Catastrophic failure of ice age dam changed ocean circulation and climate12 February 2016The catastrophic release of fresh water from a vast South American lake at the end of the last Ice Age was significant enough to change circulation in the Pacific Ocean, according to new research co-authored by a PhD student from the University of Bristol.
New trees to be planted across Bristol as part of University’s European Green Capital pledge18 December 2015Tree stumps across the city are being replaced by new and healthy trees as part of a £60,000 pledge by the University of Bristol. This project, supported by Bristol City Council, will enhance Bristol’s urban environment and contribute to the city-wide legacy of European Green Capital 2015.
Greenland ice sheet during the twentieth century – a missing link in IPCC’s climate report17 December 2015Direct observations of the reduction and melting of the Greenland ice sheet during the last 110 years, made by an international team of climate researchers led by the Centre for GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and including Cabot Institute member Professor Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol, have been published today in Nature.
Students to turn trash into cash for charity this Christmas17 December 2015Students at the University of Bristol will be giving a helping hand to charity this Christmas thanks to a special initiative. Collection boxes have been placed across campus and in student halls as part of the Christmas Big Give to encourage the donation of any unwanted food or items before students return home for the festive break.
Cabot Institute geographer becomes AGU Fellow17 December 2015Cabot Institute member Paul Bates, Professor of Hydrology and Head of the School of Geographical Sciences, has been made a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
£3.68m award for long-term study to improve wheat breeding11 December 2015A consortium led by Bristol wheat geneticist Professor Keith Edwards has been awarded £3.68 million by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for a major long-term study to increase the efficiency of wheat breeding.
Superhydrophobic coating protects without the price11 December 2015A new class of superhydrophobic nanomaterials might simplify the process of protecting surfaces from water. Scientists in the US and UK, including Professor Julian Eastoe of the University of Bristol, have developed a water-repelling material that is inexpensive, nontoxic and can be applied to a variety of surfaces via spray- or spin-coating.
UK Government announces £138 million funding for world-class infrastructure research10 December 2015Inadequate infrastructure costs the nation £2 million a day, and extreme events can cost hundreds of millions more. The University of Bristol is one of 14 university partners in the UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC), which has secured £138 million of funding, to be match funded from other sources, as part of the UK Government’s spending review to develop a world-class, UK-based national infrastructure research community.
Cabot Institute academic elected to presidency of geosciences union8 December 2015Professor Jonathan Bamber, from the University of Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences and Cabot Institute, has just been elected as the new President of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) from 2017.
Cabot Innovation Fund winners 20157 December 2015Winners of this year's Cabot Institute Innovation Fund, whose funds are aimed at supporting bold, ambitious, and impactful ideas, have been announced.
InterDigital Europe joins Bristol Is Open’s programmable city project7 December 2015InterDigital, Inc., a mobile technology research and development company, has announced that InterDigital Europe has joined the Bristol Is Open programmable city project. Bristol Is Open is a joint venture between the University of Bristol and Bristol City Council.
Bristol academics support international climate talks3 December 2015Academics from the University of Bristol Cabot Institute are representing the University at the Conference of Parties (COP21), the United Nations climate change conference in Paris.
Cutting energy-related carbon emissions by 34 per cent will cost nothing, report finds1 December 2015Cities could make a significant contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions at zero net cost, according to a report published today by the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the University of Leeds and London School of Economics and Political Science.
Smart Internet Lab could change our future30 November 2015A new research centre that could become a world leader in communications, digital and autonomous systems research will be launched at the University of Bristol today [Monday 30 November].
Bristol postgraduates reap research rewards27 November 2015Six Bristol postgraduates have been awarded prizes for the exceptional quality of their research degree theses in the academic year 2014/15.
No substantive evidence for ‘pause’ in global warming24 November 2015There is no substantive evidence for a ‘pause’ or ‘hiatus’ in global warming and the use of those terms is therefore inaccurate, new research from the University of Bristol has found.
A row-bot that loves dirty water23 November 2015Taking inspiration from water beetles and other swimming insects, academics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) have developed the Row-bot, a robot that thrives in dirty water. The Row-bot mimics the way that the water boatman moves and the way that it feeds on rich organic matter in the dirty water it swims in.
