The macro problem of a ‘micro’ pollutant

November 21, 2018

Tom Stanton, PhD researcher in the School of Geography and Faculty of Engineering, outlines his research on microplastics. From the upstream reaches of rivers to the remote Arctic, microplastic pollution persists throughout aquatic environments. All smaller than 5 mm – that’s about the size of the stud on top of a Lego brick – microplastic …

Science by the sea

November 20, 2018

A blog by Professor Sarah Metcalfe Sarah Metcalfe attended the 2018 meeting of the Mexican Geophysical Union in Puerto Vallarta (Picture 1, main image) on Mexico’s Pacific coast.  Luckily, hurricane Willa, which had made landfall the previous week, missed Puerto Vallarta, and had caused little damage when it reached the coast of Sinaloa, further to …

A day in the life of an Economic Geographer…..Joe Hewitt

November 7, 2018

A blog by Dr Joe Hewitt I am a Teaching Associate in Economic Geography here at the School of Geography and am fairly new to this role having joined as a staff member in September 2018 after obtaining my PhD in Human Geography from the University of Nottingham earlier this year. My most recent research …

Why remote sensing is important in the fight against modern slavery and environmental destruction

November 6, 2018

A blog by PhD student Bethany Jackson According to recent estimates by the International Labour Organisation and Walk Free Foundation (2017) there are currently 40.3 million people enslaved globally. Many of these people are found within South Asia. My research in particular is looking at two industries within this region in which modern slavery is …

Tales from the Yangtze Riverbank

September 20, 2018

Professor Suzanne McGowan and Linghan Zeng write about their recent trip to China. The SIL Congress 2018 is an international meeting for limnologists (people who study inland waters including lakes and rivers). Held every three years, this meeting was in Nanjing, within the lower Yangtze floodplain of eastern China. A perfect setting for Linghan Zeng, …

UK economic geography on the move at the Fifth Global Economic Geography Conference, Cologne, 24-28 July 2018

September 19, 2018

A blog by Professor Sarah Hall It is an interesting time to travel to attend international conferences as an economic geographer, working in a geography department, in the UK. Of course, there are longstanding debates that are by no means specific to economic geography concerning the place of the international conference in academic work.  Indeed, …

The real rumble in the jungle: violence, conflict, gold mining and environmental destruction in the rainforests of Colombia

August 28, 2018

A blog by Dr Nick Mount  Colombia is in the process of transitioning from one of the most protracted civil conflicts in the world to peace. However, one of the major questions for post-conflict transition in Colombia is how to ensure the inclusion and participation of vulnerable and marginalised groups in transition processes so that …

Mobility and the archive

August 22, 2018

David Beckingham reflects on the sessions he co-organised at the 17th International Conference of Historical Geographers (ICHG), held in the Polish capital Warsaw Conferences such as the ICHG are an important opportunity to present ideas, and to find points of connection and contrast in our research.  With colleagues I coordinated two panel sessions exploring the …

My time in Madagascar working with Operation Wallacea

August 7, 2018

A blog by Dr Joe Bailey I recently returned from my fourth field season in Madagascar working with Operation Wallacea. We work in the dry forest in the north-west, during the dry season (it’s dry). My role out there is as a landscape ecologist (e.g. how might species and overall biodiversity be affected by edge …

The 17th International Conference of Historical Geographers in Warsaw, July 2018

A blog by Pietro Piana The 17th International Conference of Historical Geographers took place in Warsaw between 15 and 20 July 2018. The conference, which is organised every three years, is the most important event for historical geographers, and this year there were 106 thematic sessions, 4 key speakers and 365 papers and by participants …