Manufactured chemicals are essential for the maintenance of public health, food production and quality of life, including a diverse range of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products. The use of these compounds throughout society has led to increasing concentrations and chemodiversity in the environment. Whilst there has been focus on understanding the impacts of chemicals on a subset of freshwater biodiversity (particularly invertebrates and fish), we understand less about how chemical pollution impacts freshwater microbes. These microbial communities (the 'microbiome') number in the millions to billions of cells per millilitre of water or gram of sediment and form the most biodiverse and functionally important component of freshwater ecosystems. The biogeochemical and ecological functions delivered by freshwater microbes are essential to wider freshwater ecosystem health. The PAthways of Chemicals Into Freshwaters and their ecological ImpaCts (PACIFIC) project will focus on understanding the link between sources of anthropogenic chemicals and their pathways, fate and ecological impacts in freshwater ecosystems, with an emphasis on freshwater microbial ecosystems and the functions they perform. We will investigate the relationship between predicted diffuse and point source chemical pathways and measured chemical concentrations in water and sediments at locations across the Thames and Bristol Avon catchments, chosen to represent gradients of diffuse pollution sources. These locations will be chosen to coincide with Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTWs) to understand how sewage effluent contributes to chemical burden across these gradients. Liquid chromatography coupled with (high resolution) tandem mass spectrometry and QTOF (quadrupole Time-of-Flight) mass spectrometry will be used to perform targeted and untargeted profiling of chemical groups proven and suspected to impact freshwater ecology. A range of microbial community ecosystem endpoints will also be measured at each location to identify the impact of chemical exposure, including bacterial and fungal community composition via DNA sequencing, the expression of nutrient cycling and chemical stress and resistance genes, the production of extracellular enzymes involved with biogeochemical cycling, and the functional gene repertoire of whole microbial communities. We will perform experimental microcosm exposures on freshwater microbial communities, with increasing complexity and realism, deploying high-throughput screening to identify novel chemical groups (and their structural features) with the capacity to restructure these communities. Exemplar microbial community modifying chemicals will be investigated in more detail by applying cutting-edge molecular techniques to determine ecological exposure thresholds that represent different taxonomic and functional aspects of freshwater microbial ecosystems. Novel field based mesocosms will be used to explore wastewater exposures in more realistic, but controlled settings, allowing us to explore how chemical pollution may interact with other ecological drivers such as nutrients and temperature, and how microbial responses scale-up to higher trophic levels and alter ecosystem functioning. Spatially and temporally up-scaled models of diffuse and point source chemical pollution pathways will be combined with novel thresholds developed from the lab and field exposures, to determine chemical threats to freshwater microbes, supporting the development of tools for the better management of the risks of chemical pollution to freshwater ecosystem health. These will be combined with future hydrological, climate and socio-economic scenarios, informed by responses in our experiments, and co-developed with project collaborators, the Environment Agency, to explore future threats to microbial freshwater ecosystems and wider ecosystem health.

