BGS Groundwater Science
Lead Research Organisation:
British Geological Survey
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Organisations
- British Geological Survey (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND (Collaboration)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (Collaboration)
- Environment Agency (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Robert Ward (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Ascott MJ
(2016)
Impacts of extreme flooding on riverbank filtration water quality.
in The Science of the total environment
Bacon J
(2012)
The role of groundwater characteristics in catchment recovery from nitrate pollution
in Hydrology Research
Banks V
(2009)
Stratigraphical influences on the limestone hydrogeology of the Wye catchment, Derbyshire
in Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
Barker J
(2008)
A simple model of leakage induced by deep pumping and its application to pollution beneath a city in Thailand
in Hydrogeology Journal
Barker L
(2016)
Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: January 2016.
Barker L
(2016)
Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: May 2016.
Barker L.
(2018)
Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: January 2018
Barker L.
(2018)
Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: July 2018
Barker, Lucy;
(2015)
Hydrological summary for the United Kingdom: October 2015
Bearcock J
(2018)
Controls on surface water quality in the River Clyde catchment, Scotland, UK, with particular reference to chromium and lead
in Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
| Description | The BGS Groundwater Science programme has made major contributions to improved understanding and characterisation of the fundamental properties of groundwater systems and to the investigation of the impacts of a changing environment. The programme's work has directly influenced national legislation and government policy and decision-making. It has established standards for protection of groundwater and the environment and enabled evaluation of economic and societal impacts of environmental change on water resources. In developing countries impacts include improved access to clean and sustainable supplies of groundwater with direct benefits to human health and well-being. This is impact is on-going. |
| Exploitation Route | We work with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the outcomes of our research reach the broadest range of users and support new and on-going academic research on groundwater and also decision making associated with the management and protection of groundwater. Much of our work is published open access and on NORA and the tools and outputs we develop are generally co-designed with stakeholders to ensure most effective use and uptake.The outcomes of the research inform policy, regulatory good practice and industry good practice. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Construction Energy Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/ |
| Description | The BGS Groundwater Science programme has made major contributions to improved understanding and characterisation of the fundamental properties of groundwater systems and to the investigation of the impacts of a changing environment. The programme's work has directly influenced national legislation and government policy and decision-making. It has established standards for protection of groundwater and the environment and enabled evaluation of economic and societal impacts of environmental change on water resources. In developing countries impacts include improved access to clean and sustainable supplies of groundwater with direct benefits to human health and well-being. On-going research activities and expertise have provided advice to government on environmental impacts of shale gas and associated environmental monitoring; steered Environment Agency strategy on groundwater flooding; supported UK Government during national flood emergency in 2014; supported UK Government in development of European legislation and implementation (Groundwater Directive); supported development of Abstraction Reform; informed actions and priorities within DfID, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation and been included in high level ministerial meetings on groundwater resources and health within Africa; produced guidance for aid agencies, e.g. WaterAid. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | BGS-hosted meeting on behalf of Defra at which proposed revision to EU Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive was discussed |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | BGS-hosted meeting on behalf od Defra at which proposed revision to EU Water Fremework Directive and Groundwater Directive discussed and working group established to develop technical recommendations. The two-day meeting attended by Ministry Officials and Technical Specialists from 28 EU Member States provided an opportunity to identify priorities for development of legislation in order to improve its effectiveness in achieving environmental objectives. Additionally the need for supporting science and evidence formed part of the discussions. |
| Description | Briefing Note on Properties at risk from Groundwater Flooding |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Following the flooding events in early 2014, BGS were asked by the Cabinet Office and GO-Science to review the figure previuosly determined for the properties at risk of groundwater flooding and re-evaluate the number. We have carried out an assessment using a combination of our groundwater flood susceptibility map, property location data and observational records to revise the numbers. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of properties at risk of GW flooding on the Chalk and for the first time figures have bee calculated for the numbers of properties at risk of flooding. The work has been carried out in collaboration with the EA and will be presented in a briefing, with supporting paper, to the Cabinet Office. |
