What we do

Our research areas and academic themes at the Centre for Aquatic Environments

We focus on three main research areas: 

• Surface and groundwater processes: Quantifying and modelling groundwater and the hydro-morphological and ecological dynamics of rivers, wetlands and coastal environments

• Water and wastewater quality and treatment: Identifying waterborne diseases and pollutants, and developing water quality remediation for environmental and public health

• Water resources and people: Evidencing community water governance, exploring heritage, human health and wellbeing, and examining spatial planning for climate change

Surface and groundwater processes research area

The surface processes and groundwater processes research area includes wetland, coastal and riverine research, marine geological processes, and historical hydroclimates. The coastal and riverine research focuses on quantifying and modelling the hydro-morphological and ecological dynamics of riverine, estuarine, and coastal environments, using state-of-the-art field equipment (including drones), a suite of laboratory facilities, and an experimental river basin.

The wetland environments research integrates ecology, geosciences, engineering and geoinformatics to develop knowledge and sustainable management advice for wetland environments globally. Geological research is focused on understanding groundwater dynamics, including modelling the impacts of climate change on groundwater and predicting groundwater flooding, and deep-sea morphodynamic processes. Our innovative interdisciplinary approach often incorporates field survey and monitoring with remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) and modelling, as well as analysing historical documents, to address issues associated with weather events, sea level rise and climate change, sediment processes, biodiversity, restoration, and pollution.

River and estuarine morpho-dynamics

Researchers are quantifying and modelling flow hydraulics, bed load and suspended load transport, morphological change and floodplain sedimentology in some of the most active, dynamic and largest rivers in the world. The researchers in this theme have expertise in the technological application of multi-beam echo sounders for bathymetric survey (MBES), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), and terrestrial land surveys using DGPS and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Research so far has been conducted in riverine and estuarine environments across Bangladesh, Canada, Spain, USA and Argentina. 

Accelerated low water corrosion (ALWC)

Accelerated low water corrosion (ALWC) is a localised and aggressive form of corrosion which has been observed in the marine environment since at least the first half of the twentieth century. Countries in which it has been observed include Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United States, and areas of Northern Europe, including the UK which has over 80 locations reporting its presence (International Navigation Association, 2005). This corrosion is costing companies and Port Authorities millions of pounds every year in the protection and replacement of steel piles.

Carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands and flood meadows

Researchers within the wetland environments research theme are leading collaborative projects with organisations in Brazil, Russia, Norway, and Estonia to provide a spatially extensive dataset of carbon sequestration and storage in coastal and floodplain wetlands. This work utilises gamma spectrometry and stable isotope analysis to identify fluctuations in sources and rates of organic matter to wetland sediments in response recent (100 years) anthropogenic climatic change, natural climate fluctuations (e.g. El Niño) and grazing management.

Wet grasslands and climate change

Researchers in the wetland environments research theme conduct novel studies that integrate field observations with mesocosm experiments. The Wetland Research Facility at the Centre for Aquatic Environments is focusing upon the impacts of climate extremes, such as flooding and drought, upon wet grasslands, which are important for mitigating flooding, agricultural productivity and biodiversity. The research encompasses the UK, Estonia and USA.

Deep-sea morphodynamic processes

Researchers explore shelf-edge, slope and basin seafloor processes, which include landslide and turbidity currents, bottom current sediment movement, tectonic plate dynamics and their effect on sedimentary processes. Themes of research include geohazard and tsunami risk from submarine landslides, sediment flux variability in glacial and interglacial periods, ice sheet dynamics and signatures of deglaciation, seamount growth and collapse, and thermohaline circulation variability. The researchers in this theme have expertise in the technological application of multi-beam echo sounders for bathymetric survey (MBES), seafloor surveys using Remotely Operated Vehicle and photogrammetry, side scan sonar imaging, seismic surveying and sediment core analysis. Research spans areas across the world’s oceans, including offshore UK and Ireland, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, New Zealand, the Canary Islands, South Africa and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Historical hydroclimates and climate change

Researchers are analysing descriptions of weather events within historical documents (including diaries, letters and reports) to reconstruct how rainfall has varied in the period prior to the systematic collection of meteorological data. The same materials are also used to understand how societies in history were impacted by weather events and how they adapted to climate variability. Projects have focused mainly on southern Africa and India.

Water and wastewater quality and treatment research area

The water and wastewater quality and treatment research area focuses on environmental and public health, and nanotechnology, for water quality remediation and treatment.

