Research Initiatives

Hurricane as seen from space

Digital image of earth with whote circles and lines in space representing digital connections

Bogota skyline

Rhododendron flowers on hillside with mountains in background

Lairg coastline and beach

Introduction

The School of Geographic and Earth Sciences plays a leading role in several major research initiatives funded by UKRI, ERC, and other funding agencies. We also provide leadership for two research centres at the University of Glasgow.  These initiatives foster research collaborations between staff in our school, across the university, and beyond. The scope of the projects listed below provides a snapshot of our efforts to address some of the most significant challenges facing geoscience, geography and society.

Major Collaborative Projects

Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation (GALLANT)

GALLANT uses Glasgow as a living lab to trial new sustainable solutions throughout the city. GALLANT takes a whole-systems approach. While addressing the city’s key environmental challenges, the programme will consider the co-benefits and trade-offs for public health, wellbeing, and the economy. GALLANT aims to deliver the social priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals while remaining within the planetary boundaries of a 1.5°C world using doughnut economics as a framework. The five solutions of GALLANT's work in Glasgow are to:

  1. Address flood risk.
  2. Halt biodiversity loss.
  3. Regenerate derelict and polluted land.
  4. Promote active travel and inclusive mobility.
  5. Implement sustainable energy

GES Staff Involved:

Additional Info: GALLANT

Rapid Engagement with Stressed Peatland Environments and Communities in Transformation (RESPECT)

Peatlands are one of the world’s most important habitats and the largest terrestrial carbon store. However, 80% of UK peatlands are damaged and deteriorating, meaning they are often a carbon source rather than sink. The RESPECT project produces data, methods, landholder tools and proposals for governance reforms to change agricultural practices on peatland and contribute to the UK’s net zero target. We will achieve this by collating data through novel interdisciplinary collection, modelling and engagement methods. These data will establish the capacity of land and land users to contribute to the net zero target as well as generate other social and environmental co-benefits, balanced against conflicting land use demands, within the context of climate change.

GES Staff Involved:

Additional Info: RESPECT

Resilience of Anthropocene Coasts and Communities (RACC): Assessing and responding to risks from historic landfills

RACC is a research project studying the effects of climate change and coastal erosion on pollution from historic UK coastal landfills. Led by Queen Mary University of London where University of Glasgow leads the research in Scotland. We are working with partners in universities, agencies, and communities to develop sustainable management solutions as part of the £14 million UKRI and DEFRA-funded Resilient UK Coastal Communities and Seas (ReCCS) programme.

GES staff involved:

Additional Info: Resilience of Anthropocene  Coasts and Communities

Coastal Communities and Seas Together for Resilience (Coast-R)

The Coast-R Network is an inclusive and collaborative community of practice working to build interdisciplinary knowledge, action and resilience for UK coastal communities and seas.  Led by University of Hull where University of Glasgow leads the network in Scotland. The network plays an important role bringing together a diverse team, including academics, UK marine, coastal and government agencies, industry partners, local authorities, the voluntary sector and communities to support the £14 million UKRI and DEFRA-funded Resilient UK Coastal Communities and Seas (ReCCS) programme.

GES Staff Involved:

Additional Info: Coast-R Network

DSO-Turing Partnership

This partnership between the University of Glasgow and Alan Turing Institute fosters a network plus model where collaborative data science and AI projects are coordinated across 11 universities.

GES staff involved:

Additional Info: The Alan Turing Institute – Roche strategic partnership

Doctoral (PhD) Training

ExaGEO: Exascale Computing for Earth, Environmental, and Sustainability Solutions (NERC- Doctoral Landscape Award)

Humanity’s greatest challenges are centred around global environmental change and the pursuit of sustainable solutions. Exascale computing has the potential to be a breakthrough tool in confronting these challenges. ExaGEO’s mission is to harness this potential by linking complex, non-linear, and coupled models of Earth system processes, spanning the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and solid Earth processes, while also incorporating human elements. Human behaviour, manifested through economic and political decisions, introduces large-scale perturbations to Earth systems, requiring not only exascale computing but also theoretical developments across the physical, ecologic, and social sciences.

GES staff involved:

Additional info: ExaGEO

Major Equipment and Infrastructure

The Space Nanomaterials Atom Probe (SNAP): Atom by atom resolution of Material and Space Science Challenges

The EPSRC funded SNAP facility represents the ideal solution for near-atomic characterisation of materials, with a specialist focus on space materials to support the UK space sector.  Our next generation atom probe facility provides unique atomic-scale insights to enable breakthrough developments across space science, engineering, chemistry, material science and Geoscience.

GES Staff Involved:

Additional Info: SNAP decision will establish UofG as cutting-edge nano-analysis hub

University Research Centres Led by GES Staff

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Sustainability for us means meeting the social foundations of current and future generations while living responsibly within a healthy, natural environment. Our vision is to enable individuals, communities and organisations to act towards a sustainable future through education, research and partnership.  We support interdisciplinary, cross-campus and cross-sectoral solutions to climate change.

GES Leadership:

Additional Info: Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Centre for Data Science and AI

The Centre for Data Science & AI facilitates the initiation and expansion of sustainable collaboration across disciplines, industries, public, and government to have impactful research that ultimately will make the world better for all. The Centre aims to:

  • harness the diverse research in data science
  • bring together and cultivate collaborations between the sharpest minds to do creative research
  • give a platform to showcase our collaborative and creative research in and with data science
  • promote effective, impactful, and ethical data science and AI contributing and delivering a better future
  • find the gaps or areas of growth in our research agenda based on Government strategies and real-world grand challenges to initiate and strengthen research collaborations and knowledge transfer across disciplines, sectors, industries, public and government
  • build capacity by attracting and training the bright and diverse next generation of research leaders in data science
  • support and promote careers at all levels by equipping the necessary breadth and depth of both technical and ethical skills
  • improve the pipeline issue of experts in data science through upskilling education, student employability and diversity.

GES Leadership

Additional Info: Centre for Data Science & AI