| Description | Evidence to Environmental Audit Committee |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Flood Hydrology Road Map |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Member of the the Groundwater Flood Task Team inputting to the Environment Agency's Flood Hydrology Road Map project. The project is reviewing current arrangements for flood forecasting and planning in the EA, with the aim of developing a research agenda to address operational needs |
| Description | Groundwater in Africa |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The paper "Quantitative groundwater maps for Africa" (MacDonald et al, 2012) surpassed 70,000 downloads, the 4th most downloaded Institute of Physics article ever; it was also awarded the ERL feature article for 2012. After publication, the detailed digital versions of the maps were made freely available, and during 2013 BGS received daily requests for the data, which were distributed to individuals and institutions in 55 different countries including the World Bank, USAID, universities, various water ministries and major NGOs. The success of the research led to: a similar study being commissioned by DFID for Asia; BGS scientists providing advice to decision makers (e.g. Gates Foundation, World Bank, DFID); invitations to conferences and public events (e.g. ODI ? World Water Day) and contributions to review papers (e.g. Nature Climate Change). The research coincided with a renewed interest in the use of groundwater for poverty reduction in Africa, and BGS are now involved in many other African groundwater initiatives, including 6 UPGro projects and the development of an African Groundwater Atlas. |
| Description | Hydrogeological Outlooks |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | BGS has been working with a number of partners to develop a long-range forecast of river flows and groundwater levels - Hydrological Outlook UK. The project has involved bringing together information on the current and forecast weather conditions, soil moisture, river flows and groundwater levels, and uses a number of modelling methods to explore possible future conditions. These activities have also inspired other modelling approaches, and prompted new lines of scientific research. The different strands of activity are now being used to produce the monthly Hydrological Outlook UK that focuses on the next one to three months but also looks further into the future. The outlook is available at the web-site www.hydoutuk.net. In addition to an overview of the hydrological outlook for one and three months ahead, more detailed information on the different elements of the outlook is available as well as methodological descriptions. The partnership delivering the Hydrological Outlook includes the BGS, CEH, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, and the Rivers Agency Northern Ireland. |
| URL | http://www.hydoutuk.net/ |
| Description | LWEC Report Card: Water climate change Impact Report Card |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | - The Water and Climate Change Impact Report Card pulls together the latest available evidence on climate change impacts for the water sector, including flooding and drought. It is intended to help people understand the scale of possible change and inform decisions about the way that water is managed. It is a multi-layered resource providing high-level statements on water-related climate change impacts and the confidence we have in these statements. The report cards have been designed to be particularly useful for policy advisors, ministers, local authorities and any other decision-maker at any level of society and in any organisation. The information contained in the cards and in the ten supporting science evidence papers will also contribute to the UK's next Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). BGS groundwater scientists contributed to the summary report card and authored two of the ten science evidence papers that underpin it: one paper on the historic evidence for the impact of climate change on groundwater levels, temperature and quality, and one on future impacts of climate change on groundwater levels. This work was funded by Defra, managed by the Environment Agency and involved a number of other LWEC partners. |
| Description | Lead in drinking water mitigation plan for Ireland |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Outcomes of research carried out BGS on phosphate in drinking water and the risks to the environment from mains leakage have informed the new publication by Irish Water on the management and mitigation of risks from lead in drinking water. |
| Description | Oral evidence to Environment Audit Committee Nitrates Inquiry |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-comm... |
| Description | Response to UK flooding in winter 2013-14 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The record amount of rainfall over southern England during the winter of 2013/14 led to extensive groundwater flooding that was worse than had previously been experienced in many areas. In response to the flooding, the UK Government and national infrastructure owners sought BGS expertise and advice to assist in responding to events. BGS scientists were invited to attend emergency meetings and be part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) which met regularly to provide advice to COBRA meetings. In preparation for SAGE and COBRA meetings and in response to actions arising, numerous BGS staff (from across multiple Science and Information Directorates) undertook scientific evaluations, developed/applied groundwater models and prepared scientific briefings to very tight deadlines. The very positive and professional contribution that BGS made was acknowledged by the Prime Minister, the Government Chief Scientist and organisations both affected by events and having to respond to them (including government departments, the Environment Agency, Met Office and national infrastructure owners). In addition there was extensive media interest and BGS were praised for providing clear explanations of groundwater flooding drawing on the results of our science and our data and information assets. A number of staff appeared on prime-time TV and radio, including BBC 6 O'Clock and 10 O'Clock news, Newsnight, Sky TV, ITN, R4 Today Programme, BBC Radio 5live and local radio stations, Newsround, BBC Inside Out, Russian TV, and many more. The national press coverage of the floods quoted BGS experts on many of the front pages. |
