Project I- Impacts of climate change on pollutant linkage

Package Overview

Although there is considerable uncertainty in predicting future impacts of climate change, global and national evidence suggest that the UK will be subjected to warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, rising air temperatures, increased storminess and heavier rainfall. These factors will contribute to an increase in the risk of significant pollutant linkages forming. Thus, sources of contamination, which currently pose little risk to the environment, are likely to become significant in the future. Climate change may require different adaptation strategies for contaminated brownfield sites.

The potential impact on containment systems, e.g. landfills, barriers, cover and stabilisation/solidification systems, is large. This also applies to any ground contamination, particularly shallow, for example many of the untreated contaminated brownfield sites, spillage of underground storage tanks or contamination which has been placed in unengineered excavations (for example, foot-and-mouth). Ground temperatures and evaporation losses from the land surface will increase, causing the soil to crack causing upward capillary suction of water from depth and an increasing risk of exposure of contaminated materials at the ground surface. Higher ground temperatures may also increase the mobility and volatility of certain organic contaminants in the ground. Higher intensity rainfall will challenge soil infiltration capacity and increase the risk of soil erosion and particulate spread of contamination. In addition, there may be a seasonal rise in groundwater level which may bring clean groundwater in contact with ground contaminants. It has also been suggested that the weather will become more cyclic, in particular around freezing point. This could impact of the durability of containment systems at shallow depths. The impact on these pathways will, in part, be affected by the vegetation on the site, itself subject to potential ecological adaptation as a result of climate change.
Another important area is the impact on wetlands. Wetlands are of interest in greenspace reclamation – ponds and lakes give biodiversity and recreation. And increasingly, constructed wetlands are used as polishing systems, e.g. reedbed systems for clean up of colliery spoil drainage. Heavy metals, which are effectively immobilised as metal-sulphides under anaerobic conditions, may be oxidised into more bioavailable forms, and thus are more likely to have a greater impact on the environment. All surface waters are considered receptors under Part IIa of the EPA and many brownfield sites are in the vicinity of terrestrial and wetland sites of ecological importance. Many brownfield wetlands have broad ecological importance and it is vital that the effect of climate change on pollutant linkage be explored in order to consider protection measures if required.

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Package organisation:

Abir Al -Tabbaa	Principal Investigator	University of Cambridge, Geotechnical & Enviromental Research Group	01223 332715 aa22@eng.cam.ac.uk
Peter Guthrie	Principal Investigator	University of Cambridge, Centre for Sustainable Development	01223 765627 pmg31@eng.cam.ac.uk
Andy Moffat	Principal Investigator	Forest Research, Environmental & Human Sciences Division	01420 22255 andy.moffat@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Tony Hutchings	Principal Investigator	Forest Research, Environmental & Human Sciences Division	01420 22255 tony.hutchings@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Tim Dixon	Principal Investigator	Oxford Brookes University	01865 484202
Stephen Garvin	Principal Investigator	Building Research Establishment (BRE), BRE Scotland	01355 576200 garvins@bre.co.uk
Mike Raco	Principal Investigator	King's College London, Department of Geography	0207 8482599/2632 mike.raco@kcl.ac.uk
Joe Doak	Principal Investigator	University of Reading, Centre for Real Estate Research	0118 3786420 a.j.doak@reading.ac.uk
Sophie Bowlby	Principal Investigator	University of Reading, Human Geography Research Group	0118 9317756 s.r.bowlby@reading.ac.uk
Sinead Smith	PhD Student	University of Cambridge, Geotechnical & Enviromental Research Group	01223 766683 ses50@eng.cam.ac.uk
Uche Duru	PhD Student	University of Cambridge, Geotechnical & Enviromental Research Group	01223 766683 ued20@cam.ac.uk
Srinath Iyengar	PhD student	University of Cambridge, Geotechnical & Enviromental Research Group	01223 766683 sri26@cam.ac.uk