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UCCRI is an Interdisciplinary Research Centre, with a network of over 150 researchers from all 6 Schools of the University of Cambridge. The Institute supports multidisciplinary research on biodiversity conservation and the social context within which humans engage with nature. It works from a base in the David Attenborough Building, which is designed to enhance collaboration and the sharing of perspectives across organisational and disciplinary boundaries.
URL: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/59874
Updated: 59 min 42 sec ago

Mon 12 May 13:00: CCfCS Polar Symposium

Sat, 22/03/2025 - 18:34
CCfCS Polar Symposium

The Cambridge Centre for Climate Science (in collaboration with the Institute of Computing for Climate Sciences, the British Antarctic Survey and the UK Polar Network) is inviting you to join the CCfCS Polar Symposium 2025. The aim of this event is to connect polar and climate researchers in Cambridge (in both science and humanities) and provide an overview of the work at Cambridge which contributes to understanding and mitigating climate change.

This will be an afternoon of talks from a variety of research institutions and departments in Cambridge, followed by a poster session and workshop aimed at early-career researchers. The event will be a great opportunity to find new collaborators and meet like-minded people interested in polar science and climate change across Cambridge. Early career researchers are particularly encouraged to participate.

Event details:

  • When: Monday 12th May 2025 13:00-18:00
  • Where: British Antarctic Survey, Conference Theatre
  • Registration fee: Free!
  • If you wish to attend (presenting or not) please register here: https://forms.gle/kCLv1QWixdfmKb4ZA

If you are interested in presenting a talk or poster, please provide a title and brief abstract in the registration form. The talks should be short (10-15 mins) and accessible to an interdisciplinary audience. In-person attendance is recommended, as the poster session and catering will only be available in-person, however the talks will be also streamed online for anyone unable to attend in-person. We will provide a more detailed schedule once we have collected all the abstracts. The day will include free hot drinks, cake and snacks, and the event will be followed by a social (TBC).

Abstract deadline: Monday 21st April 2025, 17:00

We look forward to seeing you soon! The Organising Committee Polina, Tarkan, Birgit and Sophie

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Wed 26 Mar 15:30: A Bayesian Neural Network approach to study dissolved oxygen in Southern Ocean water masses

Wed, 19/03/2025 - 15:58
A Bayesian Neural Network approach to study dissolved oxygen in Southern Ocean water masses

Oxygen plays a critical role in the health of marine ecosystems. As oceanic O2 concentration decreases to hypoxic levels, marine organisms’ habitability decreases rapidly. However, identifying the physical patterns driving this reduction in dissolved oxygen remains challenging. This study employs a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN) to analyze the uncertainty in dissolved oxygen forecasts. The method’s significance lies in its ability to assess oxygen forecasts’ uncertainty with evolving physical dynamics. The BNN model outperforms traditional linear regression and persistence methods, particularly under changing climate conditions. Our approach leverages three Explainable AI (XAI) techniques—Integrated Gradients, Gradient SHAP , and DeepLIFT—to provide meaningful interpretations of 2- and 8-year forecasts. The XAI analysis reveals that buoyancy frequency and eddy kinetic energy is a critical predictor for short-term forecasts across the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW), masses. While the LCDW variability emphasizes also a role played by advection processes, such as salinity, over short and long timescales.

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Sat 19 Apr 11:00: NatHistFest: 106th Conversazione Free Exhibition on the Wonders of the Natural World

Fri, 14/03/2025 - 11:45
NatHistFest: 106th Conversazione

Cambridge’s oldest celebration of citizen science.

The event, showcasing the environment and wildlife of Cambridgeshire and further afield, will be hosted in the David Attenborough Building, adjacent to the Zoology Museum.

We invite anyone (CNHS member or not) to consider exhibiting. Exhibits might include specimens (living or dead) – things people can handle always seem to be popular – or displays about any aspect of local natural history. Or perhaps you are member of a local group which might like to have an exhibit about its activities? Past programmes, available on our website, give an idea of the wide variety of exhibits, and there is also a history of the Conversazione, written in 1989 or the 70th event. For information or to book exhibition space please email exhibition@cnhs.org.uk, or contact the Conversazione organisers via https://www.cnhs.org.uk/

Free Exhibition on the Wonders of the Natural World

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Mon 17 Mar 13:00: Volcanic fissure localisation and lava delta formation: Modelling of volcanic flows undergoing rheological evolution

Thu, 13/03/2025 - 16:02
Volcanic fissure localisation and lava delta formation: Modelling of volcanic flows undergoing rheological evolution

