic physics" approaches.
Long Term Co-evolution of Life and the Planet
Themes: Earth system science
NERC budget: £4m
The main objective of this research programme is to support interdisciplinary research into periods of major physical or biological change in the geological record and their relationship to carbon and oxygen cycles. The aim is to improve current understanding of the nature, rates, controls and feedbacks that provide the fundamental drivers and controls of these changes within the Earth system. The programme will include training via project studentships and short courses and will support integrated public engagement activities aimed at the next generation of scientists.
Environmental Exposure & Health Initiative
Themes: environment pollution & human health
NERC budget: £3m
This joint initiative between the NERC, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Economic & Social Research Council, and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has already been launched under the umbrella of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership.
The Environmental Exposure & Health Initiative will provide important new knowledge on the interconnections and pathways between environmental pollutants and interacting stressors, exposure routes and health effects in humans, including variations in susceptibility and the definition of health risks. More about the Environmental Exposure & Health Initiative programme
Environmental & Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases
Themes: environment pollution & human health
NERC budget: £4m
The Environmental & Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases programme will enable society to respond proactively to the threat from novel pathogens and emerging infections by generating knowledge on the ways in which the natural and social environments affect the emergence and spread of infectious disease.
This joint initiative between the NERC, Medical Research Council, Economic & Social Research Council, and Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council has already been launched under the umbrella of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. More about the Environmental & Social Ecology of Human Infectious Diseases programme
Aerosols and Clouds
Themes: climate system, Earth system science, technologies
NERC budget: £3m
This action aims to reduce the uncertainty in estimates of radiative forcing and climate feedbacks relating to aerosol and cloud processes, principally through focused laboratory studies. This research is necessary in order to reduce systematic errors in future climate models.
Ocean Shelf-Edge Exchange
Themes: Earth system science, climate system, biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources
NERC budget: £3·8m
This action would use the latest observation and modelling capabilities to study the fundamental physical properties of ocean shelf edge exchange. These processes are currently inadequately parameterised within ocean models, and are of vital importance in assessing the future health and productivity of our coastal seas, and their influence on regional climate and ocean circulation.
Understanding and Predicting the Ocean Boundary Layer
Themes: climate system, Earth system science, technologies
NERC budget: £3·8m
This action would build on recent UK scientific and technological advances, to enable a significant improvement in weather and climate prediction by taking an integrated approach to the understanding of ocean boundary-layer processes.
Probability, Uncertainty and Risk
Themes: natural hazards
NERC budget: £2·4m
The high-level goals of this action are:
- to improve the assessment and quantification of uncertainty and risk in natural hazards, by developing new methods and demonstrating their applicability to enhance the uptake of natural hazard science; and
- to stimulate good practice guidance and standardisation of uncertainty and risk across the natural hazards community.
Coastal Sediment Systems
Themes: natural hazards
NERC budget: £3m
The high-level goal of this action is to improve morphodynamic models of the impacts of sea-level rise, climate change and management practices on sediment pathways and geomorphic features that will be critical in informing future coastal flood and erosion risk management.