Rick Battarbee FRS is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Change and former Director of the Environmental Change Research Centre, UCL. He has pioneered the use of diatoms as indicators of aquatic ecosystem change, and together with his research group at UCL, has successfully applied diatom analysis to problems of eutrophication, acidification and salinisation of lakes in the UK and throughout the world. He has advised UK DEFRA on problems of acidification in the UK and has been a prominent member of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme on Past Global Environments (PAGES). His group has led a series of EU funded projects on European mountain lakes and it currently coordinates a major FP6 Integrated Project on “Climate change impacts on European freshwater ecosystems (Euro-limpacs)”
His lecture will cover the following themes:
Although General Circulation Models vary in their projection of future climate change, all are in agreement that significant warming will occur within this century, principally as a result of a continued rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide.
The principal questions for freshwater ecologists are what will or might be the potential effects of future climate change on the structure and functioning of freshwater ecosystems in the future, and to what extent do current policies and practices designed to protect aquatic ecosystems need to be modified to accommodate problems of significant future climate change.
In this lecture Rick will consider these questions with respect mainly to European freshwaters and to the implementation of the EU Water Framework and Habitats Directives.