Steve Ormerod

Steve Ormerod

Prof Steve Ormerod is among the world's leading applied freshwater ecologists. He researches global change effects on rivers, lakes and wetlands, and is involved heavily in environmental policy.

Location Cardiff

Activity

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Mulenga Makungu
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome Mulenga, and thanks for your important work in catchment protection

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Marianne Rose
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome Marianne

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Rosetta Ceesay
    Welcome to the course

    400 trees! Fantastic work, Rosetta, and welcome

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Gerrie Schrik
    Welcome to the course

    Hi Gerrie: I hope we can help you

  • Steve Ormerod replied to India Eiloart
    Welcome to the course

    Hi India: we look forward to your contributions!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Elisabet conradie
    Welcome to the course

    Hello Elisabet: I think you may even see some examples from S Africa in the course. Welcome!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to William Marsden
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome William

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Nastaran Moossavi
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome Nastaran!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Trevor Locke
    Welcome to the course

    Thanks for joining, Trevor

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Owen Jones
    Welcome to the course

    @OwenJones Welcome Owen! Look forward to learning what you can teach us about rainfall-runoff models under extreme conditions!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Lee Scott
    Welcome to the course

    @LeeScott Welcome Lee: there are some items on extreme events and climate change a few sessions down the line...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Maria Grigg
    Welcome to the course

    Hi Maria. I've been watching with horror and disbelief the tragedy of the Murray Darling from here in the UK. A huge river system with huge problems. I hope we can help give you a wider context for thinking about it

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Welcome to the course

    @AnneLüneburg And it's certainly a challenge! Welcome Anne

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Kathleen Walker
    Welcome to the course

    Hi Kathleen: we have some sections on ecosystems and environmental issues further into the course. Good luck!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to David Brown
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome David: great to see so much commitment!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Cerian Jenkins
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome again, Cerian

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Aakanksha Pathania
    Welcome to the course
  • Steve Ormerod replied to Louise Arnold
    Welcome to the course

    Tremendous motivation, Louise: so many of the solutions to our environmental problems are linked. Plastic, water, carbon, nature...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Richard Holland
    Welcome to the course

    Thanks for this Richard: the UK has a huge disparity between supply and demand - yet fixing that disparity will come with substantial economic and environmental costs

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Hateem Ul Ghani
    Welcome to the course

    We'll do our best to broaden your horizons, Hateem! Welcome

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Katie Jorgensen
    Welcome to the course

    Hi Katie: I hope we can extend your knowledge!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Kunda Newton Silwenga
    Welcome to the course

    Welcome Kunda!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Philip Burton
    Introduction to week 2

    @PhilipBurton One of the issues is in generating the evidence - at large scales - that natural flood management will do enough to reduce the worst flood peaks: here's what a group of senior UK hydrologists and catchment managers put together recently

    https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspa.2016.0706

    Hope you find it useful. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Philip Burton
    Biological water quality - part 2

    Thanks, both, for this very positive feedback

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Philip Burton
    Biological water quality - part 1

    Thanks Phillip: I think the Lead Educator (who is from Burnley) would agree :) SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Debra Coverdale
    Introduction to week 2

    Thanks for these comments Debra: you should pick up some of these themes as you work through this week's material. The balance between industrial (usually from specific or 'point' sources) and agricultural pollution (often from more 'diffuse' sources) is an interesting one: is some geographical locations, there have been major improvements in the treatment...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Roy Kilborn
    Introduction to week 2

    Thanks Roy: there are parallels with our situation also in Wales, and a long-standing debate on whether we could transfer more water to the S East of England via the Wye, Severn and Thames. The benefits could be in supplying demands from people agriculture in the lowland east, but the risks are in mixing/trading water from different sources without...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Philip Burton
    Introduction to week 2

    Thanks Phillip. There's some suggestion, too, that it's sometimes important infrastructure or facilities that would be at risk in flood plains (airports, hospitals, care homes and the like..) were it not for flood risk management. Interesting to see how natural flood management (using catchment tree planting, moorland ditch blocking etc) is coming up the...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Derek Jones
    Introduction to week 2

    Thanks Derek: you'll see some material on all of these themes in the week ahead.