| Description | Shale Gas and Groundwater Baselines |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | BGS is undertaking a national programme of groundwater sampling to establish a baseline for methane (and other potential contaminants) in groundwater ahead of any exploitation of shale gas in the UK. The availability of a baseline ahead of any shale gas development is extremely important as demonstrated by the problems in the US where none was established. The current (and on-going) study was recognised by the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering in their jointly produced review of shale gas in the UK and identified as their number one recommendation. The recommendations in the report were also fully endorsed by the UK Government. It has also been recognised by the onshore oil and gas industry (UK Onshore Operators Group - UKOOG) in their recently published guidance on shale gas. Other organisations have also endorsed the work including Public Health England and the Environment Agency and Defra are now co-funding this work. BGS's contribution to the science and evidence base needed to safely develop shale gas is not limited to measurement of methane. Other groundwater baseline data has been collected over a number years, some in partnership with the Environment Agency and SEPA. These data are used to establish regulatory standards and threshold values for EU Water Framework Directive and permit conditions for waste management licensing and contaminated land remediation. |
| Description | Shale gas and environmental impacts |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Shale gas baseline monitoring |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | The on-going study of methane baselines and temporal variation, and the preliminary results, were cited in a House of Lords debate on the Infrastructure Bill. The Labour amendment requiring baseline monitoring for a minimum of 12 months was withdrawn following discussion that drew heavily on BGS work. During the debate the work that BGS is carrying out was praised. |
| Description | Sustainable Food Production and Diffuse pollution |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | Defra is committed to supporting and developing British farming, encouraging sustainable food production and helping to enhance the environment and quality of life by reducing pollution. These are challenging objectives; meeting them requires both new science and the synthesis and scaling up of existing knowledge at the field and farm scale to the catchment scale. The Defra Demonstration Test Catchments (DTC) programme is addressing some of these challenges and the BGS Groundwater Science Directorate is leading a package of work to improve catchment understanding and develop effective measures and solutions to diffuse pollution problems. As part of this work we have also provided policy briefing notes to Government, based on best science from DTC and diffuse pollution research generally. Additionally support has been given to the review of existing and developing policy for the robustness of its evidence base and co-design and testing of new policy approaches. A recent example of this is a briefing to ministers on the impact of rainfall on agricultural production. |
| Description | Use of soil bio-accessibility data in human health risk assessment. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Advice to the Geospatial Commission and the Environment Agency on the use of BGS soil bioaccessibility data in relation to human health risk assessment |
| Description | Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy Expert Group and European Commission review of Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The BGS Groundwater Science Director (Rob Ward) has been re-appointed as a UK representative on the European Commission's Water Framework Directive (WFD) Common Implementation Strategy Groundwater Working Group (WGC). This group advises the European Commission, develops technical guidance, undertakes prioritisation and presentation of research outputs. The BGS role on the Group is to support the UK Government and Defra in negotiations and ensure that UK technical and scientific expertise is effective in influencing the both the development of the Directives and how they are implemented. BGS also contributes to the UK WFD Technical Advisory Group - Groundwater Task Team. As part of its WGC role BGS gave presentations on behalf of the UK Government to set out the UK position and requirements in relation to proposed amendments to the Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC). This directly resulted in changes to the proposals and additionally there was specific recognition, by the European Commission, of BGS research into emerging contaminants leading to the proposal for formally establishing a 'watch list' in the revised Directive. |
| Description | Water quality in Swaziland |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Provision of information on water quality to inform WaterAid on groundwater access, use and safety in rural areas |
| URL | https://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/health/home.html |
