Water Energy Food: WEFWEBs

Completed

Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis)
Not Energy Related
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (General Engineering and Mineral & Mining Engineering)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Geography and Environmental Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Economics and Econometrics)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Town and Country Planning)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Politics and International Studies)
SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)

Not Cross-cutting
Systems Analysis related to energy R&D (Energy modelling)

Professor M Scott
Mathematics
University of Glasgow

Standard

EPSRC

01 October 2015

30 September 2018

36 months

£1,395,661

Energy

Scotland

LWEC : LWEC

Professor M Scott, Mathematics, University of Glasgow

Dr M Acuto, Science, Tech, Eng and Public Policy, University College London
Dr R Comber, Culture La, Newcastle University
Dr J Ingram, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Dr S T Larcom, Land Economy, University of Cambridge
Professor J McCann, Computing, Imperial College London
Dr LC Todman, Agriculture and Environment Division, Rothamsted Research
Dr X Yan, Engineering Computer Science and Maths, University of Exeter

Project Contact, 3keel
Project Contact, Westcountry Rivers Trust
Project Contact, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
Project Contact, Intel Corporation (UK) Ltd
Project Contact, The Eden Project
Project Contact, Cultivate Oxfordshire Ltd
Project Contact, Good Food Oxfordshire Ltd
Project Contact, NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
Project Contact, Oaklands College

The water, energy and food systems (the WEF) of the planet are under strain, sometimes described as the "perfect storm". They are all intrinsically linked and inter-dependent (the nexus), and humanity needs to plot a course to ensure sustainability and in an ideal world, equity of access to resources.The WEFWEBs project will examine the data and evidence for the water, energy and food systems and their interactions and dependencies within the local, regional and national environment. We need to maintain a balance between the three sometimes opposing directions that our primary systems are moving in to ensure that we safeguard our ecosystems, while still being able to live sustainably, in a world where demands are increasing. To study these systems and their dependencies and interactions, we need to bring together a multitude of different disciplines from the physical, environmental computational and mathematical sciences, with economics, social science, psychology and policy. Each of the three systems needs to be studied through the data that exists concerning their flows, resources and impacts, but also through individual and civic understanding of the systems.We will collect, synthesise and assimilate existing data, and models with new data that will be collected using new sensing technology and social media. We will examine each of the multiple dimensions of the nexus in three place based studies where we can explore and examine the outputs from data analysis, process and network models, and social perceptions.This project delivers multiple dynamic WEF nexus maps with spatial level spanning the dimensions of the problem, reflecting current status and changes, and the interactions in the primary systems in space and time. There is currently no critically systemic, participatory, multi-stakeholder mapping of the entire multi-scale WEF nexus for the UK and this project offers innovation in terms of the multi-disciplinarity and variety of methods including systemic intervention, data analytics and crowd sourcing techniques to mapping the WEF nexus.Ultimately, WEFWEBs will provide a better understanding to citizens and policy makers alike of the effects of choices and decisions to be made.

05/01/16