Research and impact
Learn all about the latest research coming out of the Department, and the global impact it’s having.
Research Roundup: measuring volcanic emissions of sulphur dioxide
Research and impact 17th August 2020
Professor Mike Burton and PhD student Ben Esse from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences are contributing authors to a new article titled, ‘iFit: A simple method for measuring volcanic SO2 without a measured Fraunhofer reference spectrum’. Ben told us more about their research which provides insights into magmatic processes and monitoring volcanic activity.
Research Roundup: the bibliometrics of marine geoscience and oceanography
Research and impact 29th July 2020
Dr Neil Mitchell has recently contributed a research article to Scienceometrics, titled: ‘Comparing the post-WWII publication histories of oceanography and marine geoscience’. The article is a fascinating look at the distinctions and similarities between marine geoscience and oceanography. Dr Mitchell assesses the patterns in scientific publications within these subjects which can reveal trends that reflect changes in research style due to technological capabilities, economic and political factors.
Research Roundup: narrating climate changes
Research and impact 22nd June 2020
A recent blog post for Geoscience for the Future by Dr Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, ‘How bacteria from a past greenhouse world can help to predict Earth’s future climate’, discusses the ways that organic geochemistry and computer modelling can help to reconstruct the story of our Earth.
Research Roundup: new findings on crystallization in magmatic systems published in Nature Geoscience
Research and impact 30th April 2020
New findings from researchers at the University of Manchester, in conjunction with collaborators at Keele University, Durham University and University College Dublin, Ireland, suggest that precious metal mineralisation may form very rapidly in sub-volcanic magmatic systems, and that the concept of crustal magma chambers may need to be re-evaluated. Dr Brian O’Driscoll from Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester was a co-author of the published paper.
Modelling the potential spread of COVID-19 in a refugee camp
Research and impact 26th April 2020
Dr Tucker Gilman and Professor Andrew Chamberlain report on an international collaborative effort to model the potential spread of the Covid-19 virus amongst the residents of the Moria camp on the island of Lesvos. The aim of this project is to use computational models to test the effectiveness of different mitigation measures that may help to limit the rate of spread of infection amongst the refugee and migrant community living in the camp.
Plastics in the environment
Research and impact 2nd March 2020
Dr Ian Kane told us about the work that academics and students at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Manchester are doing to investigate the impact of microplastics on oceanic ecosystems. The outcome of these investigations will be used to inform future mitigation measures against plastic pollution.
Investigating earthquakes in the Azores
Research and impact 12th February 2020
Dr Neil Mitchell told us about his role as Principal Investigator of a NERC project (Natural Environment Research Council), helping to mobilise a set of seismometers to put out on the seabed around the site of a swarm of earthquakes in the Azores, just west of Faial Island. The earthquakes may signify a volcanic eruption on the seabed…
Research Roundup: Undergraduate student co-authors paper on the structure and evolution of the Sorbas basin
Research and impact 3rd February 2020
Our new feature, ‘Research Roundup’ aims to highlight recent research activities and articles in the Department.
Professor Ernest Rutter shared details of an open access article published in November 2019 entitled ‘On the structure and evolution of the Sorbas basin, S.E. Spain’, available from Tectonophysics journal. Contributor Alicia McCabe was a 4th year undergraduate student here at UoM Earth and Environmental Sciences during the composition of the article.
Wildfires and climate change
Research and impact 22nd January 2020
Dr James Allan, Reader in Atmospheric Science here at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, explains more about the effects of wildfires. James highlighted some of the science behind wildfires that feeds their connection to climate change, including the damaging effects of black carbon.
Science at Sea: Environmental Studies in the Arctic, Part 1
Research and impact 6th January 2020
PhD student Emma Burns takes us along on her Arctic adventure to better understand the input of terrestrial nitrogen into the Arctic Ocean. On her first expedition, she encounters the midnight sun, a polar bear, and the formidable Megacorer.