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Clay-related subsidence is Great Britain’s (GB) most damaging soil-related geohazard, costing the economy up to £500 million per annum. Soil-related geohazard models based on mineralogy and potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD) derived from historic weather data have been used in risk management since the 1990s. United Kingdom Climate Projections (UKCP09) suggest that regions of GB will experience hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters through to 2050. As a result, PSMD fluctuations are expected to increase, exacerbating the shrinkage and swelling of clay soils. A forward-looking approach is now required to mitigate the impacts of future climate on GB’s built environment. We present a framework for incorporating probabilistic projections of PSMD, derived from a version of the UKCP09 stochastic weather generator, into a clay subsidence model. This provides a novel, national-scale thematic model of the likelihood of clay-related subsidence, related to the top 1-1.5m soil layer, for three time periods; baseline (1961-1990), 2030 (2020-2049) and 2050 (2040-2069). Results indicate that much of GB, with the exception of upland areas, will witness significantly higher PSMDs through to the 2050’s. As a result, areas with swelling clay soils will be subject to proportionately increased subsidence hazard. South-east England will likely incur the highest hazard exposure to clay-related subsidence through to 2050. Potential impacts include increased incidence of property foundation subsidence, alongside deterioration and increased failure rates of GB’s infrastructure networks. Future clay-subsidence hazard scenarios provide benefit to many sectors, including: finance, central and local government, residential property markets, utilities and infrastructure operators. EPSRC

Within the context of an observed increase in the numbers of burst pipes associated with colder winters in the Anglian water region, we have analysed temperature data for England and Wales from the period 1991-2012 to identify cold winter periods. To do so, we have calculated the annual accumulated temperature below 1 °C for each MORECS square over the winter period. The resulting data has been mapped for both the whole of England and Wales as well as just for the Anglian Water region. The data shows that the four winters between 2008-2012 were considerably colder than the preceding eleven winters. Additionally, for the winter of 2011-2012, the average temperature for all England of Wales was warmer than the 1991-2011 period average. However locally, in the Anglian Water region, the average temperatures were colder than the 1991-2011 average. The available MORECS data shows that while there are some periods of time with warmer winters (e.g. 1997-2008) and periods with colder winters (1990-1994, 1995-1997 and 2008- 2012), the lengths of these periods are considerably variable. From the MORECS data for the period 1991-2012, there does not appear to be a cyclical or predictable pattern in determining the harshness of the winter period.

Anglian Water plc. have recorded a recent rise in the number of bursts to water mains, impacting on the reportable serviceability of the network to the regulator. Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute were asked to investigate and advise on potential environmental causes for this. This report Soil and Climatic causes of water mains infrastructure bursts forms a part of the contractual obligations entered into by Cranfield University with Anglian Water plc. and is provided for Anglian Water plc., submitted as a deliverable for Cranfield University project WU33701V as part of the wider Anglian Water plc. Burst mains and climate factors project.

Landscapes and their component landforms have formed during the long-term geological history of an area, and may have been influenced by many factors. These include, a) the materials present just below the Earth's surface, b) movements of the Earth's land or sea surface, and c) the action of ice, rain, wind and living organisms. This study has been concerned particularly with ways of analysing and presenting topographical information, so that members of the general public can gain new insights into the stories that have resulted in their landscapes and landforms.

A Technical Manual to guide users through the uses and applications of the soilscapes datasets. Soilscapes is one of the most popular datasets available from NSRI. It strips away confusing terminology and enables informed decision making by non-soil scientists who require an understanding of soil and how it affects the landscape. With Soilscapes, decision makers will gain a working knowledge of many fundamental soil-landscape processes for any region across England and Wales.