Flooding is a major hazard in both rural and urban areas worldwide, and has occurred regularly in the UK in recent times. A near real-time flood detection algorithm giving a synoptic overview of the extent of flooding in both urban and rural areas, and capable of working during night-time and day-time even if cloud was present, could be a useful tool for operational flood relief management. The latest generation of very high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites now make such technology a real possibility. The vast majority of a flooded area may be rural rather than urban, but it is important to detect the urban flooding because of the increased risks and costs associated with it. Flood extent can be detected in rural floods using SARs such as ERS and ASAR, but these have too low a resolution (25m) to detect flooded streets in urban areas. However, a number of SARs with spatial resolutions as high as 1m have recently been launched that are capable of detecting urban flooding. They include TerraSAR-X, RADARSAT-2, ALOS PALSAR, and the first three of the COSMO-SkyMed satellites. An important factor making near real-time operation possible is that accurate geo-registration can now be performed rapidly. For example, the images from TerraSAR-X can be made available in geo-registered form to better than one pixel locational accuracy using precise knowledge of the orbit parameters. In the absence of significant wind or rain, river flood-water generally appears dark in a SAR image because the water acts as a specular reflector. A near real-time flood detection algorithm using a split-based automatic thresholding procedure applied to multi-look single-polarisation TerraSAR-X data has been implemented at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen's Centre for Satellite-Based Crisis Information. This searches for water as regions of low SAR backscatter using a region-growing iterated segmentation/classification approach, and requires minimal user intervention. However, the algorithm would require modification to work in urban areas containing radar shadow and layover. In contrast, a semi-automatic algorithm for the detection of floodwater in urban areas using TerraSAR-X has also been developed previously. It uses the DLR SAR End-To-End simulator (SETES) in conjunction with LiDAR data to estimate regions of the image in which water would not be visible due to radar shadow or layover caused by buildings and taller vegetation. The algorithm is aimed at detecting flood extents for calibrating and validating an urban flood inundation model in an offline situation, and requires user interaction at a number of stages. This invariably introduces an element of delay into the production of the final product. The proposal is to revise and combine the existing algorithms to automate the steps requiring manual interaction and to take advantage of the availability of LiDAR data in the urban area, to lead to a near real-time algorithm. This would be tested on the TerraSAR-X image of the Tewkesbury 2007 flood.

We are building a Digital Solutions Hub (Hub) as a gateway to a broad set of inter-connected toolkits that facilitate improved access and better use of NERC data. The digital platform will have especially broad impacts on the environment, society and the economy by facilitating easier access and use of NERC data in business, government and society. Working with our partners, who are the users of what we build, will help grow its use and dissemination. The Hub will be integrated with wider social, economic, health and environmental datasets, to support decision making across a range of sectors. For stakeholders, the Hub will be the user-facing entry point that allows them to explore what NERC offers, ensuring that data and toolkits are findable and accessible. Data science, and the integration it requires, are highly complex and constantly evolving. Our approach recognises that computational tools need to 'sit' in the appropriate place in the technical ecosystem, and that users, particularly those who are new, must be supported in using and accessing them. We will be working with a range of partners in local and national government, the private sector, technology sector, infrastructure providers, health sector, transportation, urban and regional planning, environmental science and a whole range of local and national agencies we will facilitate improved decision making in a wide range of sectors. The Hub will benefit society by improving decision makers' ability to make informed decisions through the integration of data that have potential benefits for the future prosperity of the UK. This ranges from local to national government, the NHS, utility sector, transport infrastructure, insurance industry, housing developers as well as individual members of society. Providing easier access to NERC's environmental data offers opportunities to improving peoples' health and better understanding the impacts of climate change on people, land and property across the UK.

Measurements of ambient air-quality have been made routinely in the UK for many decades. The number of measurements has expanded substantially in the past decade following the implementation of the National Air Quality Strategy. This has increased the number of sites and pollutants measured and the number of local meteorological records taken to help interpret air-quality data. The collected air-quality data are generally used to check if the local pollution climate complies with air-quality standards. For this purpose they are summarised as annual statistics e.g. as annual-average concentrations, or as the total hours per year above a designated concentration value. Although such statistics serve to check compliance, they only use part of the information embedded in the air-quality and meteorological data for the purpose of assessing the performance of sources and policies. There have been several attempts to make better use of routine air-quality monitoring data for purposes for tracking the performance of individual sources and for managing air-quality more effectively. Although such studies have shown the advantages of better methods for presenting and interpreting data (e.g. polar plots of concentrations and wind speed) these advantages have not been generally recognised or the methods transferred