Environmental Processes Cluster
Research projects
Read about our many Research projects.
Aims and objectives
The Environmental Processes research cluster focuses on understanding Earth surface or near-surface processes in a diverse range of environmental systems - coastal, ecological, fluvial, volcanic and atmospheric. Common ground is found in crosscutting research projects and in the scientific approaches employed.
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Cluster members undertake innovative research, integrating field investigation (often using novel instruments), theoretical modelling, and controlled experiment. Numerical models are tested in experimental circumstances, then applied to field environments. These environments have complex boundary conditions and multiple processes, and considerable experience of research at a field site is needed to gain an understanding of processes and their boundary conditions; such long-term commitment to field sites is a characteristic of the research.
These methods are supported by Earth Observation, using various space-borne, airborne and ground-based sensors (for example, lidar for coastal topography, and UV, visible and infrared spectrometers in measurements of fluxes of volcanic gases and particles in the atmosphere). The cluster is unique in having direct access to the airborne remote sensing capability of the Unit for Landscape Modelling.
The cluster is committed to inter-disciplinary research, amongst its sub-groups, with the Society, Environment and Development cluster, and with groups in other Departments. There are significant contributions to policy and practical application of research in environmental management, with particular emphasis on environmental hazards and risk management (floods, volcanic eruption), and environmental management, conservation and restoration (floodplain woodland, coastal salt marshes).
Cluster members
| Area/group | Academic staff | Research staff |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrology, Water and Landscape | Keith Richards (cluster convenor), Mike Bithell | Peter Ravenscroft, Kauzar Saleh-Contell |
| Landscape ecology | Harriet Allen, Bernard Devereux, Andrew Friend, Steve Trudgill | Gabriel Amable, Chris Banks |
| Cambridge Coastal Research Unit | Iris Möller, Tom Spencer | Annelise Hagan |
| Atmospheric Processes | Mike Bithell, Hans Graf, Michael Herzog | Jian Yang |
| Cambridge Volcanology Group | Clive Oppenheimer | Marie Boichu, Vitchko Tsanev |
Students
The cluster also includes an active group of PhD students.