| Description | Water resources during times of drought. |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The drought of 2011-12 raised a number of important questions on water resources. BGS, alongside CEH, maintain a national archive of hydrological data, which have provided the foundation for several scientific initiatives associated with drought, including development of forecasts of drought development over 6 to 24 month periods. An operational forecasting capability has been developed for key groundwater sites across major aquifers in England using a groundwater model developed by BGS. The seasonal forecasts for water resources over the next 24 months have been utilised by Defra's National Drought Management Group, and by Environment Agency operational teams. Although the 2012 drought broke, the techniques developed are already being refined for operational application in future hydrological outlook products. Even before 2011-2012, the economic impact of drought on European countries over the last 30 years has been estimated at 100 billion euros, so even modest improvements in forecasting water availability can have major impacts. Forecasting systems can also be applied to groundwater flooding issues. These will be used by Defra, the regulators and water companies in planning for future drought events, and the modelling capability can be used to test climate change scenarios. For more information on BGS drought research see http://bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/waterResources/drought_overview.html Target audience(s): Public Research Organisation;Government Department;Local and regional Government |
| Description | Written evidence submitted by the British Geological Survey to the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into nitrate pollution in the UK. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | 3D Groundwater Vunerability Framework |
| Organisation | Environment Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Co-funded project to develop a framework for 3D groundwater vulnerability assessment |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-funded project to develop a framework for 3D groundwater vulnerability assessment |
| Impact | On-going co-funded project to develop a framework for 3D groundwater vulnerability assessment Loveless, S.; Lewis, M.A.; Bloomfield, J.P.; Terrington, R.; Stuart, M.E.; Ward, R.S.. 2018 3D Groundwater Vulnerability. Nottingham, UK, British Geological Survey, 201pp. (OR/18/012) Loveless, Sian E.; Bloomfield, John P.; Ward, Robert S.; Hart, Alwyn J.; Davey, Ian R.; Lewis, Melinda A.. 2018 Characterising the vertical separation of shale-gas source rocks and aquifers across England and Wales (UK). Hydrogeology Journal, 26 (6). 1975-1987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-018-1737-y Loveless, S.; Smith, N.. 2016 Summary of potential oil and gas formations in England for use in groundwater vulnerability assessments. British Geological Survey, 31pp. (OR/16/020) (Unpublished) |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Abandoned oil and gas wells impact on groudnwater quality |
| Organisation | Environment Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Co-funded project to investigate impact of abandoned oil and gas wells on groundwater quality |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-funded project to investigate impact of abandoned oil and gas wells on groundwater quality |
| Impact | On-going co-funded project to investigate impact of abandoned oil and gas wells on groundwater quality |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Baseline groundwater quality studies |
| Organisation | Environment Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Initiation of programme of assessment of groundwater quality in areas of potential hydrocarbon development to establish baseline conditions and develop a methodology for application in other areas. The contribution has involved the application of hydrogeological and geochemical expertise in project design, implementation of fieldwork by specialist monitoring staff and analysis of samples by BGS and NIGL laboratories. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise on policy implications and regulatory needs for research and outcomes |
| Impact | None yet |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | Public Health England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Department | Department of Earth Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Department | School of Chemical Engineering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Environmental Baseline Monitoring Project |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Integrated environmental monitoring programme/project in areas where there is proposed shale gas development (fracking). Financial contribution from BGS (£250K), programme leadership and co-ordination of outreach and communication activities, intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input and loan of equipment/facilities to support programme of work. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary internationally leading collaborative activity delivering a range of outputs for improved monitoring relating to shale gas development in the UK. Disciplines involved include: geology, hydrogeology, microbiology, geochemistry, radiochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, seismology, remote (satellite) sensing, analytical chemistry. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Community Drop In events in Lancashire and N. Yorkshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Community and stakeholder events were held in Kirby Misperton, N. Yorks and Treales, Lancashire to demonstrate the work being done on the Environmental Baseline Monitoring Projects in these areas. The areas are at the centre of two planning applications for shale gas hydraulic fracturing. The events were drop in events that allowed the community to visit at any time between 3 - 8 pm and meet the scientists involved in the work, see the equipment being used and discuss the results. The feedback from visitors to both events was extremely positive and the events were a big success. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Community engagement event - Lancashire (June 2016) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Community 'drop in' event to inform public and other stakeholders about our Environmental Baseline Monitoring activities associated with shale gas development in the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Community engagement event - Vale of Pickering (April 2016) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Community 'drop in' event to inform public and other stakeholders about our Environmental Baseline Monitoring activities associated with shale gas development in the area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/shaleGas/monitoring/lancashire.html |