In this talk, I will present two volcanologically motivated modelling problems. In the first, I will detail how thermoviscous localisation of volcanic eruptions is influenced by the irregular geometry of natural volcanic fissures. Fissure eruptions typically start with the opening of a linear fissure that erupts along its entire length, following which activity localises to one or more isolated vents within a few hours or days. Previous work has proposed that localisation can arise through a thermoviscous fingering instability driven by the strongly temperature dependent viscosity of the rising magma. I will show that, even for relatively modest variations of the fissure width, a non-planar geometry supports strongly localised steady states, in which the wider parts of the fissure host faster, hotter flow, and the narrower parts of the fissure host slower, cooler flow. This geometrically-driven localisation differs from the spontaneous thermoviscous fingering localisation observed in planar geometries, and is potentially more potent for parameter values relevant to volcanic fissures.

The second problem concerns lava delta formation. A lava delta arises when a volcanic lava flow enters a body of water, extending the pre-eruption shoreline via the creation of new, relatively flat land. A combination of cooling induced rheological changes and the reduction in gravitational driving forces controls the morphology and evolution of the delta. I will present shallow-layer continuum models for this process, highlighting how different modes of delta formation manifest in different late-time behaviours. In particular, I will derive a steady state shoreline extent when the delta formation is driven only by buoyancy forces, and late time similarity solutions for the evolution of the shoreline when the viscous lava fragments and forms `hyaloclastic’ debris on contact with the water.

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Thu 20 Mar 18:45: Natural Materials for Musical Instruments Please note the start time, being after the AGM, is approximate.

Thu, 13/03/2025 - 14:56
Natural Materials for Musical Instruments

Immediately following the CNHS AGM , Jim Woodhouse will give a Presidential Address on the various uses of natural materials in the making of traditional musical instruments.

The talk will focus mostly on wood: why instrument makers prefer certain particular types of wood, what it is in the cellular structure that makes these timbers special, and what scope there may be to use alternative materials in the light of climate pressure and CITES restrictions.

Please note the start time, being after the AGM, is approximate.

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Fri 04 Apr 13:00: Title to be confirmed

Wed, 12/03/2025 - 15:22
Title to be confirmed

Abstract not available

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Wed 23 Jul 14:00: External Seminar - Dr Oswaldo Valdes-Lopez TBC

Tue, 11/03/2025 - 12:26
External Seminar - Dr Oswaldo Valdes-Lopez TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 12 Mar 14:00: Spatio-temporal Melt and Basal Channel Evolution on Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf from CryoSat-2

Wed, 05/03/2025 - 10:58
Spatio-temporal Melt and Basal Channel Evolution on Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf from CryoSat-2

Ice shelves buttress the grounded ice sheet, restraining its flow into the ocean. Mass loss from these ice shelves occurs primarily through ocean-induced basal melting, with the highest melt rates occurring in regions that host basal channels – elongated, kilometre-wide zones of relatively thin ice. While some models suggest that basal channels could mitigate overall ice shelf melt rates, channels have also been linked to basal and surface crevassing, leaving their cumulative impact on ice-shelf stability uncertain. Due to their relatively small spatial scale and the limitations of previous satellite datasets, our understanding of how channelised melting evolves over time remains limited. In this study, we present a novel approach that uses CryoSat-2 radar altimetry data to calculate ice shelf basal melt rates, demonstrated here as a case study over Pine Island Glacier (PIG) ice shelf. Our method generates monthly Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and melt maps with a 250 m spatial resolution. The data show that near the grounding line, basal melting preferentially melts a channel’s western flank 50% more than its eastern flank. Additionally, we find that the main channelised geometries on PIG are inherited upstream of the grounding line and play a role in forming ice shelf pinning points. These observations highlight the importance of channels under ice shelves, emphasising the need to investigate them further and consider their impacts on observations and models that do not resolve them.

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Tue 18 Mar 11:00: Could stratospheric aerosol injection produce meaningful global cooling without novel aircraft? Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Njk5ZjBhMmUtMmIwMS00YjNkLWE4N2QtOTYwN2EyZGRhMzI5%40thread.v2/0?context...

Wed, 05/03/2025 - 09:52
Could stratospheric aerosol injection produce meaningful global cooling without novel aircraft?

Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is a proposed method of cooling the planet and reducing the impacts of climate change by adding a layer of small particles to the high atmosphere where they would reflect a fraction of incoming sunlight. While it is likely that SAI could reduce global temperature, it has many serious risks and would not perfectly offset climate change. For SAI to be effective, injection would need to take place in the stratosphere. The height of the transition to the stratosphere decreases with latitude, from around 17km near the equator to 8km near the poles. The required injection height would therefore also decrease for higher latitude injection. In this talk, I will present simulations of SAI in an earth system model, UKESM , which quantify how impacts would vary with the injection location and timing, focusing on low-altitude high-latitude injection strategies. Our results suggest that SAI could meaningfully cool the planet even if limited to using existing large jets and injecting at around 13km altitude, if this injection is in the high latitudes during spring and summer. However, relative to a more optimal deployment with novel aircraft at 20km, this strategy requires three times more sulphur dioxide injection and so would strongly increase some side-effects.

Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Njk5ZjBhMmUtMmIwMS00YjNkLWE4N2QtOTYwN2EyZGRhMzI5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2253b919d9-f8a7-4f56-9bb0-baaf0ba7404d%22%7d

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Wed 19 Mar 14:00: Tipping points of the Ross and Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelves: how worried should we be?

Wed, 26/02/2025 - 09:05
Tipping points of the Ross and Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelves: how worried should we be?

Ocean models consistently project that with sufficient climate change forcing, the Ross and Filchner-Ronne ice shelf cavities could abruptly transition from a cold state to a warm state. Crossing these tipping points would have profound consequences for basal melt rates, buttressing of ice streams, and ultimately sea level rise. Here we analyse over 14,000 years of “overshoot” simulations with the UK Earth System Model, which includes a fully coupled Antarctic Ice Sheet. As the climate warms, stabilises at different temperatures, and cools again, we simulate many examples of the cavities tipping and recovering. We find that global warming thresholds of around 3.5°C and 5°C tip the Ross and Filchner-Ronne respectively. We also find evidence of hysteresis: the climate must cool back down beyond the tipping thresholds in order for each cavity to return to its original cold state. Even if the oceanography recovers, the ice sheet does not: sea level contribution from each catchment takes centuries even to stabilise, and the ice does not begin to regrow on this timescale. Therefore, if the Ross or Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelves cross tipping points, the resulting sea level rise will be effectively irreversible.

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Wed 26 Feb 15:30: The Impacts of Freshwater Transport on the Weddell Gyre Carbon Budget

Wed, 26/02/2025 - 09:00
The Impacts of Freshwater Transport on the Weddell Gyre Carbon Budget

The Weddell Gyre mediates carbon exchange between the abyssal ocean and atmosphere, which is critical to global climate. This region also features large and highly variable freshwater fluxes due to seasonal sea ice, net precipitation, and glacial melt; however, the impact of these freshwater fluxes on the regional carbon cycle has not been fully explored. Using a novel budget analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) mass in the Biogeochemical Southern Ocean State Estimate and revisiting hydrographic analysis from the ANDREX cruises, we highlight two freshwater-driven transports. Where freshwater with minimal DIC enters the ocean, it displaces DIC -rich seawater outwards, driving a lateral transport of 75±5 Tg DIC /year. Additionally, sea ice export requires a compensating import of seawater, which carries 48±11 Tg DIC /year into the gyre. Though often overlooked, these freshwater displacement effects are of leading order in the Weddell Gyre carbon budget in the state estimate and in regrouped box-inversion estimates. Implications for evaluating basin-scale carbon transports are considered. [Time permitting, I’ll also share some results on the role of heat addition in driving circulation change and warming patterns in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.]

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Wed 24 Jun 14:00: External Seminar Sabine Zachgo TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 15:58
External Seminar Sabine Zachgo TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 29 Apr 14:00: External Seminar Michael Rassig TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 15:55
External Seminar Michael Rassig TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 25 Feb 14:00: External Seminar Magdalena Bezanilla TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 12:30
External Seminar Magdalena Bezanilla TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 28 Jan 14:00: External Seminar Christine Faulkner TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 12:27
External Seminar Christine Faulkner TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 19 Mar 14:00: Cell edges: from polarity to growth control Please contact the events team at Events@slcu.cam.ac.uk for the online Zoom link.

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 12:26
Cell edges: from polarity to growth control

Abstract not available

Please contact the events team at Events@slcu.cam.ac.uk for the online Zoom link.

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Wed 25 Mar 14:00: External Seminar Bénédicte Charrier TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 12:26
External Seminar Bénédicte Charrier TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 30 Apr 14:00: External Seminar - Monica Garcia Gomez TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 11:40
External Seminar - Monica Garcia Gomez TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 29 Oct 14:00: External Seminar Christian Fankhauser TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 11:37
External Seminar Christian Fankhauser TBC

Abstract not available

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Wed 30 Apr 14:00: External Seminar - Monica Garcia Gomez TBC

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 10:29
External Seminar - Monica Garcia Gomez TBC

Abstract not available

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