Three Aberdeen research studies are among 11 partnership projects awarded funding by Scotland Beyond Net Zero to support Scotland's drive to net zero.
Funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero – a coalition of leading climate and sustainability experts from Scotland's universities – each project involves cross-sector collaborations to address sustainability challenges in energy, finance, food, the built environment, natural systems and transport.
The University of Aberdeen is involved in projects to secure funding under three key themes:
Energy: GEO-ML aims to develop an advanced machine learning approach that intelligently integrates both geotechnical and geophysical data in relation to offshore wind turbines. By combining the strengths of both types of surveys, the project will create a more efficient and cost-effective approach to assessing seabed conditions. The project has the potential to significantly reduce the need for costly geotechnical investigations, accelerating offshore wind deployment and supporting Scotland’s clean energy goals. It is led by Dr Bartosz Kurjanski from the University's School of Geosciences and Dr Pengpeng He from the University of Dundee, with partners Seaway and the British Geological Survey.
Natural systems: A collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and Peatland ACTION, researchers led by Dr Amy Gilligan in the School of Geosciences and Edinbugh's Dr Karen Lythgoe, will seek to develop novel geophysical methods to image peat bogs in 3-dimensions and to monitor restoration efforts over time. It will use seismic nodes for low-cost, non-invasive, monitoring of large areas of land. From the data collected the team will develop methods to image the volume of peat in 3-dimensions, allowing a more precise estimates of the carbon stocks and methods to detect changes in the subsurface over time, allowing the monitoring of groundwater changes, important in peatland restoration processes.
Transport: Exploring how tourism can reduce its reliance on unsustainable transport and how transport can support sustainable tourism, this project brings together Dr Piotr Niewiadomski from the School of Geosciences and Dr Mark Beecroft from the School of Engineering, alongside Dr Irma Booyens and Dr Neil Ferguson from the University of Strathclyde, and regional transport partnership Nestrans to map out common themes and differing views, setting a future research agenda. The findings will contribute to the field of sustainability transitions and be relevant to stakeholders in both sectors.
Professor Nick Forsyth, Vice-Principal (Research) at the University of Aberdeen and Chair of Scotland Beyond Net Zero’s seed fund panel said: "This is the second round of our seed fund, we have now supported 19 innovative and collaborative projects with a total of around £300k of funding.
"Each project involves at least two of our member universities and one external partner, including community groups, government bodies, and the private sector.
"This collaborative and integrated approach is crucial to us meeting Scotland's ambitious net zero targets. We cannot achieve these targets in isolation, we must work together to innovative, inform and adapt."
To find out more about each of the eleven projects, please visit the Scotland Beyond Net Zero website