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Each of the photos on the poster to the left (which can be downloaded by clicking on the image, printed, and distributed as desired) tells a particular story of the research carried out by members of the Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems. The full stories behind the pictures are below:
Assessing volcanic eruptions
Volcanoes shape the physical world around us: forming the crust under the oceans, shaping the continents, and changing the composition of the atmosphere. Local eruptions, such as those on Iceland, are also intricately linked with our history and have the ability to affect our present day life; the Laki eruption in 1783 may have led more than 20,000 deaths in England and an eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in April 2010 caused huge air traffic disruption around Europe.
The picture shows Open University scientists surveying Mount Etna in Italy, looking for changes in the shape of the surface, the strength of the gravity field and changes in the chemicals of any gases given off. Long-term monitoring in times when a volcano is dormant can help show changes that might show that an eruption is more likely in the near future. Scientists from The Open University study volcanic processes and try to find out whether volcanic eruptions can be predicted, whether the length of eruption can be estimated in advance, and how we can reduce the effect of eruptions on the environment and local communities. To find out more about our research please go to the Volcano Dynamics Group website.
Volcano science is taught at The Open University at Level 1.
Surveying meadows
Meadows support one of the most diverse plant communities of any habitat, with up to 40 species of plant coexisting in a single square metre. The grassland ecology research group at The Open University have been investigating how such diversity can sustain itself. To do this, we have been tracking the annual composition of communities at fixed points for up to 15 years. We then look at the availability of resources such as water and how they vary with time. Developing hydrological models of the meadow soil is one component of the study, which requires a very detailed survey of ground elevation at each of the monitored locations (illustrated in the photo). The knowledge gained from this research has contributed to the development of several courses within the Environmental Science qualification at both second and third level, where an understanding of how biological systems respond to their environment is one of the core themes. You can learn more about our meadows work at Floodplain Meadows Partnership.
Coring mud
The geological record of past environmental change allows us to anticipate the consequences of predicted future climate changes. Open University scientists are exploring how terrestrial vegetation responded to climate changes in the past by examining the evidence contained within ancient lake and swamp sediments. The physical properties of the sediments such as particle size and colour, and the biological remains they contain such as pollen or insects allows us to build a detailed picture of past environments.
The picture shows two Open University PhD students collecting sediments from a swamp in the Ecuadorian Andes. The fossil record extracted from these sediments will help us to understand how the highly biodiverse ecosystems of Amazonia have changed in the past. To find out more about our research please visit the Palaeoenvironmental Change Research Group.
Past environmental change is taught at The Open University at Levels 2 and 3.
Measuring methane emissions
Wetland ecosystems contain large amounts of carbon and they are also the largest source of the important greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere. Concentrations of this gas have been increasing in recent decades thus contributing to climate change. It has therefore become important to understand how methane is produced naturally in wetland ecosystems.
Scientists from The Open University have been investigating how these ecosystems exchange methane with the atmosphere and in some areas of the world these processes are very poorly understood. For example we have discovered that trees in tropical peat swamps in Borneo emit methane (illustrated in the photo) and they are the largest contributors to total ecosystem methane emissions. This is a very recent discovery as methane was previously only thought to be given off from the soil surface. We are continuing to research how trees respond to environmental variables so that our understanding of the global methane source is improved.
To find out more about our research please visit MethaneNet.
Ecology and ecosystems are taught at The Open University at Levels 2 and 3.
Mapping the mountains
Many of the Earth's great mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Himalaya, result from the collision between two continents. As mountains get pushed up by tectonic forces, they also get worn away by surface erosion, and this process feeds back into long-term regional and global climate change.
The picture shows Open University scientists mapping different rock types in the Alps. Back in the laboratory the samples they collect are analysed to determine what and where the rocks were before the mountains formed, and how long it took for them to be buried and recycled to the surface. Their work aims to understand how quickly the mountains rise once the plates start to collide, how rocks get buried and re-appear back at the surface, and how the erosion of mountain belts affects climate on geological timescales. Mountain building geology and how rocks give up clues about their history is covered in Open University modules at Level 3.
Want to learn more? Please see the Himalayan-Tibet Research Group website.
To find out more about Open University degree courses and how The Open University operates, please go to The Open University website.
Find out more specifically about Science, Environmental Science and Natural Science (with either earth sciences (geology) or environmental sciences pathways).