The environmental and public health research develops and applies models and practical tools that either detect or interrupt the transmission routes of human waterborne diseases, often with a particular focus on the world’s poorest communities. The multiple barrier approach to disease control has provided new interventions that prevent human contact with contaminated water.

The nanotechnology research theme develops and applies novel water treatment technologies, based on nanocomposite and nanostructured materials. The key emphasis of this research is the production of low-cost, scalable technologies that make use of the enhanced reactivity and water treatment capabilities of nanoparticles and nanomaterials, while simultaneously ensuring their safe and practical application.

Low-cost on-site emergency disinfection

Our researchers are developing low-cost, on-site, emergency disinfection processes to disinfect wastewaters from treatment centre in emergency settings with the aim of preventing the onward waterborne transmission of disease. Researchers used these processes in the emergency medical facilities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the cholera outbreak and the new knowledge being developed at Brighton helped inform the World Health Organization (WHO) support for water, sanitation and hygiene in response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak.

Safety of low-cost water supplies in Africa

Research in this area (supported by UNICEF) demonstrated how low-cost water supplies might be used to provide safe drinking for rural Malawians. The research prompted the launch of a National Water Safety Strategy for Malawi in November 2012 and led the UK-based NGOs Pump Aid and WaterAid to improve the quality of drinking water supplied to rural Malawians.

This research and the impact it has had in Malawi was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education International Collaboration of the Year award.

Behaviour of waterborne microbes

Our researchers are also developing low-cost methods to identify and quantify viruses of human origin in surface waters and engineered treatment systems, enabling European environmental protection agencies and water companies to protect public health and meet the requirements of EU environmental legislation. The group are at the forefront of Microbial Source Tracking within Europe and are using specific markers of human faecal pollution to develop improved Water Safety Plans and beach profiles. 

Carbon-based nano- and nanostructured materials for treatment of emerging contaminants

Research on carbon-based materials examines the application of tailored activated carbons in the removal of emerging contaminants such as metaldehyde and estrogens, and also the use of carbon nanomaterials such as graphenes as catalysts for chemical oxidation processes and contaminant destruction. 

Metallic nanoparticles and nanocomposites as water clean-up tools

Building on a long track record in metal and radionuclide geochemistry, this research examines the use of iron, silver and other metallic nanoparticles immobilised on low-cost 2D and 3D scaffolds (i.e. nanocomposite materials) for practical water treatment and metal recycling. Other research examines the environmental migration and potential health impacts of metallic nanoparticles. 

Water resources and people research area

The water resources and people research area integrates a wide range of current theoretical and empirical scholarship focussed on interrogating the complex ways in which humans use, exploit and connect with this most critical planetary resource.

Research interests are drawn from a range of disciplines – geography, politics, landscape design and urban planning, amongst others – and this is reflected in the diversity of projects undertaken, and research methods utilised. Researchers work alongside regulatory agencies, local government and third sector organisations, to support and help develop solutions that are co-created with stakeholders and communities to integrate social, cultural, economic and environmental factors in the long-term planning and management of water resources. The research centres on understanding the different contemporaneous ways in which people access, use, value and experience both inland and coastal water bodies and landscapes.

National ecosystem assessment

Researchers involved in the water and ecosystem services research theme contributed towards a ground-breaking National Ecosystem Assessment for the UK. The UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) was the first analysis of the UK’s natural environment in terms of the benefits it provides to society and continuing economic prosperity. The need for the UK NEA arose from findings of the 2005 global Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), which not only demonstrated the importance of ecosystem services to human well-being, but also showed that at global scales, many key services are being degraded and lost. As a result, in 2007 the House of Commons Environmental Audit recommended that the Government should conduct a full MA-type assessment for the UK to enable the identification and development of effective policy responses to ecosystem service degradation (House of Commons Environmental Audit, 2007).

The UK NEA helped people to make better decisions that impact on the UK’s ecosystems to ensure the long-term sustainable delivery of ecosystem services for the benefit of current and future populations in the UK, thereby addressing the needs set out in Defra’s current Action Plan for Embedding an Ecosystems Approach (2007). 

The UK NEA also supported global and regional obligations such as the  Convention on Biological Diversity’s call on countries to conduct such assessments and the European Union Water Framework Directive, which encourages the management of ecosystem services.

Access to water

Limitations in public access to water environments for recreation are a longstanding source of stakeholder conflict in which previous policy initiatives have been ineffective. This area of research investigates how recreational access to inland waters can be increased through stakeholder capacity building and partnership working.

