University of Southampton Geography newsletter issue 8

AltitudeIssue 8 | Geography and Environment | Special centenary edition

Welcome to the Geography and Environment newsletter. In this special centenary edition we look at how our researchers are using mobile phone mapping to help tackle diseases across the globe, reflect on events to mark our centenary year, feature fascinating research that reveals how our seasons are altering due to climate change, and celebrate the significant achievements of our staff and students.

Celebrating 100 years of Geography at Southampton | Page 2

Researchers show accuracy of mobile phone population mapping | Page 3

Professor Neil Wrigley honoured for high street research | Page 4

Rising temperatures hinder Indian wheat production | Page 7

2 Altitude | Issue 8

“Welcome to Issue 8 of Altitude, the centenary edition. We have had so many things to celebrate and have achieved such a lot over the past few months that we have had to double the size of our usual edition in order to give you a flavour of all the exciting things that have been happening in Geography and Environment.

We have just received this year’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) results and I am delighted to announce that they reflect the importance and commitment we put on our pioneering and innovative research. The Geography department has performed particularly well, with 82 per cent of our research activity being rated as either of “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” in quality and all of our research activity was recognised for its international quality. Geography at Southampton now ranks 6th in the UK on the key ‘research intensity’ metric, a significant rise since the last research assessment exercise in 2008.

The past year has been an important one for Geography as we celebrated our 100th anniversary. Find out about the events we held to mark this significant milestone in our history. You can also discover how our research is helping eliminate diseases around the globe and join us in recognising the achievements and successes of our excellent staff and students.”

Professor Stephen Darby Head of Geography and Environment

Celebrating 100 years of Geography at Southampton2014 saw Geography celebrating its centenary at Southampton. Over the past 100 years we have addressed some of the world’s major challenges including climate change, social and health inequalities, poverty, and global recession. To mark this significant milestone in our history we have held a range of special events for staff, students and the public.

At our Centenary Open Day we invited visitors to learn more about the exciting research and work we are doing that is having an impact across the globe. They were also given an insight into our geographical equipment and laboratories and at an evening banquet guests heard speeches from professors Neil Wrigley and Keith Barber, as well as alumnus Dr Mike Clark, Chief Executive of the RSPB.

A charity bike ride and photographic competition raised over £700 in aid of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance that is striving to end AIDS through community action. Their work to improve health and the lives of people in many of the world’s poorer countries reflects our own values and ethos.

Our Enterprise unit, Geodata also celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

Geodata coordinates interdisciplinary research projects and consultancy services that focus on the acquisition, processing and communication of data and information.

www.southampton.ac.uk/geography/100years

What we have achievedAs we celebrate our centenary and look forward to the next 100 years we look at some of our significant achievements:

We are helping improve rail safety

in the UK

We have trained over

500 postgraduate

research students

We are helping protect coastal areas from

climate change

We have taught and trained over

4,000 students

We are preparing for the next generation of

satellite sensors

Our research is making an impact on all

7 continents of the world

Ranked 6th in the UK for research

intensity (REF 2014)

Our research is helping restore

the nation’s rivers

Since 2008 we have been awarded more than

£8,000,000 in research grants

Centenary banquet evening

Professor Wrigley lectureResearch showcase open day

RSPB CEO and Southampton alumnus, Dr Mike Clarke speaking at the centenary banquet

Charity bike ride

Altitude | Issue 8 3

Researchers show accuracy of mobile phone population mapping

Southampton geographers are at the forefront of an international team whose research is changing the way we are tackling diseases across the globe. Dr Andy Tatem is a senior author on the study that has shown population maps based on anonymous mobile phone call record data can be as accurate as those based on censuses.

The findings revealed that mobile phone records were more detailed, reliable and flexible enough to help inform infrastructure and emergency planners. Their research is already being used to help monitor and control diseases across the world including combating malaria more effectively across Namibia and informing authorities tracking and preparing for the spread of Ebola in West Africa.

Andy said: “Knowing where people are is critical for accurate impact assessments and intervention planning, particularly for issues such as healthcare, food security, climate change, wars and natural disasters.”

“Previously the only data available to us on population mobility were occasional household surveys and some border crossing information, but anonymised mobile phone usage data gives us incredible detail on how millions of people are moving around over time periods of months and years.

“Understanding the movements of a country’s population can be crucial in eliminating malaria. Attempts to clear the disease from an area can be ruined by highly mobile populations quickly reintroducing the parasite.”

Andy’s research has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the elimination of malaria, as well as improving the mapping of demographics and poverty in low income countries to support planning intervention strategies or estimating populations at risk.

www.southampton.ac.uk/mobilemapping

Population movement across west African countries. Mapped using mobile phone data. Black lines indicate more than 30,000 trips and blue lines more than 10,000 trips.

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Professor Neil Wrigley, leading high street expert

Jessops became the first high street casualty of 2013

High street research highlighted in ESRC Impact Report

The research of Professor of Human Geography Neil Wrigley has been highlighted in a national report by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Neil’s work on the social, economic and environmental impacts of alternative visions of the high street over the last 25 years is featured in the ESRC Research Performance and Economic Impact Report 2012/13

The report aims to promote and support world class research that creates substantial economic, social and academic impact.

Neil and his team’s research is having a major impact on the future of the UK’s town centres and is helping these centres adapt to and survive current economic change. Their research has contributed to evidence-based policy debate for more than a decade and has been quoted in planning forums and parliament. It has also become part of the Portas Review that is helping shape the future of town centres.

www.southampton.ac.uk/highstreetimpact

Professor of Human Geography Neil Wrigley has been presented with the Outstanding Impact in Business Award by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for his research that has transformed thinking on food retail development and the future of UK high streets.

Neil, who is an expert in economic geography, received the accolade at the ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize awards ceremony at the Royal Society in London. He was also presented with a £10,000 grant for further engagement and impact activities.

The award recognises research that has generated business impact through successful knowledge exchange and engagement.

Neil said: “It’s wonderful that the ESRC has chosen to recognise the research I have undertaken with my team at the University of Southampton. This award is especially significant as it focuses on the commercial impact of the research.”

Professor honoured for research that transformed the debate on high streets

Altitude | Issue 8 5

Southampton geographers have developed a new way to measure the ‘health’ of poor regional communities. They aim to improve the wellbeing of people by guiding sustainable development practices to help avoid social and environmental collapse.

The researchers have pioneered a tool that examines the balance between factors such as standards of living, natural resources, agriculture, industry and the economy. The results help identify critical limits beyond which regions risk tipping into ecological and social downturn or even collapse.

Professor John Dearing who led the research said: “We have found a way of defining a ‘safe space’ for communities to consume resources and operate within that – particularly with regard to poor rural areas in developing nations. By downscaling this to a regional level we have been able to shape it into a practical tool providing crucial data for decision makers.”

www.southampton.ac.uk/safespaces

Scientists develop tool to help communities stay environmentally and socially ‘healthy’

An example of subsistence farming in China

New report finds Scottish shingle thriving

Scottish shingle is thriving, according to a new report by the universities of Southampton and Cambridge. The geographical survey for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) found that there are more vegetated shingle beaches in Scotland than previously thought and the majority are in good condition.

Until recently information on shingle habitats in Scotland has been limited, but a new report compiled by GeoData, based at Southampton, in collaboration with colleagues in Cambridge, found that there were around 1,120 hectares of shingle beaches with vegetation in Scotland.

Gemma Gubbins, Research Scientist at GeoData, said: “For the first time we’ve created a national inventory of coastal vegetated shingle habitats in Scotland. This inventory forms a comprehensive baseline for ongoing monitoring and research and is already allowing comparisons to be made with earlier surveys.”

SNH Habitats Officer Rebecca O’Hara said: “Coastal shingle is internationally rare and is an important and unique part of Scotland’s nature. This new survey adds to our growing knowledge of habitats of European importance in Scotland.”

www.southampton.ac.uk/scottishshingle

Coastal vegetated shingle

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Autumn has been found to end later and Spring is staring slightly earlier

Michael Allchin

Expanding our range of postgraduate taught coursesWe have an exciting new addition to our range of postgraduate taught (PGT) courses with the introduction of the MSc in Sustainability. This innovative programme addresses the global critical sustainability challenges facing developed and developing countries.

Students can leave with a general training in sustainability, or a specialisation in one of three recommended pathways:

− Remote Sensing and GIS

− Consultancy

− Population

www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainablefuture #sustainablefuture

The new course complements our existing PGT range including the MSc in Applied Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing that uses remote sensing technologies and spatial analysis to assist in public health and environmental management.

www.southampton.ac.uk/spatialfrontiers #spatialfrontiers

A study by Southampton geographers in collaboration with India’s Department of Remote Sensing suggests that on average autumn is ending later in the year and spring is starting slightly earlier.

The team of researchers examined satellite imagery of the northern hemisphere over 25 years looking for any seasonal changes in vegetation. The most pronounced change they discovered was in broad-leaved and needle-leaved deciduous forest groups that showed that autumn is becoming significantly later.

Project leader Professor Peter Atkinson said: “There is much speculation about whether our seasons are changing and if so, whether this is linked to climate change. Our study is another significant piece in the puzzle. Our research shows that even when we control for land cover changes across the globe a changing climate is significantly altering the vegetation growth cycles for certain types of vegetation.”

www.southampton.ac.uk/seasonsshifting

Research suggests autumn is ending later in the northern hemisphere

Geography student wins joint first in national competitionGeography student Michael Allchin has been recognised for his dissertation in a national competition. Michael beat off competition from postgraduate students around the UK to claim joint top prize in the GIScRG Masters Dissertation award. His MSc in Geographical Information Systems (Online) dissertation explored the application of growing self-organising maps to the data-driven classification of hydrological catchments.