into regular use by practitioners. This is in spite of the fact that such information would lead to more robust, rapid and cost-effective decisions for air quality management. Furthermore, few attempts have been made to apply novel forms of aerometric analysis to modelled data. When comparing predictions against observations it is important to check that a model 'gives the right answer for the right reasons'. Opportunities now exist to subject the latest generation of 'one atmosphere' models to rigorous forms of aerometric evaluation. This knowledge transfer proposal therefore aims to demonstrate the advantages of 'smarter' forms of aerometric analysis to a wide range of air-quality practitioners. We will show these advantages in a range of practical air-quality situations both for traditional community pollutants (e.g. SO2, NO2, PM10) and 'new priority pollutants' (e.g. methane) so that such methods become established in regular use. We will show how existing and novel techniques can be used to exploit air-quality data more fully and rigorously, and crucially how the extra information can benefit operational and policy decisions e.g. by giving earlier and clearer advice on the performance of individual sources, or on the progress of specific policies. The methods will not only enable measured concentrations to be better exploited, but will also be applied to modelled concentrations - so helping to improve prediction and management of air quality in future. We will disseminate our methods to practitioners via a range of mechanisms including (i) a website for announcements, progress reports and archived resources, (ii) case summaries & evaluation meetings, (iii) handouts & presentations to user bodies, (iv) conference posters/papers, (v) peer-reviewed publications, (vi) a final report and (vi) a closing workshop. In order to transfer the methods into regular use, we will show users that they can inform practical decisions on air quality (e.g. in management areas), resource use (e.g. fuels, abatement costs), societal behaviours (e.g. on transport, waste), health, (e.g. particulates) and quality of life. Our team has well-established links to professional air-quality bodies including: the Institute of Air-Quality Management, the UK's Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Liaison Committee, and Environmental Protection UK / with its specialist Dispersion Modellers' User Group. We will use these links to consult on the selection of cases studies, to give information on project progress, and to show air-quality practitioners how their decisions can benefit from improved air-quality analysis techniques.

Keywords: Bioaerosol, Compost, Respiratory health, Hospitalisation, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD) The air we breathe contains a mixture of naturally occurring biological particles, including bacteria, fungi and pollen. These are collectively called bioaerosols. As bioaerosols are very small in size, they can potentially travel deep into the lungs and trigger problems such as asthma and respiratory infections. Composting is an increasingly popular way to manage biodegradable waste on an industrial scale. There are currently around 270 large scale composting sites with outdoor processing of waste in England and this number is increasing. The composting process uses fungi and bacteria to breakdown food and garden waste and results in production of compost that can be used in agriculture. However, the process can results in high levels of emissions of bioaerosols including fungal spores into the atmosphere. While sites are closely regulated and managed to minimise exposure to bioaerosols to neighbouring communities, there are few scientific studies available on health risks from such sites. In this study, we will predict daily bioaerosol emissions from all composting sites in England from 2005 to 2014 using specialised air pollution modelling software and information from detailed measurements around selected sites. The output of the model will be used to predict ambient concentrations of bioaerosols at a postcode level. Previous studies of workers at composting sites have suggested potential health impacts on lung health, including asthma. A small number of health studies have been conducted near composting sites and these have found higher rates of reported respiratory symptoms. This study will look at associations between ambient bioaerosol concentrations and respiratory hospital admissions including asthma, to examine potential for serious impacts on lung health. Analyses will also examine whether there are seasonal effects as bioaerosol emissions are higher and their composition may vary at different times of the year. The proposed study involves researchers specialising in environmental health studies from a national Centre for Environment and Health funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and by Public Health England (PHE) and with expertise in exposure assessment from the University of the West of England, Bristol, working on a NERC-funded project called "Detection and characterisation of inflammatory agents associated with bioaerosol emitted from biowaste and intensive agriculture (EndotoxII (NE/M011658/1))". All researchers are at the forefront of research into bioaerosols from composting in the UK. An important part of this study will be a close collaboration between health and the environmental researchers, and, through EndotoxII, establishing links with another NERC project "RApid Monitoring of Bioaerosols in urban, agricultural and Industrial Environments (RAMBIE)" projects. Both NERC projects are due to be completed in 2018. This will help in development of further health studies into bioerosols research, both from composting and from other activities such as intensive agricultural facilities. The results of this study may impact how regulatory bodies monitor composting facilities and the measures put in place to protect public health. At present the Environment Agency have put in place precautionary measures, such that bioaerosols must be below pre-defined low levels by 250m downwind of the composting facility, or by the nearest house, school or office (if closer than 250m). The results of this study will explore the suitability of this approach and may provide recommendations for future regulatory policy.