Presentation 1: Protecting rivers from high water temperature extremes under global change
The potential consequences of climate change for river environments makes the need to understand the mechanisms controlling river water temperature patterns more crucial than ever. Water temperature is often referred to as the ‘master water quality parameter’ due to its critical importance for physical, chemical, and biological processes in rivers and streams. To better manage water resources and land-use for ecosystem and societal benefit, it is essential to improve knowledge of drivers of change and processes across multiple scales. To address this critical gap, the talk presents research undertaken at different scales (from reach- to national-scale) that aims to understand the sensitivity of river water temperature to climate, land management and other controls. Together, this research provides robust scientific insights on the drivers of change and fundamental process to underpin management decisions and strategies related to temperature of flowing waters. Looking to the future, the talk will consider the potential of novel monitoring and modelling technologies to advance river temperature research and practice.
Dr. David M. Hannah is Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability), Professor of Hydrology and UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences, and Director of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability & Climate Action (BISCA) at the University of Birmingham. He was included in Reuters list of the world’s top climate scientists. He is Chair of UKRI-NERC Science Committee.
His long-term vision is to understand water cycle processes, hydrological events (flood, drought) and water-related impacts under climate and other drivers of change. Access to safe water and sound management of freshwater ecosystems are key requirements for human health, prosperity and security.
David’s research was honoured with the Tison Award (2014) from the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). In 2019, he became a Royal Society Wolfson Fellow; and he was awarded the Murchison Award from the Royal Geographical Society in 2022. In 2023, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
David is very active in UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrology Programme, formerly UK Representative for the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), and current President of the IAHS-International Commission for Surface Water. He promotes knowledge exchange to communicate the importance of water and climate science for society. He has authored reports underpinning the UK RIDE/ LWEC Climate Change Impacts Report Card for Water for decision-makers; his work has been included in multiple IPCC reports; and he gives policy advice to UK water industry, NGOs, Scottish Government, overseas government agencies, and water sector regulators on climate change adaptation.With Birmingham colleagues and external stakeholders, he launched a report targeting national and international policy makers - Keeping 1.5°C Alive at a House of Lords roundtable event in May 2022. To mark COP28 in November 2023, he led a new report on Adaptation and Building Resilience in a Changing World for which significant policy, media and societal impact and engagement were captured (including 230 pieces of press coverage with potential reach of 596M people).
Presentation 2: Managing rivers under the impact of interacting legacy and emerging pollution pressures
Water quality of rivers worldwide is under thread of pollution by long existing (legacy) contaminants such as heavy metals or excess nutrients and emerging contaminants including pharmaceuticals, human care products or microplastics. These “pollution cocktails” present severe risks to the functioning of ecosystems and public health, in particular in times where increase also in other stressors (such as water temperature) amplified their impacts. In order to being able to assess these risks, the hydrological drivers that control local exposures as a response to source activation and connectivity through regional transport need to be understood. This talk provides insights from ongoing research how innovation in in-situ sensing technologies combined with advances in data science and modelling approaches can be used to identify pollution hotspots and hot moments as targets for mitigation interventions. It uses some recent examples from river restoration practice to discuss the limitations and challenges of using nature-based solutions to provide local relief to global pollution pressures, advocating that pollution problems need to be solved at the source.
Dr. Stefan Krause is Professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. His interdisciplinary research group on coupled groundwater and surface water systems investigates the multifaceted impacts of global environmental change on hydrological fluxes, biogeochemical cycling and contaminant transport, and ecohydrological feedback functions in complex landscapes.
Stefan is part of the Birmingham Plastics Network, an interdisciplinary team of more than 40 academics working together to shape the fate and sustainable future of plastics. This unique team brings together chemists, environmental scientists, philosophers, linguists, economists, and experts in many other fields, to holistically address the global plastics problem.
More information about the speakers: