As a coastal university on the UK’s only island city, we’re more aware than most of the vital importance of healthy waters – from safe and stable food chains, to a thriving marine economy. Our researchers strive to understand, influence and improve aquatic environments here and globally. Their expertise is essential to the future of our beautiful blue planet.
Supporting the safe discharge of Fukushima wastewater
The world was watching when Japan decided to release treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The water had been contaminated by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. As part of an international team, Portsmouth’s Professor Jim Smith helped reassure concerned groups and nations over the potential risks of the discharge.
Professor Smith is widely regarded for his understanding of how radiation affects the natural environment. And he has a talent for communicating reassuring messages in unique ways. He’s part of the team behind ATOMIK Vodka, which is made from grain grown in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, as part of a social enterprise investing back into the region.
In addressing the Fukushima release, he helped to provide comprehensive scientific advice on the anticipated radiation doses to marine life and seafood consumers. He and his colleagues concluded that there would be no significant threat. His long-term studies have shown that, in far more contaminated aquatic ecosystems near Chernobyl, life is thriving.
Revealing how contamination changes marine environments
At our Institute of Marine Sciences, situated just metres from the shore of Langstone Harbour, Professor Alex Ford and colleagues have found that manmade medications are entering the marine food chain, with unexpected consequences. Their research reveals the risks posed by ongoing underinvestment in the UK’s water infrastructure.
Many of the chemicals we flush down our sinks and toilets – including pharmaceuticals, detergents, personal care products and non-stick compounds – can’t be broken down in conventional wastewater treatment plants. Traces of these contaminants then end up in our rivers and coasts.
Professor Ford’s team have studied a range of resulting changes to the behaviour and biological makeup of marine life, including changing colour, effects on growth, and reproducing less or more.
A study with Brunel University found more than fifty chemical compounds in waters near the Institute – from pharmaceuticals to recreational drugs, plus a variety of pesticides. Sewage discharges are evidently a key contributor to this. With such events at elevated levels around the UK in recent years, work to understand their impact has never been more vital.
Bringing an ecosystem back from the brink
A deadly combination of factors including overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and climate change mean the world has lost 85 per cent of its oyster reefs.
In Europe, the impact is even greater. Research shows we’ve lost over 1.7 million hectares of oyster reefs, which used to be dominant, three-dimensional features of our coastlines.
Why does this matter? Oysters and the reefs they create are powerhouses of filtration, improving seawater clarity and quality. They also increase biodiversity and support fish stocks by providing a habitat for hundreds of other species to live, breed and feed.
Professor Joanne Preston’s research is helping to turn the crisis around. Native oyster broodstock cages co-developed in Professor Preston’s lab with Blue Marine Foundation have been rolled out across the UK as part of the Wild Oysters Project. This pioneering effort to boost native oyster populations shows how restoration science can inform restoration practice at scale.
The focus is now on restoring multiple degraded marine habitats to the Solent. Professor Preston’s Coastal Restoration Lab leads scientific monitoring on the multi-million-pound Solent Seascape Project. The project aims to restore four hectares of oyster reefs, eight hectares of saltmarsh, seven hectares of seagrass and ten breeding seabird nesting sites. As well as increasing habitat extent, this will catalyse recovery across the wider seascape.
Scientific monitoring conducted by researchers at the Institute of Marine Sciences will quantify how restoration habitats impact carbon storage, water quality, biodiversity and fish stocks. This applied research can help to save our seas – not a moment too soon.
Watch Professor Alex Ford’s fascinating Life Solved Live talk, ‘Sex changing sea life’:
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