It is with a heavy heart that we close the student takeover season of the Meliora podcast with an episode all about our amazing co-creators, editors and interns Lily Killner and Sophie Green who are about to graduate and leave us :(

In this episode we chat about how Sophie and Lily applied for an internship that wasn't actually quite what they were sold, how clueless we were with everything when starting the co-creation of the podcast, what it's like to be a student intern whilst also completing their degree studies, and their plans for the future. We then close with a sad farewell (for now).

This episode marks the end of an era. We wouldn't have even got to recording and releasing an episode if it wasn't for these two wonderful colleagues. I will be forever grateful, will really miss working with them, and they are obviously always part of the podcast team.

Guests: Lily Killner (BSc Environmental Science Graduate) and Sophie Green (BSc Geography Graduate)
Host: Prof Simon Kemp
Editor: Lily Killner

In this Student Takeover episode of the Meliora podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute (SRI) at the University of Southampton we are joined by our SRI Work Placement student and guest editor Alisha Ashworth who discusses the work of the SRI and the future of our world with our Director Prof Craig Hutton. We address a wide range of topics from the perspective of young people going through school and college, along with views around our collective futures.

Editor: Alisha Ashworth
Guests: Alisha Ashworth and Prof Craig Hutton
Host: Prof Simon Kemp

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In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium we are joined by Francois-Xavier Lecomte (MSci Marine Biology with Oceanography) to discuss his dissertation 'Relationships between top marine predators and oceanographic features in the Southern Ocean'.

In the dynamic Southern Ocean, marine predators movement behaviours are intricately shaped by oceanographic conditions. This study utilized data from 17 top marine predators in the RAATD dataset spanning from 1991 to 2016 to investigate how environmental variables—including sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll a concentration (Chl), sea level anomalies (SLA), and sea ice—affect their spatial dynamics and habitat preferences. Using a Generalized Additive Mixed Model, we assessed how these factors influence predator interactions with ocean currents. Additionally, an integrated step-selection function analysis elucidated habitat preferences across species and their various breeding stages. Our findings highlight a significant correlation between movement directions and current dynamics, with species-specific preferences for oceanographic features such as eddies and frontal systems. While SST, SLA, and Chl consistently influence habitat selection across all species, only SST significantly impacts habitat selection across all breeding stages. Moreover, some species demonstrate avoidance behaviour toward areas with sea ice. These results underscore the importance of considering individual species ecological needs and behaviours in marine conservation strategies, especially given the rapidly changing conditions of the Southern Ocean. Our study emphasizes the critical role of sophisticated modelling techniques in understanding predator-prey dynamics and habitat utilization, which are essential for creating effective marine protected areas and management plans. Future research should focus on enhancing model resolution and integrating more comprehensive environmental data to better predict and manage marine predator populations within shifting global ocean conditions, thereby ensuring their long-term survival and ecological balance. Additionally, adaptive management strategies are needed to respond to unpredicted changes in habitat conditions and predators responses.

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.

Episode Guest: Francois-Xavier Lecomte
Episode Host: Prof Simon Kemp
Episode Editor: Libby Kale

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In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium we are joined by Aeronautics and Astronautics student Manisha Mahesh Kumar to discuss her dissertation 'Route Optimisation for Space Debris Removal'.

Manisha discusses her unique approach for space debris removal and remediation with particular focus of SDG9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. She explains the current state of the space environment and major events that contributed to space debris accumulation. She elaborates on how a satellite moves through space and how the different manoeuvres it makes contribute to the algorithm design. Manisha details how the algorithm can be tailored by the user to suit the mission profile. We also talk about the comparison of this algorithm to existing heuristics with regards to the computational power used and the optimality of the generated route. Finally, we explore her journey throughout completion of this project. To help listeners grasp the complexity of this issue, she suggests visiting AstriaGraph, a platform for visualizing all bodies, including debris, orbiting the Earth in real-time.

AstriaGraph: http://astria.tacc.utexas.edu/AstriaGraph/

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Session where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate students.

Episode Guest: Manisha Mahesh Kumar

Episode Host: Prof Simon Kemp

Episode Editor: Libby Kale

Engage with us on Instagram and X: @meliorapodcast

In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium at the University of Southampton, we are joined by Hannah Portman (BSc Geography) for an exploration of her dissertation research titled: “The Rice Industry in the Mekong River Delta in a Changing Climate”.

Rice is a vital commodity for ensuring food security as it is a staple food source for more than half of the world’s population and with a growing population the demand for rice is ever-increasing. Deltas are agriculturally rich, hosting some of the most important rice-growing regions in the world, such as the Mekong River Delta, which is known as the ‘rice bowl of Vietnam’.

Climate change can adversely impact the rice yield, by changing precipitation and temperature regimes, more extreme events (e.g., drought and floods) and salinisation due to sea level rise, which creates a hostile environment for plant growth. In deltas, sea level rise and the resulting salinity intrusion poses the greatest ongoing risk to irrigated rice farming. Therefore, a rapid surge in diversifying farming systems or the complete transition to aquaculture has occurred in the Mekong River Delta. Although this transition is beneficial for farmers financial capital, their social capital diminishes. Rice cultivation has a long rich history with traditional culture and customs associated around the rice harvesting calendar, so if there continues to be this change in agricultural production there will inevitably be a shift in the social fabric of the community.

