water

A team, led by Professor Louise Slater in the School of Geography and the Environment, has created the most complete map of the world’s rivers ever made offering a major leap forward for flood prediction, climate risk planning, and water resource management in a warming world. The new study, published in Water Resources Research, introduces GRIT—a mapping system that finally shows how rivers really flow, branch, and connect landscapes.

The Southern Ocean, key to Earth's environmental system, is threatened by climate change. A new paper in Science by Dr Catarina Frazão Santos, Dr Lisa Wedding, and colleagues, details how climate-smart marine spatial planning can support Antarctic seascapes, with implications for the global ocean and human wellbeing.

What I love about working with the REACH programme team is their commitment both to education and to using research to address some of the most challenging problems faced by people around the world. These two aspects came together perfectly when the team had the opportunity to share what they are working on with secondary school students at the Fair Water? Exhibition Schools Day last month.

At the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, a groundbreaking exhibition "Fair Water?" has opened its doors, shedding light on water insecurity and working towards equitable water access.

Researchers and students from across the University of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) will present their research as part of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting 2023. The international conference which will be held between 23 - 27 March, attracts geographers, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and other disciplinary experts who share and discuss the latest in research and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience.

Each year, the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) Honors and Recognition programme recognises individuals for meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science. These individuals, in various career stages, represent some of the most innovative minds in their disciplines. The 2022 awards, announced this week, honour Louise Slater for her outstanding contribution to hydrology.

Ellen Kujawa, a current student on the MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management programme, is one of nine recipients to be awarded a 2020 Science Policy Fellowship on the United States' National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Gulf Research Program, which seeks to benefit Gulf Coast communities and ecosystems.

A new study, published in Science magazine by an international team in the Brazilian Amazon, shows that redesigned conservation projects could deliver big gains for critical freshwater ecosystems - raising hopes for the futures of thousands of species. 'In a time when the Amazon is under increasing pressure from human activities, this paper provides effective solutions for biodiversity preservation,' explains co-author Erika Berenguer.

New funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will support global research and practice to improve water security for 10 million people in Africa and Asia, through Oxford University's REACH programme led by SoGE and the Smith School.

A team of Oxford geographers and the rivers charity Thames21 have built an innovative data-driven tool for exploring how rivers make people feel. The River Sentiment Dashboard gives insight into the changing public sentiment surrounding English rivers at a time when poor river water quality and sewage pollution are making headlines. The online dashboard will be launched during a public webinar on 25 May 2022.