| Description | Community engagement event - Vale of Pickering (February 2017) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Community 'drop in' event to inform community about Environmental Baseline Monitoring activities associated with shale gas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/shaleGas/monitoring/yorkshire.html |
| Description | Community launch of HydroJules |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BGS participated in the community launch event for HydroJULES (Andrew Hughes, presenting and Rob Ward, panel member (defining and tackling the scientific challenges)). HydroJULES is a NERC-funded research programme that will build a three-dimensional community model of the terrestrial water cycle to underpin hydrological research in the United Kingdom. Hydro-JULES will be delivered jointly by BGS, CEH and NCAS. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.ceh.ac.uk/hydrojules |
| Description | Contribution to Eurokarst 2016 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BGS groundwater scientist Louise Maurice Lou Maurice attended Eurokarst 2016 at the University of Neuchtael, Switzerland where she chaired a session on tracer tests, presented work related to her NERC knowledge exchange fellowship on karst in one of the plenary sessions, and contributed to the annual IAH karst commission meeting which was held during the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Hidden pollution beneath our feet threatens water supplies worldwide |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Groundwater researchers at the British Geological Survey (BGS) have found a major store of pollution sitting in the rocks beneath our feet that could have severe globalscale consequences for our rivers, water supplies, human health and the economy. In a paper published in Nature Communications, Matthew Ascott and fellow researchers from the British Geological Survey and Lancaster University have reported finding vast quantities of nitrate across the globe stored in rocks below ground and above the drinking water resources they hold as a result of human activity. Nitrate fertilizer helps feed the world but is also a major pollutant. When used in the wrong place it can cause serious damage to ecosystems and contaminate drinking water. As the stored nitrate is released from the rocks into rivers via springs, our precious ecosystems face the risk of a grim future of toxic algal blooms and fish deaths. Nitrate is also a concern for human health. It is the most widespread pollutant in drinking water sources (groundwater and surface water) with water treatment costing industry and consumers billions of pounds a year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/docs/2017/global_nitrate_press_release.pdf |
| Description | Hosted Well Drillers Association meeting at Keyworth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on 3D modelling, freely available sources BGS data and tour core store |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Ineson meeting on Africa, Groundwater & SDGs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Included presentation on groundwater data in Africa & frequent mention of BGS research in Africa especially within UPGro |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.iah-british.org/ineson-lecture-2017-full-programme/ |
| Description | Introduction to KINDRA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to Geological Society invitees on KINDRA, an initiative by EGS to disseminate data on hydrogeological projects, and on current BGS Hydrogeological research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Maps of prospective shale areas and constituencies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | At the request of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Hydrocarbons, a series of maps were produced for the Houses of Parliament that show the location of prospective shale gas/oil areas and parliamentary constituencies. The maps were prepared by Marietta Garcia-Bajo and presented by BGS Groundwater Science Director, Dr Rob Ward, to MPs and others in the House of Commons on 24/2/2015. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation at IAH Annual Conference, Croatia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of results of a study to improve regional assessment of spatio-temporal controls on Chalk groundwater flooding |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation of Groundwater directorates work relevant to UK water resources planning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of groundwater directorate work on UK water resources planning to the CIWEM Water Resources Panel |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation on Africa Groundwater Atlas at 40th WEDC International Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to international conference on BGS project Africa Groundwater Atlas |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation on Africa Groundwater Atlas at International Conference on Geology, Mining, Mineral and Groundwater Resources of Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to international conference on BGS project Africa Groundwater Atlas |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://mines.unza.zm/conference/ |
