8th December : University Of Glasgow Study Receives £2m For Water Quality Project

Researchers from the University of Glasgow are lending their support to a new project led by the University of Stirling to explore how pollution and climate change are impacting freshwater ecosystems for the first time.

The study, which has been awarded funding of £2 million from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), will investigate how pollutants interact with rivers and ecosystems, and devise a system to monitor and measure pollution.

Professor Andrew Tyler, the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair and project lead, said: “Our rivers and freshwater species are being challenged by a bewildering combination of pollutant cocktails including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, illicit drugs and micro plastics – the effects of which are poorly understood.

“Now more than ever, climate change is warming waters, increasing flooding and changing rainfall intensity, coupled with increased urbanisation.