School of Geography and Environmental Science

The sun rising over a cityscape

A new study using data from one billion mobile phones has shown how wealth & age create a hidden divide in how people respond to heatwaves.

The @worldpop-uos.bsky.social research explored whether people were able to stay home or forced to travel for work and essentials.

Read more: bit.ly/4bRjoen

Sparklers light up the stage at the end of the 2025 winter graduation ceremony

A huge congratulations to our 2025 graduates - it was brilliant to celebrate with you today. Wishing you all the very best for the future #WeAreUoS

A group of people sits on a sunlit grassy hill, facing away from the camera. They are enjoying a serene sunset over the cityscape in the background. Tall trees border the scene, with soft, warm light creating a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere.

Summer could be 42 days longer by the end of the century according to our @sotongeogenviron.bsky.social scientists and @royalholloway.bsky.social researchers ☀️

European lake mud dating back thousands of years helped them make the prediction.

Read more 👉 https://tr.pulse.ly/fdcljgd2ga

Professor Justin Sheffield

Professor Andrew Tatem

Congratulations to Professors Justin Sheffield & Andrew Tatem who have been included in Clarivate's 2025 Highly Cited Researcher List.

The list recognises researchers with exceptional reach and influence, ranking in the top 1% of citations for their fields.

southampton.ac.uk/geography/ne...

Aerial view of a construction site with large areas of sand and earth being developed next to a river. In the background, a city skyline with tall buildings is visible under the setting sun. Several barges and a small boat are docked near the shore, and scattered equipment is visible on the sandy terrain.

Intense sand mining is putting the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia at risk of collapse with catastrophic consequences.

Scientists have now determined the cause of this decline to be sand mining in the Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.

👉 https://southampton.pulse.ly/bqqpxhrguz

Artificial developments weaken coastal resilience – here’s how mapping them can help The lines of artificial coastal developments might be neat and straight but in reality, they are fragmenting ecosystems and disrupting hydrodynamics.

Artificial developments are weakening the natural defenses of our shorelines, leaving people vulnerable to rising sea-level, says our visiting researcher Dr Dhritiraj Sengupta.

Writing in @uk.theconversation.com, he says mapping them can help👇

theconversation.com/artificial-d...

Students draw flood-adapted homes as part of the workshop

GCSE students from three local schools came onto campus to learn about the flood risks affecting Southampton.

They took part in interactive workshops with
the More Than Maps team, learning about the models and methods used to assess and adapt to flood risks.

southampton.ac.uk/geography/ne...

A quote graphic of Professor Andy Tatem.

What will the world look like in a decade? We might have the answer 🌎📊

Our WorldPop experts are launching new global population data, offering insights into where people live, their demographics, and more.

Register to watch the launch👇https://eventbrite.pulse.ly/oowjsp4mty

Rugged green mountains on Tahiti shrouded in mist and low-hanging clouds, with patches of sunlight.

A major shift in South Pacific climate conditions around 1,000 years ago may have drawn people east to settle on the region's more remote, wetter islands, away from the drier west.

New research from our geography researchers and
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social 👉 tr.ee/UJpEVL

WorldPop Showcases Population Modelling at Global Statistics Summit WorldPop Senior Research Fellow Dr Chris Nnanatu recently took centre stage at the 2025 Joint Statistical Meeting (JSM) in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the world’s leading gatherings of statisticians,...

🌍📊 WorldPop's cutting-edge research showcased at #JSM2025
#SatelliteData to improve #population estimates - esp. where data is scarce.
📡 >40% less bias.
📍 Smarter models.
🚀 Better decisions for health, aid & planning.
#Statistics #DataForGood
www.worldpop.org/blog/worldpo...

The Power of Population Data: Introducing WorldPop Global 2015–2030 Join us online to discover WorldPop's new Global 2015 - 2030 population data and find out how it can enhance your strategic decision-making.

🌍 Big data, big impact! Join us on 4 Sep for the launch of WorldPop Global 2015–2030 - a new open-access, high-res, age & sex-disaggregated population estimate dataset covering 242 countries

📅 4 Sep | 🕒 3 pm BST
🔗 Register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1374590861...
#PopulationData #OpenData

WorldPop Co-Produces Vital Population Data for UN Disaster Risk Study A new study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is showing how smart use of population data can save lives in the face of na...

🌍 How can data save lives during disasters?

WorldPop co-produced high-resolution population data for a new UN study, helping map how vulnerable groups face risks from floods, earthquakes & more.

Smarter data = smarter planning. 💡📊
#UNFPA #UNDRR #DataForGood

www.worldpop.org/blog/worldpo...

Discover the Power of Population Data: Join Our Upcoming Webinar WorldPop are thrilled to announce the launch of a ground-breaking open-access collection of high-resolution global demographic datasets, available from 4 September 2025.

📊 Discover The Power of Population Data! 🌍

Join WorldPop’s free webinar on Sept 4 to learn about our new high-res, open-access population datasets (2015–2030) for 242 countries.

Learn from experts + get your questions answered!

🔗 Register now: www.worldpop.org/blog/discove...

#PopulationData

New Open Access Geospatial Datasets to Enhance Global Population Mapping WorldPop release a groundbreaking collection of 73 global, high-resolution, multi-temporal geospatial datasets, poised to significantly enhance the accuracy and detail of human population distribution...

🚨 New preprint: 73 high-res, global, multi-temporal geospatial datasets! Covering 2015–2023 at ~100m resolution, these open data power better population modelling for health, policy & more.
#GeospatialData #OpenData #PopulationMapping #DataForGood #PublicHealth
www.worldpop.org/blog/new-ope...

Grocery store display with stacked canned goods, jars of pasta sauce, and assorted fresh produce.