There was limited research focussing on the past, present and future state of rice production in the Mekong River Delta. Therefore, I looked at the loss and gain of land cover from 1990 to 2020 in 10-year intervals focussing particular on the spatial and temporal dynamics of rice paddy extent, as well as aquaculture, to be able to understand the past and present state. Then I modelled potential sea level rise scenarios to understand the extent of rice paddies impacted in the future if we continue to warm the planet.

Further reading:

Park, E., Loc, H.H., Van Binh, D. and Kantoush, S. (2021), ‘The worst 2020 saline water intrusion disaster of the past century in the Mekong Delta: Impacts, causes, and management implications’, Ambio, 51, pp.691–699 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8800995/pdf/13280_2021_Article_1577.pdf

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.

Guest: Hannah Portman (Third-Year BSc Geography Student)

Host: Prof Simon Kemp

Editor: Sophie Green

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In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium at the University of Southampton, we are joined by Isabelle Horrocks (BA Geography) for an exploration of her dissertation research titled: ‘Exploring the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on sustainable consumption practices among students’.

Over recent years, the combination of stagnant wage growth and a sharp rise in inflation has driven a significant increase in the cost of living across the UK. In accordance, consumption behaviours have altered, especially among university students who are often on lower incomes. This research aims to provide a critical insight into how student consumption behaviours have been impacted as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, while simultaneously offering tentative suggestions into whether these practices have become more or less sustainable.

Throughout the episode we discuss the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on sustainable behaviours and consumption practices, highlighting the impact of economic pressures on making sustainable choices. The complexity of assessing sustainability is also examined, followed by a discussion of methodological considerations and key findings from the project.

Further resources:
A useful tool from The Office For National Statistics to visualise how the average price of goods are changing: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/shoppingpricescomparisontool/2023-05-03

The challenges associated with measuring sustainability:
Sikdar, S. (2020) ‘Measures for Sustainability’, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 22(2), pp. 279–280. doi:10.1007/s10098-020-01817-y. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10098-020-01817-y)

Sustainable consumption and behavioural change:
https://timjackson.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jackson.-2005.-Motivating-Sustainable-Consumption.pdf

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.

Guest: Isabelle Horrocks (Third-Year BA Geography Student)
Host: Prof Simon Kemp
Editor: Lily Killner

Engage with us on Instagram and X: @meliorapodcast

In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium we are joined by Holly Hoban (BSc Environmental Science) to discuss her Independent Research Project ‘Spotting Resilience: Measuring the Effect of Vegetation Turing Patterns in Dryland Ecosystems.’

Since the development of aerial photography, striking vegetation patterns such as spots, stripes and labyrinths have been identified and studied in drylands across the globe. They are examples of Turing patterns, self-organised features which emerge due to simple feedback processes. This dissertation project used satellite data to test whether these patterns make ecosystem productivity more stable over time, or more resilient to droughts. Results showed that patterned samples were more resilient than non-patterned samples and suggested that different types of patterns affect resilience differently, with the most efficient structures not always achieving the best outcome. If incorporated into management strategies, vegetation patterns could benefit conservation, restoration, and agriculture in regions threatened by desertification and climate change, as well as having implications for other areas of resilience research. This research relates to SDGs 2, 11, 13 and 15.

Relevant articles for further reading:

Evasion of tipping in complex systems through spatial pattern formation https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj0359

Bridging ecology and physics: Australian fairy circles regenerate following model assumptions on ecohydrological feedbacks https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13493

The global biogeography and environmental drivers of fairy circles https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2304032120

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.

Episode Guest: Holly Hoban
Episode Host: Prof Simon Kemp
Episode Editor: Sophie Green

Engage with us on instagram and X: @meliorapodcast

In this episode of the Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium we are joined by Debjyoti “Deb” Sengupta (MEng Mechanical Aerospace Engineering) to discuss his Group Design Project 'Venus Specialised Exploration Rover (VESPER)'.

As per the scientific community, there is a consensus that Venus, often referred to as Earth’s evil twin, may allow us to understand our planet in a way that could help us tackle climate change (SDG 13) whilst encouraging development of new technology. However, recent concerns with sustainability in space exploration (e.g., space debris and costs) and the political agendas of space powers such as the US, Russia, India, Europe, and Japan has introduced new dynamics and stakes to this scientific quest (or shall we say – new space race!) With NASA announcing two planned missions to explore Venus in 2031, a group of our students led by the speaker were chosen to deliver a functional proof-of-concept prototype for a rover to explore the Venusian surface, allowing everyone to research on topics ranging from geology to exoplanet identification to climate change mitigation. This group project caters to a variety of UN SDGs, with discussions on the innovative concept for a non-electronic mechanical spacecraft and its constituting systems (SDG 9), manufacturing requirements and reduction in silicon mining (SDG 12) and the opportunity for space to become a mainframe economic sector (SDG 8).

Our host and our guest speaker also talk about the project serving as a platform for upskilling and inspiring upcoming generations (SDG 4) while emphasising on the need for international collaborations to ensure any form of space exploration is peaceful and does not become a front for conflicts in this new era of astropolitics (SDG 16 and 17). In the words of our guest – “The project serves as a platform for true change while serving as a reminder that mankind must learn from its past mistakes with technology. If space were to become unsustainable or a front for future wars, then the day will come when mankind would stop admiring the night sky and curse the work of the pioneers of space exploration, just like the nuclear community.” ”

The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.

Guest: Debjyoti Sengupta
Host: Prof Simon Kemp
Editor: Jack Dinham