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| The Environmental Change Research Cluster brings together researchers who are interested in improving our understanding of environmental systems. A consistent theme that runs through much of the work is the way in which natural spatial and temporal variability is influenced by issues relating to climate change and human activity at various scales. As we increasingly stress the Earth’s natural systems we continue to ask ourselves if Humans can co-exist with the physical environment? The answer has to be Yes, but in the knowledge that these ’natural systems’ won’t be fully natural; they will be impacted by human action; and they will be hosting a myriad of interests that are often conflicting. A driving motivation of our research cluster is the conviction that informed decision making must be based upon scientific data as we try to predict how these natural systems will respond to short- and long-term change.
A range of geographical perspectives and expertise are employed by our research cluster, including palaeoclimatology, palaeolimnology, environmental geochemistry, historical climatology, process geomorphology, coastal dynamics, coastal and marine spatial planning, sediment transport, risk management, natural and environmental hazards, and geographic information science. We are proud of our multidisciplinary approach, its international outlook, and its extensive network of collaborations with private and government organizations, linked to a strong research tradition. Our members have many collaborative partnerships with active, interdisciplinary research clusters including, but not limited to, The Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit (PRU), Marine and Coastal Processes, Environment and Health, Socio-economics and Policy, and Biodiversity and Bioresources research groups in the Ryan Institute, all located in NUIG, as well as many international research collaborations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Portugal, UK and USA. Our strategic intent is to become a leading research entity in Ireland and Europe and play a vital role in maintaining and enhancing the NUIG’s international profile. |
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Contact:
Dr Aaron Potito
Carlos Chique (PhD): Evolution of eutrophic freshwater systems in western Ireland (Hardiman Scholar)
Colin Doyle (PhD): National Governance of Greenhouse Gas in Emissions in Ireland 1990-2012
Zoe Elliot (PhD): Understanding the sediment transport dynamics of maërl debris on a high conservation value beach system
Nessa Golden (PhD): Assessment of heavy metal contamination in soils using GIS and spatial analysis
Peter Majkut (PhD): Palaeoecological investigations of small-basin bogs in east Galway: towards reconstructing long-term environmental change with reference to human impact and climate change in mid-western Ireland (IRCSET PhD Scholar)
Seamus McGinley (PhD): On the trail of the Invisible People: new approaches to understanding human settlement and climate change in the Irish Iron Age (Galway Doctoral Scholarship)
Michelle McKeown (PhD): Recent climate variability and impacts on lake ecosystems in NW Ireland
Karen Taylor (PhD): Environmental impacts of early farming in western Ireland (IRCSET PhD Scholar, Hardiman Scholar)
Books
Hickey, K.R. (2011)
Wolves in Ireland: A Natural and Cultural History, Dublin, Four Courts Press, 155pp.
Journal Articles
Taylor, K.J.,
A.P. Potito, D.W. Beilman, B. Ghilardi, and M. O’Connell (submitted) Palaeolimnological impacts of early prehistoric farming at Lough Dargan, County Sligo, Ireland.
Journal of Archaeological Science.
McKeown, M.,
A.P. Potito, and
K.R. Hickey (submitted) The long-term temperature record from Markree Observatory, County Sligo from 1842-2011.
Irish Geography.
X. Guo,
A.P. Potito, L. Luo, and D.W. Beilman (submitted) Twentieth century human and climate impacts on a large mountain lake in southwest China.
Hydrobiologia.
Farrell, E.J. and Sherman, D.J. (in press). Estimates of the Schmidt Number for vertical flux distributions of wind-blown sand.
Journal Of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 65.
Sherman, D.J.; Houser, C.; Ellis, J.T.;
Farrell, E.J.; Li, B.; Maia, L.P. (in press). Characterization of aeolian streamers using time-average videography.
Journal Of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 65.
Hickey K.R. and
Connolly-Johnston C. (in press) A review of the 2011 Hurricane, Tropical Cyclone and Typhoon Season,
International Journal of Meteorology
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Irene Delgado-Fernandez, Derek W.T. Jackson, J. Andrew G. Cooper, Andreas C.W. Baas, J.H. Meiring Beyers, Kevin Lynch (2013) Field characterization of three-dimensional lee-side airflow patterns under offshore winds at a beach-dune system. Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface (in press).
Jackson, D.W.T., Beyers, J.H.M., Delgado-Fernandez, I., Baas, A.C.W., Cooper, J.A.G.,
Lynch, K., (2013) Airflow reversal and alternating corkscrew vortices in foredune wake zones during perpendicular and oblique offshore winds,
Geomorphology, In Press, DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.12.037
Lynch, K., Delgado-Fernandez, I., Jackson, D.W.T., Cooper, J.A.G., Baas, A.C.W., and Beyers, J.H.M. (2013) Alongshore variation of aeolian sediment transport on a beach, under offshore winds.
Aeolian Research, 8, 11–18, DOI:10.1016/j.aeolia.2012.10.004
Hickey K.R. (Mar 2013) The Weather and Climate of Co. Donegal, in McLoughlin J. and Beattie S.(eds) An Historical, Environmental and Cultural Atlas of Co Donegal,
Cork University Press, p25-31.
Hickey K.R. and Connolly Johnston C. (2013) The Impact of Hurricane Debbie (1961) and Hurricane Charley (1986) on Ireland, in Hickey K.R. (ed) Advances in Hurricane Research – Modelling, Meteorology, Preparedness and Impacts, Intech, Croatia p.183-198.
Hickey K.R. (Apr 2013) New wolf evidence for Ireland, Askeaton Community Arts Group, Co. Limerick
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Woodward, C.A.,
A.P. Potito, and D.W. Beilman. 2012. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in surface sediments from lakes of western Ireland: implications for inferring past lake productivity and nitrogen loading.
Journal of Paleolimnology 47: 167-184.
Farrell, E.J., D.J. Sherman, Ellis, J., and B.Li. (2012). Vertical distribution of grain size for wind blown sand.
Aeolian Research, 7, 51-61.
Sherman, D.J., B. Li, Ellis, J.E.,
Farrell, E.J., Maia, L.P., Granja, H (2012). Recalibrating aeolian sand transport models.
Earth
Surface Processes And Landforms, doi: 10.1002/esp.3310.
Ellis, J.T., Sherman, D.J.,
Farrell, E.J., and Li, B. (2012) Temporal and spatial variability of aeolian sand transport: implications for field measurements.
Aeolian Research, 3, 379-387.
Hickey K.R. (Nov 2012) The weather and climate of Co. Donegal, in McLoughlin J. (ed) The Atlas of Co Donegal, Cork University Press, p25-31.
Hickey K.R. (2012) Ireland will be hurt by sea-level Rise due to global warming in Berlatsky N. (ed) Water, Global Viewpoints Series, Gale, Cengage, New York, USA, p20-26.
Dao, L.G., Morrison, L.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. Bonfires as a potential source of metal pollutants in urban soils, Galway, Ireland. Applied Geochemistry 27 (4): 930–935. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.01.010.
Dao, L.G., Morrison, L., Kiely, G.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. Spatial distribution of potentially bioavailable metals in surface soils of a contaminated sports ground in Galway, Ireland. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2012, DOI: 10.1007/s10653-012-9478-7.
Xu, D., Wu, W., Ding, S.M., Sun, Q.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. A high-resolution dialysis technique for rapid determination of dissolved reactive phosphate and ferrous iron in pore water of sediments. Science of The Total Environment 421–422: 245–252. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.01.062,
Wang, L.Q., Liang, T., Wang, W.L.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. Effects of antecedent soil moisture on losses of rare earth elements and phosphorus in runoff. Environmental Earth Sciences 66(8): 2379-2385, DOI: 10.1007/s12665-011-1463-4.
Yang, B., Chen, Z.L.,
Zhang, C.S., Dong, J.H., Peng, X.C., 2012. Distribution patterns and major sources of dioxins in soils of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 84: 63–69. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2012.06.021
Wang, W.L., Liang, T., Wang, L.Q., Liu,Y.F., Wang, Y.Z.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. The effects of fertilizer applications on runoff loss of phosphorus. Environmental Earth Sciences 2012. DOI: 10.1007/s12665-012-1829-2.
Ding, S.M., Sun, Q., Xu, D., Jia, F., He, X.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. High-Resolution Simultaneous Measurements of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus and Dissolved Sulfide: The First Observation of Their Simultaneous Release in Sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46 (15): 8297–8304. DOI: 10.1021/es301134h
Xu, D., Ding, S.M., Li, B., Jia, F.,
He, X.,
Zhang, C.S., 2012. Characterization and optimization of the preparation procedure for solution P-31 NMR analysis of organic phosphorus in sediments.
Journal of Soils and Sediments 12(6): 909-920, DOI: 10.1007/s11368-012-0510-4.
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Jackson, D.W.T., Beyers, J.H.M.,
Lynch, K., Cooper, J.A.G., Baas, A.C.W. and Delgado- Fernandez, I. (2011) Investigation of three-dimensional wind flow behaviour over coastal dune morphology under offshore winds using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and ultrasonic anemometry,
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 36. pp. 1113-1134, DOI: 10.1002/esp.2139
I. Delgado-Fernandez, D.W.T. Jackson, J.A.G. Cooper, A.C.W. Baas,
K. Lynch and J.H.M. Beyers (2011) Re-attachment zone characterisation under offshore winds blowing over complex foredune topography,
Journal of Coastal Research, SI 64, pp (ISSN 0749-0208)
X. Guo,
A.P. Potito, L. Luo. 2011. A GIS-based approach for simulating air temperature in the Hydroelectric Reservoir Region, central China. Proceedings for the International Symposium on Water Resources and Environmental Protection (ISWREP): 2193-2197.
Hickey K.R. (2011) The historic record of cold spells in Ireland,
Irish Geography, 44 (2/3) p303-321.
Galvin S.,
Hickey K.R. and
Potito A.P. (2011) Identifying volcano signals in Irish temperature observations since AD 1800,
Irish Geography, 44 (1) p97-110.
Hickey K.R. (2011) The hourly gale record from Valentia Observatory, SW Ireland 1874-2008 and some observations on extreme wave heights in the NE Atlantic,
Climatic Change, Vol. 106 (3) p483- 506.
Hickey K.R. (2011) The Impact of Hurricanes on the Weather of Western Europe in Lupo A. (ed) Recent Hurricane Research – Climate, Dynamics, and Societal Impacts, InTech, Croatia, p77-84.
Hickey K.R. (2011) A review of the 2010 Hurricane, Tropical Cyclone and Typhoon Season,
International Journal of Meteorology, Vol. 36, (364) p269-272.
Zhang, C.S., Hursthouse, A.S., Stewart, A.G., Li, X.D., Thornton, I., 2011 (editors). Special Issue: Selected papers from SEGH 2010 conference on environmental quality and human health, Environmental Geochemistry and Health 33(4).
Zhang, C.S., Tang, Y., Xu, X.L., Kiely, G., 2011. Towards spatial geochemical modelling: Use of geographically weighted regression for mapping soil organic carbon contents in Ireland. Applied Geochemistry 26(7): 1239-1248. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.04.014
Ding, S.M., Jia, F., Xu, D., Sun, Q., Zhang, L., Fan, C.X.,
Zhang, C.S., 2011. High-Resolution, Two-Dimensional Measurement of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus in Sediments Using the Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films Technique in Combination with a Routine Procedure. Environmental Science & Technology 45: 9680–9686. dx.doi.org/10.1021/es202785p
Fu, W.J., Zhao, K.L.,
Zhang, C.S., and Tunney, H., 2011. Using Moran’s I and geostatistics to identify spatial patterns of soil nutrients in two different long-term phosphorus-application plots. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 174:785–798 DOI: 10.1002/jpln.201000422.
Xu, X. Liu, W.,
Zhang, C.S., Kiely, G., 2011. Estimation of soil organic carbon stock and its spatial distribution in the Republic of Ireland. Soil Use and Management doi: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2011.00342.
Huang, M.X., Liang, T., Ou-Yang, Z., Wang, L.Q.,
Zhang, C.S., Zhou, C.H., 2011. Leaching losses of nitrate nitrogen and dissolved organic nitrogen from a yearly two crops system, wheat-maize, under monsoon situations. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst (2011) 91:77–89. DOI 10.1007/s10705-011-9447-z
Wang, L.Q., Liang, T., Chong, Z.Y.,
Zhang, C.S., 2011. Effects of soil type on leaching and runoff transport of rare earth elements and phosphorous in laboratory experiments. Environ Sci Pollut Res, 18(1):38–45. DOI 10.1007/s11356-010-0357-4
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Lynch, K., Jackson, D. W. T. and Cooper, J. A. G. (2010) Coastal foredune topography as a control on secondary airflow regimes under offshore winds,
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35, pp. 344-353. DOI: 10.1002/esp.1925
Beyers, Meiring, Jackson, Derek,
Lynch, Kevin, Cooper, Andrew, Baas, Andreas, Delgado-Fernandez, Irene and Dallaire, Pierre-Olivier (2010) Field testing and CFD LES simulation of offshore wind flows over coastal dune terrain in Northern Ireland. In: The Fifth International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering (CWE2010), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. International Association for Wind Engineering.