Our researchers are working with local councils and food aid services to improve food pantries across the South as the demand for them surges.

The project will ensure food is distributed to pantries more fairly and with less waste.

Read more 👉 https://tr.pulse.ly/b6in27yuaf

Photo of Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Andy Tatem and teams from WorldPop and Data Science Nigeria

🚀 A true honour to welcome Professor Dame Wendy Hall to WorldPop!
We had an inspiring & wide-ranging conversation on using AI to fill global demographic data gaps 🌍 - plus insights into UK data sharing initiatives & the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
#AIforGood #Demographics #DataScience

White and yellow text, on a blue background with several round pictures of the UoS Roadshow taken at Southampton Mela 2024. The text says: University of Southampton, We are going to Southampton Mela Festival, Saturday 12th July 2025, 12-5PM, #UoSRoadshow. Accompanying logo: Southampton Mela Festival, artasia.org.uk.

We are ready to go! 🎉

Join researchers and staff from @unisouthampton.bsky.social, and friends of the Public and Community Engagement Hubs at #SouthamptonMela Festival this Saturday 12th July (12-5PM)!

#UoSRoadshow #UoSPCEHubs #WeAreUoS
@southamptonctu.bsky.social @johnhansardgallery.bsky.social

Person looking down over a map.

The 2025/26 Public Engagement Development Fund Call is now open!

Staff, PGRs and community partners can apply for funding to develop, explore and deliver projects that strengthen public engagement with our university’s research and its impact.

Read more 👉 bit.ly/44tkR57

YouTube video by Environmental and Life Sciences at Southampton Professor Dianna Smith | Inaugural Lecture Series | University of Southampton

As part of our Faculty Inaugural Lecture Series - celebrating the careers of some of our newly promoted Professors - Professor Dianna Smith gave an insightful lecture on Food Aid and Fish Fingers: Towards a Fairer Food System. @geodianna.bsky.social

Watch here 👇 youtu.be/VPnajLQf5L4

YouTube video by Environmental and Life Sciences at Southampton Professor Jo Nield | Inaugural Lecture Series | University of Southampton

Our Faculty Inaugural Lecture Series celebrates the careers of some of our newest Professors. Prof. Jo Nield opened the series with a fascinating talk on TLS: Telling Landscape Stories (or playing with laser patterns in deserts).
Watch here 👇
youtu.be/1MSreSzCoAY

A joy to be listening to @geodianna.bsky.social's @sotongeogenviron.bsky.social inaugural lecture "Food aid and fish fingers: towards a fairer food system" Not just a fascinating life and academic journey, but telling it like it is: #FoodPoverty is poverty poverty

Map showing spatial distribution of health facility types and changes in services provided overlayed on 2022 population.

➡️New research: Spatio-temporal patterns of #health service delivery and access to maternal, child, and outpatient healthcare in #Volta region, #Ghana

📊New approach monitoring service changes using #HealthData & #SpatialAnalysis

#DHIMS2 #GhanaHealthService @dhis2.org

🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1654...

Sacred Connections: Heritage Revival by Indian-origin Communities in the UK Come explore the powerful legacy of indian-origin communities in the UK andtheir commitment to preserving living heritage

Join us for the launch of Sacred Connections: Heritage Revival by Indian-origin Communities in the UK—a panel and exhibition exploring legacy and living heritage through sound, photos and sacred objects.
🗓️ 21 June, 1–4 PM | John Hansard Gallery
🔗 bit.ly/4dWlVCV
📸 Amit Guha

Dry, bleak field with scorched trees that has been ravaged by extreme drought.

Our climate experts report that Planet Earth is getting thirstier, which is making droughts more extreme 🌍💧
 
They believe the atmosphere is demanding more water out of the soil, rivers, and plants due to climate change.
 
Find out more 👉 tr.ee/lALd7k

The We Society: Population, Data & Destiny Professor Andy Tatem speaks with Will Hutton, President of the Academy of Social Sciences about the ethical considerations in data collection and his vision to supplement traditional surveys and censu...

📣Listen to Professor Andy Tatem to hear how WorldPop is changing lives and improving decision making in low- and middle-income countries in #TheWeSociety podcast from ‪@acadsocsciences.bsky.social‬ and #WillHutton

🔗 www.worldpop.org/blog/the-we-...

🌍 #LMIC #SocialScience #Data4Good

🎙️ New podcast alert 🎙️

Don't miss our Prof Andy Tatem on the latest episode of ‪‪@acadsocsciences.bsky.social‬'s popular We Society podcast.

He's been talking about the pioneering work of @worldpop-uos.bsky.social‬ 👇👇

Another fantastic Faculty Technicians Away Day hosted by Psychology and @sotongeogenviron.bsky.social thanks Pete Langdon and Agnes Michalik for organising.

An image of vast desert land with a person stood in the distance taking readings from a distance measuring device

An image of vast desert land with a measuring device in the foreground

Our researchers have uncovered the mystery on how ‘mini sand dunes’ form.

The findings could tell us not just how they form on beaches and in deserts, but also on other planets.

Read more 👉 tr.ee/drHBy4

Figure 1 from Toomey, M., Ashton, A. D., & Perron, J. T. (2013) Profiles of ocean island coral reefs controlled by sea-level history and carbonate accumulation rates. Geology, 41(7), 731-734. Figure shows examples of various carbonate reef systems arrayed as a function of an ecomorphodynamic feedback between relative sea-level forcing and reef growth rates.

Thinking of @drkingothebeach.bsky.social today: teaching Toomey et al. (2013: doi.org/10.1130/G341...) [one of my all-time favourite papers] and Ortiz & Ashton (2019: doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...) as we near the end of this year's @sotongeogenviron.bsky.social Y2 coastal module.