From lab bench to backbench23 November 2015Two Cabot Institute academics from the University of Bristol will be swapping a lab coat for legislation when they visit the House of Commons for a week in Westminster. The week (23-26 November) is part of a unique pairing scheme run by the Royal Society- the UK’s national academy of science, with support from the Government Office for Science.
Royal award recognises global impact of Bristol’s volcanology research20 November 2015The University of Bristol has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education – the highest accolade for any academic institution – in recognition of its world-leading research in volcanology.
Sea-level rise from Antarctic collapse
18 November 2015A new study by scientists in the UK and France, including researchers at the University of Bristol, has found that Antarctic ice sheet collapse will have serious consequences for sea level rise over the next two hundred years, though not as much as some have suggested.
When did the Andes mountains form?18 November 2015The Andes have been a mountain chain for much longer than previously thought, new research from the University of Bristol suggests.
University wins Green Capital Award13 November 2015The University of Bristol has won The Bristol Post’s Green Public Sector Award in recognition of its work in sustainability.
Flood hazard model helps the developing world12 November 2015A global flood hazard model, created by researchers at the University of Bristol, is helping developing countries to reduce the risks posed by flooding.
RISE 2015: Growing green social enterprises in Bristol11 November 2015One of the UK’s largest public social enterprise conferences returns to Bristol on Saturday 21 November, focussing on the city’s growing green economy.
Cabot Institute academic named World Technology Award finalist11 November 2015Two University of Bristol academics have been named World Technology Award finalists by the World Technology Network (“The WTN”) – a global community comprised of the most innovative people and organisations at the forefront of science and technology and related fields.
Bristol Data Dome launches this autumn10 November 2015The Bristol Data Dome, housed inside At-Bristol Science Centre’s Planetarium, will be launched next week [Wednesday 18 November] as part of the Festival of the Future City.
Divestment petition handed to Vice Chancellor9 November 2015Today [9 November], the University of Bristol Fossil Free Society will hand in its divestment petition to the University’s new Vice Chancellor Professor Hugh Brady, demanding that the University commit to divesting its endowment fund (~£56 million)[1] from fossil fuel extraction companies.
Consortium wins grant to explore climate change and possible risk to health9 November 2015The University of Bristol is part of a consortium that will investigate the potential risk from a changing climate and extreme weather to people’s health across the city. The project, funded by Innovate UK and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), will combine the latest methods in economic valuation and systems modelling and explore the strategic level response to evidence and opportunities for minimising costs.
Between a rock and a hard place: how life survives under a glacier29 October 2015How does microbial life manage to survive in subglacial environments over millions of years? New research from the University of Bristol has found that the grinding of bedrock by glaciers and ice sheets produces a continual supply of hydrogen gas, a ready source of energy (‘food’) for many microbes. This hydrogen is most likely formed when the highly reactive surfaces of freshly fractured silicate minerals react with and split water.
Making Bristol more child-friendly28 October 2015Children and young people are being consulted on how to make Bristol more child-friendly as part of a new research project. The aim is to create a new vision for the city acknowledging the needs of young people, which can often be overlooked.
Research breakthrough will help clean up Sellafield26 October 2015The timescale and costs of cleaning up one of the UK’s most hazardous buildings, Magnox Swarf Storage Silo at Sellafield, could be significantly reduced, thanks to a study involving researchers from the University of Bristol.
Tracing cyanobacteria’s tree of life in Earth’s extreme environments21 October 2015The tree of life of cyanobacteria, a key group of microorganisms widely considered to be the most successful on Earth, which emphasises cyanobacteria from extremely cold habitats such as the Poles and the high mountains on every continent, has been reconstructed by Dr Patricia Sánchez-Baracaldo and colleagues from the Glaciology Centre in Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences.
Tracing cyanobacteria’s tree of life in Earth’s extreme environments21 October 2015The tree of life of cyanobacteria, a key group of microorganisms widely considered to be the most successful on Earth, which emphasises cyanobacteria from extremely cold habitats such as the Poles and the high mountains on every continent, has been reconstructed by Dr Patricia Sánchez-Baracaldo and colleagues from the Glaciology Centre in Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences.
