Cooking fume have been found to be a significant component of ambient particulate matter and also to contribute to high concentrations of aerosol indoors. A linkage of individual exposure to cooking emissions with adverse health effects has been found and thus has led to the need for further understand the composition of this source of particulate matter. This study was concerned with gaining further insights into the chemical composition of aerosol generated from typical styles of cooking and the understanding of trends of the formation of particles among different culinary methods. Cooking source profile for African, Chinese, Western and Indian styles was obtained in a specially designed laboratory based kitchen. These profiles were used as input in a Chemical Mass Balance model where ambient data collected in Birmingham, UK were analysed in order to apportion the quantity of organic matter from cooking sources in the location sampled. It was found that cooking generated a significant mass of aerosol with the particle sizes largely within the respirable size range. The Chinese style of cooking was found to generate the highest concentration of particles with PM mass of 21.61µg/m3. The source profile from cooking obtained from the study were found to correlate well with each other with Indian and Western profiles exhibiting the highest correlation. When used for the CMB model runs, these two profiles provided the best output with the model runs apportioning 16% of the Organic Carbon to be from cooking, with traffic, wood smoke and soil debris contributing 44%, 18% and 24% respectively.

The mid- to late Miocene marks one of the last warm periods of the Neogene, before the descent in to the ice house climate of the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. The mid- to late Miocene climate was long overlooked, but receives increasingly more interest. This study used organic geochemical biomarker distributions and their isotopic signatures in sediment samples from the Japan Sea, recovered during IODP Expedition 346 and ODP Leg 127/128. It was the aim to reconstruct paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes over the last 18 Ma. Reconstructed sea surface temperatures revealed declining temperatures since the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, possibly driven by a long-term decline in atmospheric CO2. Reconstructed pCO2 using alkenone paleobarometry, revealed a late Miocene decline from circa 520 μatm to 380 μatm. A decline in this range is required to trigger the onset of the late Miocene C4 plant expansion, which was also fully detected in the sedimentary record from the Japan Sea. Stable isotope analysis of n-alkanes (δD and δ13C) revealed an intensified summer monsoon from 5-3 Ma, which also led to a freshening of surface waters in the Japan Sea. Overall, the Japan Sea is a suitable study area for the late Miocene climate change.

The spectre of climate change is motivating businesses to evaluate the weather sensitivity of their operations and earnings. Persistent changes in day-to-day weather, such as a warmer than average winter, may prove very costly for businesses and since 1997 a new financial market has grown up around the mitigation of these day-to-day weather risks. This weather derivatives market has expanded from being a small US energy product to become a $45.2 billion industry by 2006. In the process this commodification of weather indexes is re-valuing meteorological data, forecasts and expertise, as well as changing the ways in which firms have traditionally considered weather as unmanageable. This thesis presents an empirical examination of the weather derivatives market, particularly focusing upon the UK, drawing upon in-depth interviews with market participants. Setting this within the context of current theories in human geography and science studies, the research also illustrates the material and discursive implications weather derivatives are having not just on firms and meteorology, but also climate change policies.

Organic carbon is ubiquitous throughout the aquatic environment. It is an heterogeneous mixture of compounds, some of which are fluorescent, with allochthonous and autochthonous origins. The most common aquatic fluorophores are humic materials (peaks C and A) from degraded plant matter and protein-like material (peaks T1 and T2) of microbial origin. Spectral fingerprints of aquatic organic matter composition may be visualised on an excitation emission matrix (EEM) on which each fluorophore is identifiable as a characteristic peak. Protein-like fluorescence (T1 and T2) is linked to bacterial activity, sewage treatment process efficiency and therefore organic matter bioavailability but its source and fluorescence response is poorly understood. In comparison, peaks C and A are widely studied and have historically been considered to be old, degraded and stable. In this thesis I investigate the character of surface water and effluent fluorescent organic matter using EEMs. I identify the likely origins and bioavailability of common fluorophores and the applicability of fluorescence as a technique for measuring the polluting potential of organic carbon in waters. I also determine changes in sample character and organic carbon concentration, through responses of the common fluorophores, under different environmental conditions and recommend best practice for sample storage.