| Description | Presentation on Groundwater flooding |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of understanding of groundwater flooding within the Trent Basin. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation on National Recharge modelling |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on results of national scale recharge modelling to Environment Agency, SEPA and National Resources Wales |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to CIWEM Water Resources Panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presantation on BGS analysis of national water reosurce plans (WRMP 2015) and watyer indistry-relevant groundwater research activiteis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to Gloucestershire County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to County Councillors on: what shale gas is, how it is evaluated and how it can be extracted; consideration of the regulatory controls on the industry and the potential environmental risks and impacts; BGS research activities in particularly those relating to monitoring and risk assessment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to Leicestershire County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to County Councillors on: what shale gas is, how it is evaluated and how it can be extracted; consideration of the regulatory controls on the industry and the potential environmental risks and impacts; BGS research activities in particularly those relating to monitoring and risk assessment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Presentation to Treales, Roseacre and Wharles Parish Council and neighbouring communities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Following a request by the Parish Council of Treales, Roseacre and Wharles to give a presentation and briefing to the local community on the BGS-led environmental baseline monitoring activities in Lancashire. This monitoring is being carried out in close proximity to the proposed shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing sites. BGS Director of Groundwater Science, Rob Ward, and groundwater scientist Rachel Bell provided the briefing and answered questions at the meeting (3 June, 2015) which was attended by 45 people comprising councillors, community group leaders, campaign groups and other members of the public. The audience was well informed and challenging, but recognised and acknowledged the work that BGS was undertaking and unanimously gave their endorsement. They also offered assistance in finding and granting access to additional monitoring sites. The event was very successful and raised BGS's profile in the community and gained recognition as independent and impartial experts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Question Time - Malton |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Qurestion Time event chaired by local MP on issues around shale gas development in Vale of Pickering, N. Yorkshire |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Recorded Interview for Farming Today on BBC Radio 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Nicole Archer gave a recorded interview for Farming Today on BBC Radio 4 to discuss waterlogging od soils in agircultural land. The recording took place on a farm to describe the work being done on the ASSIST project, where BGS measures groundwater and how this data can be used to understand the process of waterlogging in farms near floodplains. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Science meeting from the NERC/RWM/EA co-funded Radioactivity And The Environment programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Joanna Wragg and Andrea Mills delivered a successful science meeting from the NERC/RWM/EA co-funded Radioactivity And The Environment programme. Along with various stakeholders (energy producers, regulators, waste managers) the meeting was attended by international scientists interested in radioactive waste disposal and repository siting, surface soil and sea water environmental radiochemistry, and radioecology. BEIS Chief Scientific ADviser, Professor John Loughead, along with other BEIS staff, attended a networking session organised to showcase the science outputs and engage with the scientists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talk at "Improving Quality in Surface Water in Europe" meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Debbie White of the BGS attended an "Improving Quality in Surface Water in Europe" meeting, Manchester and gave a talk on micro-organics in the River Thames - a study recently completed by BGS to investigate the presence of micro-organic pollutants along the length of the river and identification of potential anthropgoenic sources and land use influences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | The potential for groundwater on Malaysia's urban resilient future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BGS Groundwater Directorate (Chris Jackson and David Macdonald) ran a British Council-funded Researcher Links workshop at Heriot-Watt University, Malaysia. This workshop brought together 34 early career researchers from Malaysia and the UK to to interact, learn from each other and explore opportunities for building long-lasting research collaborations on the topic of "The potential for groundwater on Malaysia's urban resilient future". The workshop was co-delivered with colleagues from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, University of Malaya, and Imperial College London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UK Water Partnership presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | BGS's Andrew McKenzie presented on BGS capabilities and expertise to the Water Partnership when they visited Wallingford, and contributed to discussions on future flood research needs in the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Vale of Pickering community engagement event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | BGS invited by BEIS to hold a 'community engagement event' for their staff and visitors at 1 Victoria Street, London to demonstrate activites forming part of the BGS/BEIS Environmental Montoirng Project. The event held over lunchtime and afternoon provided an oportunity to showcase the work we have been doing in Lancashire and the Vale of Pickering, describe the results we have been obtaining and discuss our future plans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | WET WET WET - public lecture for World Water Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Public Lecture at Heriot Watt University attended by variety of stakehodlers including practitioners. Government, academic and public |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |