news 2022

Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) reduce traffic and air pollution without displacing the problem to nearby streets, new research has shown. The study by researchers at Imperial College London looked at three LTNs in London, to identify their impact on both air pollution and traffic within the LTN zones and in the surrounding area.

Psychologists want to hear from people who live, work, or regularly travel into Bristol, in advance of the City's Clean Air Zone coming into force on Monday. Researchers at the University of Bath want to hear from people living or working in Bristol ahead of the City's Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which is being introduced on Monday 28 November.

The world's first urban state societies developed in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, some 5500 years ago. No other artefact type is more symbolic of this development than the so-called Beveled Rim Bowl (BRB), the first mass produced ceramic bowl. BRB function and what food(s) these bowls contained has been the subject of debate for over a century.

Rock coasts, which make up over half the world's coastlines, could retreat more rapidly in the future due to accelerating sea level rise. This is according to new research led by Imperial College London and supported by researchers from the University of Glasgow. The researchers modelled likely future cliff retreat rates of two rock coasts in the UK, based on forecasts of sea level rise for different greenhouse gas emissions and climate change scenarios.

Social media engagement with climate policy events is vital to reducing building emissions and ensuring environmental justice, research led by Cambridge suggests To build for tomorrow fairly, global climate action has to incorporate and empower diverse public voices Ramit Debnath Negativity on Twitter about decarbonising the built environment has increased by around a third since 2014, according to a new analysis of more than 250,000 tweets featuring #emissions and #building between 2009 and 2021.

Researchers did not detect any SARS-CoV-2 in Thames water after raw sewage discharge, suggesting it is unlikely to be a route of transmission. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has been detected in wastewater and can be used to track outbreaks in populations. This has led researchers to question whether wastewater can also be a source of disease transmission.

The water flow where adult fish live can affect the body shape and survival of their offspring, according to new research. The study - led by an international collaboration between CRIOBE and the University of Glasgow, and published today in Functional Ecology - found that the survival of fish born from parents living under high water flow was reduced by half compared to fish born from those living under low water flow.

Policy analysts and planners will be able to -communicate smarter- about climate change action by using a new online decision-support tool which has been launched at COP27. Developed by researchers at the University of Leeds and the Met Office , it synthesises the latest scientific evidence on the broader effects of climate change initiatives.

Imperial scientists have shared how working directly with mountain communities could drive adaptation to the loss of their main water sources. Nearly two billion people globally rely on mountain water for drinking and irrigation, but this water source is under threat due to global heating. Mountainous regions are particularly impacted by the effects of the climate crisis , with melting glaciers and snow adding to water scarcity in regions such as the Himalayas, Central Asia, and Andes.

Water security in mountain regions relies on an understanding of the interlinks of water supply and demand that goes far beyond the study of glacier melt. Current information on how the communities which depend on water from mountain snow and ice will be affected by climate change is limited, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability.

Vast swathes of Africa have experienced more frequent and intense episodes of drought since 1983, new research has uncovered. Research commissioned by WaterAid saw Cardiff University expert Professor Michael Singer join forces with colleagues from the University of Bristol to shine a new light on trends in East Africa, Southern Africa and Central Africa.

The Congo peatlands turned from a major store of carbon to a source of carbon dioxide emissions thousands of years ago due to a drying climate, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. , the study highlights the potential of the Congo peatlands - the largest tropical peatland in the world - to again release billions of tonnes of stored carbon into the atmosphere in a future warmer world.

The world's largest tropical peatland turned from being a major store of carbon to a source of carbon dioxide emissions as a result of climate change thousands of years ago, new research has revealed. Around the time that Stonehenge was built, 5,000 years ago, the climate of central Congo began to dry, leading to the peatlands emitting carbon dioxide.

Even a small dietary change by a minority of UK Catholics had significant environmental benefits, say researchers, who argue that a papal decree reinstating meatless Fridays across the global church would save millions of tonnes of carbon a year. If the Pope was to reinstate the obligation for meatless Fridays to all Catholics globally, it could be a major source of low-cost emissions reductions Shaun Larcom In 2011, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales called on congregations to return to foregoing meat on Fridays.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From materials research that could help with the development of low-power next-generation technologies, to the discovery of a biological pathway that may explain the underlying mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease, here is some quick-read news from across the College.

More companies must make and implement zero-deforestation supply chain commitments in order to significantly reduce deforestation and protect diverse ecosystems, say researchers. Zero-deforestation pledges are a great first step, but they need to be implemented to have an effect on forests. Rachael Garrett Corporate pledges not to buy soybeans produced on land deforested after 2006 have reduced tree clearance in the Brazilian Amazon by just 1.6% between 2006 and 2015.

An unexpected river under the Antarctic ice sheet affects the flow and melting of ice, potentially accelerating ice loss as the climate warms. The 460km-long river is revealed in a new study, which details how it collects water at the base of the Antarctic ice sheet from an area the size of Germany and France combined.

Fossil fuels continue to be prioritised over clean energy solutions by governments and companies to the detriment of health, finds the latest Lancet Countdown report led by UCL researchers. The 2022 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, published today, has found that ongoing crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict in Ukraine, and a global energy and cost of living crisis, have caused countries to become over reliant on fossil fuels - compounding climate change and its effect on health.

A map showing the environmental pressures from global food production has been developed by researchers, to identify ways of creating more sustainable and just food systems. The analysis looked at greenhouse gas emissions, water use, habitat disturbance and pollution, such as effluent or fertiliser run off from farms.

A new analysis by an Imperial researcher for WWF shows krill play a vital role in keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. The analysis, conducted by Dr Emma Cavan from the Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) at Imperial, suggests krill should be valued beyond their worth as a fished resource. Life on Earth clearly has an important role in carbon cycling and sequestration.