Crashing Waves, Crashing Climate

Did you know that the world’s largest store of freshwater is groundwater? Many communities worldwide entirely source their water from this underground supply flowing through the pores and cracks in rocks beneath our feet. Much of today’s success in global food security is owed to accessible groundwater resources. Groundwater is generally more resilient to climate change than surface waters: heavy precipitation from extreme weather events favors replenishment of aquifers in dryland. Thus, groundwater can play a vital role in rescuing vulnerable nations from droughts through climate adaptation.

In the 21st century, tsunami around the world have caused over 300,000 deaths, and billions of economic losses. How do we understand the physics and the damage pathways of these waves when they hit our built environment? This talk will discuss the nature of tsunami, the models we can make of their interaction with coastal structures, and the ways we can improve our resilience. It will separate fact from myth (are mangrove forests actually helpful, or are we best escaping to higher ground?), and present findings from the world’s first pneumatic laboratory tsunami generation facility.

Clíona is a PhD student in the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL studying the cellular and genetic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease in people who have Down syndrome. Outside of her studies, Clíona is passionate about science communication and has a fascination of all things Planet Earth!