Water, water everywhere

by Alan Werritty

During the summer Scotland experienced what seemed to many like a monsoon. Intense summer storms triggered a landslide on the A9 and resulted in Dr Sandy Hill, a member of staff from Ninewells, being engulfed by sandy slurry. A week later Lochearnhead experienced similar rainfall with landslides that took out the A85 and 57 motorists had to be airlifted to safety by helicopter. The questions constantly being asked are, "Is this proof of climate change?" and, "What can we do to be better prepared?"

Staff in Geography and Civil Engineering are at the forefront in tackling these questions in Scotland. Alan Werritty, Professor of Physical Geography has repeatedly noted that one cannot point the finger at these storms and claim they prove climate change. But they are consistent with predictions made by climate scientists for the 2050s and 2080s and we need to take better precautions. In the case of landslides this means better hazard mapping and advice to transport planners.

Already a team of geographers and engineers from Dundee, Alan Werritty, Michael Davies, Andrew Black, John Rowan, and Mark Cutler, plus colleagues in Glasgow and Stirling Universities are working on reconstructing what happened on 18 August at Lochearnhead and how this can help improve our understanding of future landslide risks.

Within a few days of the "Scottish monsoon" an international conference on Good Water Governance for People and Nature also met in Dundee attracting over 100 delegates from around the world to address the much wider issues of water policy, law and finance.

At this conference organised by Pat Wouters, Director of the International Water Law Research Institute, the University’s new Centre for Research on Water was launched. This exciting new opportunity for interdisciplinary research on water is currently focused on international water law, Pat Wouters; slope stability and degrading permafrost, Michael Davies; environmental law, Colin Reid; and climate change and floods, Alan Werritty.

It already hosts regular meetings of the Dundee Water Forum and in 2004-5 will be developing joint research programmes across the three disciplines currently represented. All interested in water-focused research are invited to join the Water Forum and, as water continues to emerge as a major focus for research in Dundee, the scope and range of the Centre’s work will enlarge and expand.