Adapting to a Different Climate

Working with the Met Office, Newcastle University researchers have analysed new climate models. These identify that more intense rainfall will occur as a result of climate change.

Fast-responding river basins, urban areas and drainage systems are vulnerable to such extremes. This is because they cause flash flooding and sewage overflow incidents. Addressing this risk is a priority of the UK National Flood Resilience Review.

The Future-Drainage project analyses climate modelling results from the state-of-the-art UK Climate Projections. This helps build climate resilience into guidelines for urban flooding and drainage authorities. For example, our results give new insight into one scenario for a sewer catchment in the city of Glasgow. They show the chances of one-in-30-year heavy rain storm increase by between 25% to 40% by 2050.

Our work translates complex climate model projections. This bridges the gap between the climate modelling community and water stakeholders.

Our researchers have developed a catchment systems approach to river basin management. With risk of flooding increasing because of rising global temperatures, we:

• provide the science for the management of flooding, pollution and water resources
• pioneer the use of nature-based solutions to water management

We have identified natural flood management methods to increase resilience to flooding. They involve using soft-engineered structures to divert, store and slow water flow. The measures cover the source of rivers through to floodplain storage schemes.

Our pioneering run-off attenuation features use ponds and barriers to reduce flood flow. Their success in protecting communities is on show at our prize-winning sites. Our approach is now seen as an international exemplar of best practice.

We co-founded the UK Collaboratorium For Research On Infrastructure And Cities. It promotes infrastructure and urban design to address the impacts of climate change. Newcastle University hosts:

• the National Green Infrastructure Facility
• the Newcastle Urban Observatory

The National Green Infrastructure Facility (NGIF) at Newcastle University is a ‘living laboratory’. The facility underpins research into sustainable drainage systems and green infrastructure approaches. It aims to make urban centres more resilient and sustainable for future generations. The NGIF hosts a range of research projects that promote nature-based designs, including:

• Extreme Event Swale
• Climate Adaptation Control Technologies for Urban Spaces (CACTUS)
• Assessment, Costing and enHancement of long life, Long Linear assEtS (ACHILLES)
• Urban Green DaMS (Design and Modelling of SuDS)
• Priming Laboratory EXperiments on infrastructure and Urban Systems (PLEXUS)

We brought together engineers and economists to create new business models for infrastructure. As a part of those efforts, our researchers led the iBUILD programme. The programme developed new ways to assess systemic infrastructure risks. It also looked at methods to value the benefits of climate resilient infrastructure. Work on new collaborative approaches to decision-making was another of iBUILD's outputs.

This new way of thinking aims to help engineers and policymakers. It helps them identify the most cost-effective locations for climate risk adaptation. The method integrates information on network characteristics and exposure to climate hazard.

An application in Newcastle identified locations for flood-risk interventions. These resulted in reduced transport infrastructure impacts. The new approach enables prioritisation of limited financial resources to improve transport resilience.