Sherman, D.J., S. Quiring, B. Li, and
Farrell, E.J. (2010). Benchmarking the war against global warming.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 100(4), 1013-1024.
Li, B., D.J. Sherman, D.J.,
Farrell, E.J., and J.T. Ellis, (2010). Variability of the apparent von Kármán parameter during aeolian saltation.
Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L15404, doi: 1029/2010GL044068.
Hickey K.R. (2010) A review of the 2009 Hurricane, Tropical Cyclone and Typhoon Season,
International Journal of Meteorology, Vol. 35, (353) p307-310.
Ball T., Booth L.M., Duck R.W., Edwards A.,
Hickey K.R. and Werrity A. (2010) Coastal flooding in Scotland: Past, present and future, in Allsop W. (ed) Coasts, Marine Structures and Breakwaters: Adapting to Change - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference Organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers and Held in Edinburgh on 16 to 18 September 2009, p614-625.
Dao, L.G., Morrison, L., and
Zhang, C.S., 2010. Spatial variation of urban soil geochemistry in a roadside sports ground in Galway, Ireland. Science of The Total Environment 408(5): 1076-1084.
Ding, S.M., Xu, D., Li, B., Fan, C.X.,
Zhang, C.S., 2010. Improvement of 31P NMR Spectral Resolution by 8-Hydroxyquinoline Precipitation of Paramagnetic Fe and Mn in Environmental Samples. Environmental Science & Technology 44, 2555–2561. DOI: 10.1021/es903558g
Ding, S.M., Xu, D., Sun, Q., Yin, H.B.,
Zhang, C.S., 2010. Measurement of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus Using the Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films Technique with a High-Capacity Binding Phase. Environmental Science & Technology 44, 8169–8174. DOI: 10.1021/es1020873
Fu, W.J., Tunney, H., and
Zhang, C.S., 2010. Spatial variation of soil nutrients in a dairy farm and its implications for site-specific fertilizer application. Soil and Tillage Research 106(2): 185-193
Fu, W.J., Tunney, H.,
Zhang, C.S., 2010. Spatial variation of soil test phosphorus in a long-term grazed experimental grassland field. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 173, 323–331. DOI: 10.1002/jpln.200800275.
Xu, Y.H., Ya, T.,
Zhang, C.S., Wang, J.Y., Li, B., 2010. Contamination Assessment of Heavy Metals in Road Dusts and Soils of the Jiuzhaigou National Scenic Area in Sichuan, China. Journal of Mountain Science 28(3):288-293 (In Chinese with English Abstract).
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Lynch, K., Jackson, D. W. T. and Cooper, J. A. G. (2009) Foredune accretion under offshore winds, Geomorphology, 105, 139-146. DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.12.011
Ellis, J.T., B. Li,
Farrell, E.J. and D.J. Sherman, (2009). Protocols for characterizing aeolian mass-
flux profiles.
Aeolian Research 1, 19-26.
Farrell, E.J., H. Granja, L. Cappietti, J.T. Ellis, B. Li, and D.J. Sherman, (2009). Wave transformation across a rock platform, Belinho, Portugal.
Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56, 44-48.
Li, B., H. Granja,
Farrell, E.J, J.T. Ellis, and D.J. Sherman, (2009). Aeolian saltation at Esposende beach.
Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56, 327-331.
Hickey K.R. (2009) A review of the 2008 Hurricane, Tropical Cyclone and Typhoon Season, International
Journal of Meteorology, Vol. 34, (341) p233-236.
Hickey K.R. (2009) Where have all the wolves gone?, Fenwick J. (ed) Lost and Found II Discovering Ireland's Past, Dublin, Wordwell, p29-40.
Zhang, C.S., Tang, Y., Luo, L., Xu, W.L., 2009. Outlier identification and visualization for Pb concentrations in urban soils and its implications for identification of potential contaminated land. Environmental Pollution 157: 3083–3090. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2009.05.044
Tunney, H., Stojanovic´, N., Popic´, J.M., McGrath, D.,
Zhang, C.S., 2009. Relationship of soil phosphorus with uranium in grassland mineral soils in Ireland using soils from a long-term phosphorus experiment and a National soil database. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 1–7 DOI: 10.1002/jpln.200800069
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MacDonald, G.M., K.A. Moser, A.M. Bloom, D.F. Porinchu,
A.P. Potito, A. Petel, B. Wolfe, T.W.D. Edwards, A.R. Orme, and A.J. Orme. 2008. Evidence of temperature depression and hydrological variations in the eastern Sierra Nevada during the Younger Dryas stade.
