If you are seeking to deliver an impactful dissertation topic, with direct relevance to environmental policy makers or, simply looking for inspiration for your final year project, you can search for ideas below.
You can search the research questions that have been directly submitted to us, or browse other collections of research ideas from partner organisation such as Natural Resources Wales and Climate Cymru. We are still adding relevant keywords to the data, so try a different search term if nothing comes up or get in touch for support searching the database.
If you do find a question of relevance and decide to address it through your dissertation, we would really like to know about it. Please fill out the form that can be found here.
[Enter keyword and press ‘search’ or the return key]
.
How many complete or partial barriers to migratory fish are there in Welsh rivers? What are the quantified impacts of these barriers (i.e. lengths of rivers with decreased accessibility) to the different species of anadromous fish?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Physical modification is the main reason for rivers Welsh rivers failing to achieve Good Ecological Status. Modifications to floodplains have significant impacts on ecosystem health and flood risk. However limited information is available on the extent and specific impacts of these modifications. This information is required to inform ecosystem resilience and restoration opportunities.
Keywords (discipline, other): Freshwater
Biodiversity
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How many properties do sand dunes and shingle ridges protect?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Evaluate the extent of the flood defence ecosystem service which coastal habitats provide
Keywords (discipline, other): Coastal margins
Woodland
Freshwater
Urban
Semi-natural grassland
Enclosed farmland
Climate change
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much agricultural land do sand dune and shingle ridges protect?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Evaluate the extent of the flood defence ecosystem service which coastal habitats provide
Keywords (discipline, other): Coastal margins
Enclosed farmland
Semi-natural grassland
Land use and soil
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much CO2 does transporting coal from the USA add to coal compared to coal mined and consumed within the UK?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
Currently the added CO2 of importing coal is being used increasingly by companies and politicians to justify new or extended coal mining in the UK. Decisive figures on this would help campaigners push back against this justification.
Keywords (discipline, other): Coal, politics, International Relations
Website/URL links:
Looking for collaborators: Yes External Partner: Yes Organisation: Coal Action
Contact Details
Name: Daniel Therkelsen Email Address: daniel@coalaction.org.uk Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much do the bottlenose dolphins in Welsh waters move between different areas?,
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
For more, and updated information, please visit https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Keywords (discipline, other): Movement of bottlenose dolphins in Welsh waters,”Bottlenose dolphins, Movement patterns, Welsh waters, Marine mammals”,
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: Yes External Partner: Yes Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: Email Address: marinecoastalevidence@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much land affected by historic contamination has been remediated and brought back into beneficial use?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
To assess the sustainable use of land for well-being benefits.
Keywords (discipline, other): History, contamination, chemistry, wellbeing, sustainable use, Sustainability, Planning, Environmental Policy
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: No External Partner: Yes Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: Email Address: Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much noise is made by renewable energy devices (floating offshore wind & tidal energy)?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
There is little evidence of the operational noise from Floating Offshore Wind devices; particularly ‘thrums’ from anchor cabling. A field study is needed to monitor the noise from an operational device / array. Evidence of operational noise from tidal turbines is limited to a few device types from single devices. There is no information on how noise from single devices will extrapolate to an array scale project, and no information on operational noise for a wide range of device types currently proposed. Field observations are required to measure operational noise of different tidal turbine devices, and arrays. This would require collaboration with industry to record underwater noise around operational projects.
Suggested level of research: MSc and above
Keywords (discipline, other): Marine science, noise, renewable energy devices, floating offshore wind, tidal energy, thrums, anchor cabling, field study, monitor , single devices
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: Yes External Partner: Yes Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: Kirsten Ramsay Email Address: kirsten.ramsay@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much noise is made by renewable energy devices (floating offshore wind & tidal energy)?,
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
For more, and updated information, please visit https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Keywords (discipline, other): Noise made by renewable energy devices (floating offshore wind & tidal energy),”Renewable energy, Offshore wind, Tidal energy, Underwater noise, Environmental impact”,
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: Yes External Partner: Yes Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: Email Address: marinecoastalevidence@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How much soil has been re-used on site of origin or on other sites as defined by CL:AIRE Definition of Waste: Code of Practice?
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
This information would be combined with additional sources of evidence such as soil waste generated and landfill operator returns to see if the trend was decreasing. Together we will use this evidence to assess if soil resources are being used efficiently.
Keywords (discipline, other): Land use and soil
Urban
Waste
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/state-of-natural-resources-report-sonarr-for-wales-2020/evidence-needs-table/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: n/a External Partner: Y Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: n/a n/a Email Address: Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________
How quickly do coastal systems recover from storm events?,
Summary of the Research Question / Evidence Need:
For more, and updated information, please visit https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Keywords (discipline, other): Recovery of coastal systems after storm events,”Coastal recovery, Storm events, Resilience, Habitat restoration”,
Website/URL links: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/marine-biodiversity-collaborative-research-priorities/?lang=en
Looking for collaborators: Yes External Partner: Yes Organisation: Natural Resources Wales
Contact Details
Name: Email Address: marinecoastalevidence@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk Phone: NA
________________________________________________________________________________