The competition is run annually by the GIScience Research Group of the RGS-IBG (the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers) for the best postgraduate dissertation by a student at a UK higher education institution on any issue relating to GIS, spatial analysis, spatial modelling or geocomputation.

Dr Julian Leyland, who co-supervised the research commented: “We felt his considerable efforts should be recognised externally, so we nominated Michael for the annual GIScRG award. We are delighted that he has won.”

Altitude | Issue 8 7

National recognition for Geography and Environment studentsTwo Geography and Environment masters students have been nationally recognised for their research by being shortlisted for the Association for Geographic Information (AGI) Awards for Geospatial Excellence.

The prestigious awards recognise excellence within the geospatial industry and singled out Southampton students Andy MacLachlan and Jenny Willbourn for the high quality of their MSc research. Andy and Jenny were highly commended in their respective categories Excellence in Research and Development, and Student of the Year.

The AGI Awards for Geospatial Excellence were launched this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the AGI. They aim to foster a spirit of innovation to the betterment of geographic information in the UK.

Andy and Jenny’s projects were both supervised by Dr Ellie Biggs, a Lecturer in Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Applications. She said: “It is an honour for Andy and Jenny to be highly commended for such prestigious awards. These nominations reflect their hard work and commitment to research within the geospatial sector.”

© A

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denAndy’s research focused

on assessing earthquake vulnerabilities in

Kathmandu, Nepal.

Agricultural workers harvesting wheat in India

Andy and Jenny at the ceremony

Rising temperatures hinder Indian wheat productionResearch at Southampton has found a link between increasing average temperatures in India and a reduction in wheat production.

Dr Jadu Dash, Dr John Duncan and Professor Pete Atkinson from Geography and Environment used satellite images to study the vegetation greenness of the crop. Research revealed revealed that recent warmer temperatures in the country’s major wheat belt are having a negative effect on yield and that a rise in night time temperatures was having the most impact.

Jadu said: “Our findings highlight the vulnerability of India’s wheat production system to temperature rise, which is predicted to continue in the coming decades as a consequence of climate change.

“We are sounding an early warning to the problem, which could have serious implications in the future. Over the longer period farmers are going to have to think seriously about changing their wheat to more heat tolerant varieties to prevent temperature-induced yield losses.”

www.southampton.ac.uk/risingtemperatures

New staff expand expertise and bring collaboration potential

Geography and Environment has welcomed seven new experienced academics to its team strengthening its existing expertise in economic, cultural and environmental geography.

The new staff bring new research specialisms and enthusiasms to the department’s geography teaching programme.

Head of Geography and Environment Professor Stephen Darby said: “The arrival of our new staff heralds exciting times. We are extremely fortunate to have been able to recruit so many talented and dedicated professionals. I am very much looking forward to seeing the contributions that they will make, not only to addressing a range of global challenges through their research, but to the further enrichment of our undergraduate curriculum. I am especially pleased that we have been able to recruit so many from overseas.”

The new staff bring a range of expertise in: internal and international migration; hidden, overlooked and forgotten environments; single life in contemporary Britain; digital technologies and global competition in the creative economy; internationalism on labour markets; dynamics modelling and complexity science; and the environmental economy.

www.southampton.ac.uk/newgestaff

Southampton researchers have had a high-profile role in creating the world’s most comprehensive report on climate change.

Dr Emma Tompkins, Reader in Geography and Environment, and Robert Nicholls, Professor of Coastal Engineering, were among the world-leading researchers who contributed to the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report on Climate Impacts and Adaptation of the 5th Assessment.

The report confirms the high risks that coastal zones face under climate change and sea level rise and provides new evidence of the effects of ocean acidification as a by-product of global warming.

Emma has carried out extensive research into the potential impacts and hazards caused by climate change.

She is currently working on a Leverhulme-funded project identifying where and why

rice croplands withstand or recover rapidly from the impact of tropical cyclones with little or no harm to livelihoods, food security and economic development in the region.

She is also involved in an international DEltas, vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA) project to understand the effect of weather variability and extremes, as well as climate change, on people living in deltas in South Asia and Africa. The project is exploring why adaptive strategies such as building shelters or land use management may exacerbate gender inequalities, and may not be adequate to cope with pervasive, systemic, or surprise changes associated with climate change.

www.southampton.ac.uk/climatechangereport

New members of the team

Coastal zones in places like Belize, Kenya and Ghana are at risk from climate change and sea-level rise

Southampton scientists contribute to global report on climate change

Keep in touch!

There are a variety of ways of keeping in touch with our activities. Many research students blog and you can also follow us on Twitter @geogsouthampton

For more information or to discuss courses contact: [email protected] | +44(0)23 8059 3760 www.southampton.ac.uk/geography