Quaternary Research 70: 131-140.
Potito, A.P. and G.M. MacDonald. 2008. The effects of aridity on conifer radial growth, recruitment, and mortality patterns in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 40: 129-139.
Lynch, K., Jackson, D. W. T. and Cooper, J. A. G. (2008) Aeolian fetch distance and secondary airflow effects: the influence of micro-scale variables on meso-scale foredune development,
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 33, 991-1005. DOI: 10.1002/esp.1582
Sherman, D.J., and
Farrell, E.J. (2008). Aerodynamic roughness lengths over moveable beds: comparison of wind tunnel and field data.
Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, F02S08, doi:10.1029/2007JF000784.
Hanna E., Cappelen J., Allan R., Jonsson T., Le Blanq F., Lillington T. and
Hickey K.R. (2008) New insights into North European and North Atlantic surface pressure variability, storminess and related climate change since 1830,
Journal of Climate, Vol 21 (12), p6739-6766.
Zhang, C.S., Fay, D., McGrath, D., Grennan, E., Carton, O.T., 2008. Use of trans-Gaussian kriging for national soil geochemical mapping in Ireland. Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis 8:255–265.
Zhang, C.S., Fay, D., McGrath, D., Grennan, E., Carton, O.T., 2008. Statistical analyses of geochemical variables in soils of Ireland. Geoderma 146(1-2): 378-390.
Zhang, C.S., Luo, L., Xu, W.L., and
Ledwith, V., 2008. Use of local Moran's I and GIS to identify pollution hotspots of Pb in urban soils of Galway, Ireland. Science of The Total Environment 398 (1-3): 212-221.
Yang, J., Huang, Z.C., Chen, T.B., Lei, M., Zheng, Y.M., Zheng, G.D., Song, B., Liu, Y.Q.,
Zhang, C.S. Predicting the probability distribution of Pb-increased lands in sewage-irrigated region: A case study in Beijing, China. Geoderma 147(3-4): 192-196.
Liang, T., Wang, S.N., Cao, H.Y.,
Zhang, C.S., Li, H.T., Li, H.P., Song, W.C., Chong, Z.Y., 2008. Estimation of ammonia nitrogen load from nonpoint sources in the Xitiao River catchment, China. Journal of Environmental Sciences 20: 1195–1201.
Carr, R.,
Zhang, C.S., Moles, N., and Harder, M., 2008. Identification and mapping of heavy metal pollution in soils of a sports ground in Galway City, Ireland, using a portable XRF analyser and GIS. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 30(1):45-52.
Liang, T., Ding, S.M., Song, W.C., Chong, Z.Y.,
Zhang, C.S., and Li, H.T. 2008. A review of fractionations of rare earth elements in plants, Journal of Rare Earths 26(1):7-15.
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Porinchu, D.F.,
A.P. Potito, G.M. MacDonald, and A.M. Bloom. 2007. Subfossil chironomids as indicators of recent climate change in Sierra Nevada, California, lakes. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 39: 286-296.
Jackson, D. W. T., Anfuso, G. and
Lynch, K. (2007) Swash bar dynamics on a high-energy meso-tidal beach. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50, 738-745. (ISSN 0749.0208)
Dawson A.G,
Hickey K.R., Mayewski P. and Nesje A. (2007) Greenland (GISP2) ice core and historical indicators of complex North Atlantic climate changes during the fourteenth century, The Holocene, Vol.17 (4) p.425-432.
Jordan, C.,
Zhang, C.S., Alex Higgins, A., 2007. Using GIS and statistics to study influences of geology on probability features of surface soil geochemistry in Northern Ireland. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 93: 135-152.
Zhang, C.S., Jordan, C., and Higgins, A., 2007. Using neighbourhood statistics and GIS to quantify and visualize spatial variation in geochemical variables: An example using Ni concentrations in the topsoils of Northern Ireland. Geoderma 137(3-4):466-476.
Cao, H.Y., Liang, T., Tao, S.,
Zhang, C.S., 2007. Simulating the temporal changes of OCP pollution in Hangzhou, China. Chemosphere 17(7):1335–1345.