Water and cultural ecosystem services

This area of the water and ecosystem services research theme’s activity focuses on valuing ecosystem services around inshore fisheries and marine conservation in Hastings, Sussex. Working with the Hastings Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) this work focuses on shared values for the cultural benefits of the marine environment and activities within it, particularly inshore fisheries, such as a shared sense of identity and sense of place.

Our research impact and knowledge exchange

The research undertaken at the Centre for Aquatic Environments aims to provide scientific evidence together with technological, engineering and community-based solutions to improve the management of water resources. We work with and advise national and international organisations to help improve the environment and people’s lives. 

Waterborne diseases

Our researchers are making a major contribution to protecting health and improving the environment through their work with international agencies and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed tens of thousands of people, but the subsequent threat from disease had the potential to be far more deadly. Cholera is a waterborne disease that can kill within 48 hours, and it can be rife in post-disaster conditions. Working with Médecins Sans Frontières, our team created the first low-cost, on-site emergency disinfection process for cholera treatment centre wastewaters.

In addition, work in Africa, commissioned by UNICEF, demonstrated that well-designed sanitary surveys can play a pivotal role in providing low income countries with safe drinking water supplies; 402 wells and sanitation facilities were surveyed during the dry season and a further 479 during the wet season.

The results found that the water pumps often were not performing well enough in terms of water quality, especially during the wet season. The research led international water and sanitation charity, Pump Aid, to improve the design and siting of 300 new shallow wells in Malawi during 2013, with a further 1,500 commissioned by the end of 2015, serving a population of 180,000 people. The research in Malawi also led the organisation, WaterAid, to review its approach to water-quality testing in the country using the model developed by Brighton. Work in Malawi was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education International Collaboration of the Year Award in 2015.

Opening up our waterways

Access to inland waterways, despite the benefits from improved health and wellbeing to stronger local economies, has been a long-standing source of conflict between competing users. However, over 15 years a team led by Professors Andrew Church and Neil Ravenscroft has been instrumental in helping to change attitudes and shape new policies, bringing a fresh approach to what has been a divisive and controversial area.

The team set out to integrate academic, policy and community-based research on recreational access to water. The research results have enabled a better understanding of the property rights that restrict public access, and revealed that past policy initiatives had failed because they did not take account of the cultures and values of the different activities using the water.

A key outcome from the research has been a fundamental reshaping of voluntary access agreements, bringing together recreational users, landowners and others with an interest in inland water. Using collaborative environmental mapping, online communications and a range of consultation and deliberation processes, the research moves beyond conflict resolution towards a deeper understanding and appreciation of the co-use of natural resources.

From 2008 to 2013, new policy initiatives in Wales linked to the University of Brighton research created over 100 jobs and the economy was boosted by over £1.8m.

Cleaner water with nanotechnology

The provision of clean drinking water, and the protection of natural and potable waters from traditional and emerging contaminants, remain key societal and technological challenges. The rapid emergence of nanotechnology, built on understanding and utilising reactions at the nanoscale (i.e. in the order of one millionth of a mm), offers huge opportunities in wastewater, surface and groundwater treatment, enabling the production of tailored high reactivity nanodevices for removal of problem contaminants. Researchers utilise fundamental research on reactions at the nanoscale in chemical, geological, environmental and engineering systems to develop new, cost-effective water treatment devices based on nanocomposite and nanostructured materials, working closely with a range of industrial partners. 

Key outcomes of our recent research include development of a new carbon-based adsorptive technology for treatment of metaldehyde (a key molluscicide contaminant in UK and other waters) with partner MAST Carbon International Ltd, which is currently undergoing independent testing for full-scale application with the UK Water Industry, and identification of a hyperstoichiometric mercury removal mechanism at the nano-scale, allowing production of high-capacity, low-cost and scalable mercury removal devices. Further technology development and industrial interaction will be supported by the recent commissioning of a high specification X-ray photoelectron spectrometry facility, part-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, UK), to examine nano-scale reactions and chemical bonding in geological, environmental and engineered materials.

Who benefits from our research partnerships?

Working with the Environment Agency to control invasive aquatic plants

The Centre for Aquatic Environments is working with the Environment Agency, in collaboration with Natural England and CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International), to monitor and control invasive aquatic plants. Invasive non-native aquatic plants are a major global threat to wetland ecosystem services, including agriculture, flood control and biodiversity. They can infest water bodies such as ditches, ponds, and canals to form dense vegetative mats that out-compete native flora and reduce oxygen levels. Despite increasing efforts and many millions of pounds spent trying to control invasive species in the UK, many non-native aquatic species are proving resilient to effective management. This research incorporates two of the most problematic species, Australian Swamp Stonecrop (Crassula helmsii) and Floating Pennywort (Hydrocotle ranunculoides), in order to develop effective management and monitoring methods. 