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Paul Stewart
    Introduction to week 2

    @PaulStewart Thanks Paul: the Rivers Trusts are becoming very effective actors and advocates in catchment management around the UK - and research evidence supports the effectiveness of some of the actions you describe here. Any indications from your patch that they're working? SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Yudi Imbachí
    Meet the educators

    Thanks Yudi.

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Lokesh Kumar
    Meet the educators

    Thanks for your kind words!

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Aurès .K
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks Aurès. As well as drinking, a huge amount of water is used in food production - probably the major part of our water consumption. And somehow we have to manage the demand for these purposes without damaging the natural ecosystems that we depend on for water supply. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Roy Kilborn
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks Roy: I agree. And there is an aggregate need beyond our individual actions to whole communities wouldn't you say? SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Cathy Chapman
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks Cathy: interesting comment about environmental refugees - which is a large and often overlooked issue. And one of the consequences of problems of water security that will inevitable grow in future as pressures intensify. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Katherine Sloan
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Yes: thanks Katherine. And there is the challenge of expanding individual 'consciousness' of our actions to the aggregate total of their effects throughout the water cycle - given also that there is enormous inequality of access across the world. Quite a challenge. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Christine Patten
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Hello Christine. Do you consider it important also to maintain and protect freshwater ecosystems while we're also providing safe and sufficient water for ourselves? I hope you'll drop into the future weeks' assessments of how well we're doing (or not doing) in this respect. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Lokesh Kumar
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks Lokesh Kumar: an interesting distinction for us to consider between sources and resources. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Hakimullah Azad
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks for this comment Hakimullah Azad. The challenge is how to get the 'cleverness' of our approach right in practice. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Daniel Balzan Alzate
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    That's a great overview Daniel: managing water security is, indeed, the management of a global cycle and part of the Earth system. But do you think we're anywhere near to getting the management right? SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Prisha Hill
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks for this comment, Prisha. Some of the environmental and ecosystem consequences of inadequate water security will come up in the weeks ahead - and to me are a very serious issue because natural freshwater ecosystems are, in the end, what we all depend upon. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Jill Hind
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks Jill. And the challenges of how we deliver those things in the face of major pressures to water availability, waste disposal and ecosystem protection are enormous. More to come on that in future weeks of the course. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Garance d'Alverny
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Thanks for this, Garance. Is there room for consideration of natural freshwater ecosystems in your thoughts of water security, too? SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Tia M
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Excellent definition, Tia. But how do we get there in the face of burgeoning demand, environmental water scarcity and accelerating degradation of freshwater ecosystems? More to come on this in future weeks. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Derek Jones
    What does Water Security mean to you?

    Do you think that's true of all types of pollution, Derek? I think nations like the UK have got on top of gross, sanitary pollution, yet there are new types of pollution such as pharmaceuticals and plastics. Problems from rural rivers might be getting worse. More to come in future weeks on pollution. SJO

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Gillian Misstear
    End of week 1

    Thanks for these observations, Gillian. There is more to come in the weeks ahead on the complexities of pollution as a contributor to water security problems which I hope will help you put your local circumstances into a wider context. Steve O

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Pranav Dev
    End of week 1

    Thank you, Pranav Dev, for sharing your experiences - which are extremely relevant and pertinent to all of us on the course. You not only illustrate a prime example of insecurity of supply associated with the difficulty of access to water - but also the challenges of water governance where water crosses political boundaries. More of this in the weeks ahead. ...

  • Steve Ormerod replied to Duduzile Ngidi
    End of week 1

    Thanks Duduzile Ngidi: an excellent example of some the complex interactions affecting water security in different ways for people and ecosystems when we get things wrong. Steve O