Links to research

Prof. Davied Rutledge lecture: Hubbert's Peak, The Coal Question and Climate Change, Division of Engineering and Applied Science California Institute of Technology

An accurate estimate of the ultimate production of oil, gas, and coal would be helpful for the ongoing policy discussion on alternatives to fossil fuels and climate change. By ultimate production, we mean total production, past and future. It takes a long time to develop energy infrastructure, and this means it matters whether we have burned 20% of our oil, gas, and coal, or 40%. In modeling climate change, the carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the most important factor. The time frame for the climate response is much longer than the time frame for burning fossil fuels, and this means that the total amount burned is more important than the burn rate. Oil, gas, and coal ultimates are traditionally estimated by government geological surveys from measurements of oil and gas reservoirs and coal seams, together with an allowance for future discoveries of oil and gas. We will see that where these estimates can be tested, they tend to be too high, and that more accurate estimates can be made by curve fits to the production history. Please click on the link to Prof. Rutleldge's website for lecture powerpoint presentation and associated downloads Hubbert's peak, The Coal Question and Climate Change

Micro Soil: Integrating Biological, Physical and Chemical Techniques for the study of Soil Micro-Habitat

The University of Abertay Dundee organised a workshop in Dundee on September 16,17th 2009 to discuss how physical, chemical and microbial techniques that quantify the soil micro environment can be better integrated.
The worksop was very successful and attracted some excellent speakers as well as 100 participants from over 15 countries. The emphasis throughout the workshop was on the techniques that are avialable in this research area and several particpants have already made approaches with new research ideas.
The meeting was closed with a general discussion on how these micro-techniques canc ontribute to real life questions including the role of soils in the C-cycle.
The conference also attracted some press coverage (local papers and radio interviews). Click on this link to see the article from the STV News web-page.
For more information about the conference please go to the Simbios web page or download a copy of the meeting booklet from the workshop.
Due to the success of the workshop Simbios hope to hold a further two workshops in 2010 and 2011, check the Simbios website for further details.

CLAD Knowledge Exchange

Please check out some of the on-line activities we (specifically Simon Drew, I can take no credit) have set up related to our NERC knowledge exchange grant, CLAD, Carbon Landscapes and Drainage.
Firstly there is the twitter site: http://twitter.com/CLAD_ac_uk I have found out some very interesting information about my research field from other people's twitter, so we think it is actually well worth doing although I acknowledge the problem with depth of communication.
Secondly on twitter, you can find a link to 'CLAD TV' on U-tube where Simon has recently posted video clips (downloadable) of our recent CLAD hosted C-calculator payback meeting. Attending were Scottish Government, windfarm developers and consultants they hire, SEPA and SNH and NGOS present to discuss the model developed by Aberdeen University on how long until a windfarm generates green energy. It was a good day, taking place in East Quad meeting room and representing exactly the pivotal role Unis can play in bringing together different groups. I know we have other functions too, but they day was really valuable in giving GU presence. That the meeting has been recorded is a good resource for industry and already we are getting quite a lot of hits here. Any feedback you have for improving this would be welcome. I see filming could be better for next time!
Dr. Susan Waldron, Dept Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ Tel: 0141 330 2413 http://www.ges.gla.ac.uk:443/staff/swaldron Are you interested in CLAD? http://www.clad.ac.uk

SAGES Airborne Geoscience

The School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh owns and operates a Diamond HK36 TTC-ECO Dimona aircraft for geosciences research. SAGES has made a substantial contribution towards the success of this program through the purchase of important elements of the aircraft's scientific instrumentation package, financial support for a major scheduled service item, and partial funding for a pilot/project manager position. The aircraft’s current instrumentation is primarily focused on carbon cycle dynamics, in particular land-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide, water and heat by direct atmospheric measurements and by remote sensing of surface properties. Aerial photography has also proved to be a popular tool with many applications, and a number of additional instrumentation packages are under consideration or pending funding decisions. To date, SAGES scientists have used the aircraft at fieldsites around the UK and as far afield as northern Scandinavia, with further campaigns currently planned for Scotland, Wales and Finland. We are always keen to discuss potential capabilities and projects, including airborne geophysical techniques in support of Earth science, and look forward to engaging further with the SAGES community through collaborative research projects. For more information please see our web-pages or contact one of the team