The research is providing evidence for the effectiveness of different control methods used by the Environment Agency for these two invasive species. The application of a sUAS (drone) to facilitate assessment of control methods represents a novel contribution to invasive species management. Outcomes from the project include an eradication plan of invasive C. helmsii and H. ranunculoides from important wetlands using the preferred option(s) of treatment and a control brief for contractors to be used nationally.

Working with Southern Water to predict areas at risk from metaldehyde peaks

Researchers from the Centre for Aquatic Environments have been working with Southern Water to integrate existing Southern Water and publicly available datasets with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), in order to establish a transferable protocol for mapping and predicting metaldehyde within catchments. Metaldehyde (a synthetic aldehyde pesticide used globally in agriculture) has been identified as an emerging contaminant of concern. Metaldehyde is of particular significance because it is a highly stable chemical compound in water, can be very mobile in the environment, and is ineffectively removed by current drinking water treatment processes. The SWAT model was chosen because it is an open source, river basin-scale model that has been used to assess water resource and non-point (diffuse) source pollution issues worldwide, gaining considerable recognition internationally. SWAT therefore offers a potentially low-cost tool for catchment management.

Metaldehyde in-stream hazard maps were produced using simulated data from the model. These maps were then used to identify locations in the catchment at risk from the highest peaks in metaldehyde concentrations. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of the SWAT model to identity locations for targeted catchment management and also for predicting the impact of selected management strategies.

Working with South East Water to track sources of faecal contamination

In collaboration with South East Water, the Centre for Aquatic Environments have been employing microbial source tracking techniques (developed at the University of Brighton) to determine sources of faecal contamination, responsible for nutrient inputs into reservoirs. Nutrient inputs into water bodies, such as reservoirs, can result in an increase in algal blooms and costs associated with water treatment. Cyanobacteria (often known as blue-green algae) can be harmful to human health due to the production of harmful toxins.

Microbial source tracking information is valuable as it is enabling the water company to fully understand nutrient source pathways, which will permit them to develop a strategy for the management of reservoirs. This work is all part of a new catchment management initiative launched by South East Water, which is helping the company to understand the causes of drinking water quality deterioration. Research such as this will enable them to determine which measures are required in order to address water quality problems and safeguard drinking water sources in the future.

Working with Thames Water to enhance wastewater recycling

Scientists from the University of Brighton's Centre for Aquatic Environments are working with Thames Water to help manage potential health risks associated with recycled wastewater at the UK's largest community wastewater recycling scheme at London's Olympic Park.

The Old Ford Water Recycling Plant (WRP), located next to the main site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, treats 600,000 litres of wastewater every day, which is then used to flush toilets and irrigate parkland at the Olympic site. The project, led by the late Professor Huw Taylor and Dr James Ebdon, will explore the ability of the plant to remove groups of viruses known as bacteriophages, with support from researchers Dr Sarah Purnell and Austen Buck.

Jointly funded by the Olympic Delivery Authority and Thames Water at a cost of £7 million, the Old Ford Water Recycling Plant was not only part of a sustainable water strategy for the Olympic Games (reducing potable water use by 58 per cent), but is regarded as a platform on which detailed research into this increasingly important field can be conducted. The findings of the research are likely to be of international interest and will contribute to a growing body of knowledge that will help to reduce our over-reliance on potable water sources.

Collaborating with business to develop a better performing water quality probe

Working in collaboration with Aquaread Ltd, the centre's research provided data to contribute towards the development of a novel self-cleaning multi-parameter water quality probe (AP-7000) that is capable of long-term biofoul-resistant monitoring (including suspended sediments and water discolouration) with minimal maintenance requirements - saving the user (e.g. those organisations such as the Environment Agency, who are responsible for the implementation of water resource legislation) water quality monitoring costs, which currently consume up to 80 per cent of the EU’s total environmental budget.

This new self-cleaning multi-parameter probe can halve the frequency of maintenance visits whilst ensuring high-quality and high-resolution data collection. The research behind this technology was funded through an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council CASE Studentship co-funded by Aquaread.

Research outputs and projects from the Centre for Aquatic Environments

Details of research publications and other outputs fostered by the centre and achieved by its members, along with funded projects delivered by the centre, can be accessed on the Centre for Aquatic Environments' database of research.

• Visit the Centre of Aquatic Environments overview page on our research database
• Visit the record of our research publications and other outputs 
• Visit the record of the Centre for Aquatic Environments' funded projects