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Research area

Geography and environmental science

A team of scientists with equipment carrying out field research on a glacier

Our research addresses climate change, social and health inequalities, sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity, poverty and recession.

Research highlights

A large crowd of people stretches as far as the eye can see. A low, bright sun highlights a number of individuals who make up the crowd

Mapping tomorrow’s population distribution

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Future societies and communities
AI, big data and analytics
Health and wellbeing
Research group WorldPop, based at Southampton, is developing maps which can be used to predict the impact of climate change on the distribution of Earth’s population by the end of the century. The maps will provide detailed pictures of humanity by 2100, including predicted population sizes, ages and genders.

Building greener communities with satellite technology

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Future societies and communities
Space
AI, big data and analytics
Scientists at Southampton are using satellite data to assess the carbon production of plants, monitor the Earth’s health, and help create greener, healthier global communities.
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Increasing rainfall reveals climate change contradiction

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Marine and maritime
Scientists from Southampton have found that there has been an unexpected increase in Indian monsoon rainfall that contradicts widely-held views on global warming.
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Linking diamonds with landscape evolution

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Marine and maritime
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Targeting childhood vaccines globally

Future societies and communities
Health and wellbeing
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Putting children at the heart of climate policy

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Health and wellbeing
Future societies and communities
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Expanding the use of satellite data to provide real-world benefits

Environment, sustainability and clean growth
Health and wellbeing
Future societies and communities
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Population mapping saves lives

AI, big data and analytics
Future societies and communities
Health and wellbeing
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Research institutes, centres and groups

Population, Health and Wellbeing (PHeW)

We combine expertise in population, health and wellbeing with the application of technical excellence in geographic information systems (GIS), spatial analysis and qualitative methods.

Landscape Dynamics and Ecology

Researching the changing environments and landscapes using the appliction of novel methodological approaches.

Environmental Change and Sustainability

We carry out geospatial analysis and experimentation to understand environmental change and potential solutions.

Economy, Society and Governance

Our research addresses the changing relationships between contemporary economies, societies and politics, and focuses on the ways in which human geographies are central to these changes.

WorldPop

We develop and implement open, robust and peer-reviewed geospatial methods. These are used for mapping population distributions, demographics and dynamics, with a principle focus on low and middle income countries.

People

Research facilities

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