Course: Tackling Environmental Challenges for a Sustainable Future

In this video, Dr Brett Sallach explains the physical effects of plastics in our oceans, and why we should be concerned about their impacts on marine ecosystems.

In this video, Dr Bryce Stewart explains how our oceans are heating up and becomng more acidic, with serious consequences for sea life and for humans alike. What can be …

In our examination of ocean pollution we learned about the many different types of contaminants that threaten the health of our oceans and the pathways that they follow to get …

Welcome to Week 4! Dr Karen Parkhill introduces the fourth and final week of the MOOC, and asks: what needs to change in terms of our energy sources?

Remote sensing is an approach to measuring aspects of the earth that does not rely on being in actual contact with the earth itself – its name (‘remote’ sensing) refers …

In this video, Dr Bryce Stewart introduces the second week of the course, Protecting Our Oceans. Why do our oceans need protecting, and what can be done to protect them?

So far, I hope it has become apparent that glaciers are changing and that this is a direct consequence of our warming climate. We have also seen that as a …

In this video, David Rippin explains how despite the advances and insights that remote sensing offers us, there is still an important role for fieldwork – i.e. for physically working …

In this video, David Rippin explains how the amount of ice on the Earth has varied considerably throughout its history, as a consequence of a varying climate. Whilst in the …

Throughout recent decades there have been a number of high profile oil spills that have occurred and the imagery of their effect on marine life is difficult to forget. Whether …

A further way to improve fisheries management is to put the power back into the hands of consumers and retailers – otherwise known as Market Based Conservation. This basically means …

We previously discussed how excess nutrients can enter marine environments, in this step we will investigate the impacts that this has on our oceans. The major nutrients that are needed …

Climate change is happening. We see it all around us, and you have seen examples of it throughout this course. But what can we do about it? SDG Goal 13: …

In 2009 a team of researchers identified nine areas which have ‘boundaries’ or limits, and if these are passed they could shift into an entirely different state, with serious consequences …

The livelihoods of over 3 billion people are sustained by marine and coastal biodiversity, and fisheries employ over 200 million people. Deterioration of the condition of the oceans and coastal …