Climate change predictions indicate an increase in the frequency and duration of flood events along with longer dry antecedent conditions , which could alter patterns of trace metal release from contaminated river bank sediments. This study took a laboratory mesocosm approach. Chemical analysis of water and sediment samples allowed the patterns of Pb and Zn release and key mechanisms controlling Pb and Zn mobility to be determined. Trace metal contaminants Pb and Zn were released throughout flooded periods, however the highest concentrations of dissolved Pb were observed at the end of the longest flood period and high concentrations of dissolved Zn were released at the start of a flood. These concentrations were found to exceeded environmental quality standards. Key mechanisms controlling mobility were (i) anglesite solubility control of dissolved Pb, (iii) evaporation, precipitation and dissolution of Zn sulphate salts, (iii) oxidation of galena and sphalerite, (iv) reductive dissolution Mn/ Fe hydroxides and co precipitation/adsorption with Zn. In light of climate change predictions these results indicate future scenarios may include larger or more frequent transient 'pulses' of dissolved Pb and Zn released to river systems. These short lived pollution episodes could act as a significant barrier to achieving the EU Water Framework Directive objectives.

We consider a simple semi-empirical scoping calculation in conjunction with mathematical models to estimate the radius of impact (Ri) and to determine the circumstances under which gold mines in Ghana are likely to have adverse effect on water levels and volumes in surrounding villages/farms. The approach involves the assessment of local mine geometries, collation and examination of hydraulic conductivity data and the assessment of recharge infiltration rate. Most of the models used with the entire conductivity dataset (Group A) predicted very close radius of impacts to mine with less than few 100m with a median distance of 400m from the mine’s edge. Although it is expected that 25% of cases could reach up to 2km and further if the system was anisotropic. Derogation of water level and volume is more of a problem for Group B and C aquifer systems of higher conductivity values. Model results show that 50% of cases could reach up to 3.6km with a range of 2.7km to 5.1km, and 3km with a range of 2km to 4.6km from mine centre respectively. Nevertheless, Ri could reach 7.6km and further in extreme cases if the system was anisotropic. With regards to Ghana, by constraining conductivity values using water volumes produced by mines in Ghana, and comparing with the model output, it is tentatively suggested that the most likely Ri values are those calculated with the Group B dataset. It should, however, be noted that this results are very sensitive to hydraulic conductivity, and therefore there is the need in Ghana to publish conductivity and volume data to enable suggestions from this work to be confirmed.

The study aimed to disentangle the climate–hydrology–ecology chain of processes at large spatial and temporal scales. River ecology was considered in terms of some of the main controls of physical habitat (environmental flows, hydraulics, and water temperature). The research included four complementing studies investigating associations between: (1) climate (atmospheric circulation and regional climate) and river flows; (2) river flows and river hydraulics; (3) regional climate and river water temperature; (4) regional climate and environmental flows. The first three studies focused on current conditions, had a national (mainland UK, or England and Wales) geographical scope and a seasonal temporal scale, and used only near-natural sites. In each study, the main drivers were identified, as well as the rivers or regions most/least sensitive. UK-focussed findings were then put into the wider context of future climate- and human-induced river flow change at the pan-European scale: a novel method to assess ecological risk due to flow alteration was developed and applied to flow scenarios for the 2050s. The role of basin properties in modifying those associations was also assessed. Two key aspects emerged: (i) importance of seasonal patterns; and (ii) strong basin property patterns. The study addressed the lack of studies with extensive geographical coverage, high site density, and long periods of records. Spatial patterns could only be found for studies involving climate and flow (historical or future projections); for hydraulics and temperature, spatial patterns were related to basin properties. For all studies, a small set of basin properties were found to have a significant influence: elevation, permeability (except for hydraulics), size (hydraulics and temperature only).

