Clean Water in the Mersey? From the 1849 Cholera Outbreak to Today

About the Talk

Today, we wild swim for leisure and face the geopolitical uncertainties of water scarcity. Questions about water quality and its history are therefore urgent. This innovative and interdisciplinary talk will shed light on water quality in the Mersey since the 1800s by combining the disciplines of chemistry, botany, and history. The speakers will explain the evidence that they have used to measure water quality over time. They will propose some reasons, linked to human settlement and behaviours, for changes in water quality across Merseyside. In light of this historical perspective, we will consider how to secure long-term water quality and respect for the environment in Merseyside and beyond. This discussion promises to provide some useful perspectives on humans’ relationship with water and their environment.

For this talk, the speakers refer you to the following open-access paper: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/va/d4va00015c

About the Speakers

Dr Geraldine Reid is a marine botanist who is Lead Curator of Botany, Geology & Science at National Museums Liverpool. She worked at the Natural History Museum, London for 18 years as a diatom researcher and curator, before returning to her home city of Liverpool. Her underlying research throughout her career has focused on diatom systematics. Geraldine has 100 publications and current projects include the history of World Museum botanical collections, The Fern Flora of Honduras, marine biofouling and antifouling, the algae of Liverpool Bay and a decolonial approach the origins of AI.

Geraldine obtained her PhD from Bristol University and her BSc in Marine Biology & Botany from Bangor University.

Prof Darren Grocke is Professor of Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry in Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University. At Durham, Professor Grocke is also the Director of the Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory (SIBL) at Durham University. Darren’s current research focuses on using elemental and stable isotope geochemistry to understand modern biogeochemical processes in marine and terrestrial environments. He has a particular interest on nitrogen isotopes as a tracer for nutrient pollution in estuaries and coastal environments, including in Merseyside. Darren is an inquisitive scientist who finds it hard to say no to projects, since everything is fascinating. Current projects include; farming soils and bacteria; amphipods and pathogens in our estuaries; Miyawaki forests and carbon storage; jellyfish controlled feeding experiments; and crop experimentation and archaeological records.

Darren obtained his PhD (DPhil) from the University of Oxford, UK, in 2001, after which he worked as a lecturer at the University of London followed by McMaster University (Canada) before joining Durham in 2007. Darren was born and grew up in Adelaide, Australia, and completed his BSc in Geology at the University of Adelaide in 1994. Darren has published over 200 international publications and supervised over 40 MScR/MSci students, 28 PhD students and 8 post-doctoral research fellows.