Changing Landscapes Research Group

Predicting the Future

With the growing threats of population expansion, increasing consumption of depleting resources, energy supplies and security and global warming (to name but a few), the ability to accurately predict how the environment may change in the future is of fundamental importance when considering local, regional and national management strategies in the natural environment. Models of climate change for example predict that by 2100, global temperatures to rise by between 1.8 and 4degrees, whilst sea-level my rise by up to 0.6metres. How this will impact on more national and indeed regional scales is however poorly understood. Utilising the results obtained through research themes i) and ii), the Group also undertake research into the consequences of maintained climate change which will, in turn, assist in the development of management strategies suitable for the natural environment, including flood risk management, coastal management strategies etc.

Image: Digital Elevation Models from Porlock Gravel Barrier, Exmoor, indicating the potential extent of marine inundation in response to future sea-level rise.