Food availability strongly affects avian breeding success. Conflicting results from food supplementation studies have obscured the role of food availability in shaping the life history trajectories of birds. With the popularity of providing food for wild birds increasing, the effects of this resource for breeding birds need to be clarified. In this study Blue Tits (\(Cyanistes\) \(caeruleus\)) and Great Tits (\(Parus\) \(major\)) were provided with supplementary food to investigate whether food availability reduced the costs of breeding for adults, and affected life history traits. Food supplementation with peanut cake disrupted the timing of Great Tit breeding and reduced fecundity. There was no effect of food supplementation on Great Tit adult or juvenile survival, except in 2010 when females traded off fecundity against future survival. Blue Tit fecundity was largely unaffected by food supplementation, but the provision of mealworms improved adult female survival. Food supplementation reduced female Daily Energy Expenditure (DEE) for both species during egg laying and for Great Tits feeding nestlings, revealing unexpectedly complex life history strategies. Through the integration of physiological techniques and life history frameworks we can understand the interaction between organisms and their environment and the effects of anthropogenic actions such as food supplementation of birds.

A novel method for the bioremediation of phenanthrene using the fungus Penicillium frequentans was utilised to remove phenanthrene (200 mg kg\(^{-1}\)) from soil containing both metals and phenanthrene, over 29 days. Bioremediation of phenanthrene and its effects on trace metal behaviour has been investigated. Metal behaviour studied includes metal speciation and the kinetics of exchange between solution and solid phase and plant uptake of the more labile and mobile, and potentially more bioavailable metal species. Phenanthrene removal by P. frequentans was optimised in terms of both soil water and nutrient composition. Slightly lower removal rates were obtained using P. frequentans alone (73%) and plants alone (67%). However, the highest phenanthrene removal (77%) was obtained using both fungus and plant. Assessment of the metal behaviour before and after phenanthrene biodegradation showed that the removal of phenanthrene by either fungal or mixed fungal and native microflora resulted in an increased flux of metal from solid to solution, an increased pool of potentially bioavailable and toxic metal species and increased plant uptake to both Echinochloa polystachia and Triticum aestivum, by factors of 4-13. In the presence of plants alone, metal mobilisation and uptake increased by smaller factors. In some cases, there was no increase in metal mobilisation and a maximal increase of 2 was found in Ni and Pb. These results highlight the impact of bioremediation process on metal behaviour. In addition, it is suggested that phytoremediation and not bioaugmentation using P. frequentans is the best overall option to obtain a considerable phenanthrene removal, reducing the increased pool of potentially bioavailable and toxic metal species

The diets of sympatric stream dwelling juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) were analyzed in five streams of different age and watershed complexity since glacial retreat in Glacier Bay, southeast Alaska. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) data were analyzed with geographic information systems (GRASS GIS) to understand watershed change since deglaciation. Spatiotemporal variations of watershed characteristics from GIS were then used to develop a four-dimensional physical habitat template (PHT) and a directional model of stream development. Juvenile coho salmon and Dolly Varden coexisted in all streams with a strong overlap in diet while using different foraging zones. Diet niche breadth for both species increased with the amount of terrestrial insects in the diet as a result of resource depression, as mean fork length (FL) of juvenile fish increased when aquatic insects were a greater part of the diet, but decreased with greater terrestrial input. Using the stable isotopes of δ15N and δ13C, the contribution of marine derived nutrients (MDN) to stream biota was found to be determined by salmon spawner abundance and watershed retention, and an increase in δ15N and δ13C dispersion (SD) was found with stream age, likely causing a difference in the fractioning of δ15N and δ13C. The most significant change with stream age was denudation of watersheds and the development of stream networks. Dietary overlap was linked to fish resource depression, and controlled by stream geomorphology. Juvenile salmonids were found to consume sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) in the older streams.