Environmental Science applications of synchrotron light

Synchrotron based techniques have made a major impact in the field of environmental science in the last ten years. High resolution allows the study of ultra-dilute substances, the identification of species and the ability to track pollutants as they move through the environment. Diamond is playing an important role in monitoring and predicting the effects of human activities on local and global environments.  This knowledge will enable the development of strategies to reduce our overall environmental impact.

To discuss possible environmental science experiments at Diamond, please contact the relevant beamline scientist or Andy Dent.

Potential industrial users should contact Elizabeth Shotton.

Listen to Diamond scientists and users talk about environmental applications in the Diamond podcast.

Environmental Science Highlights

• Interpreting clues to the ocean's past
  20 Mar 2013
  In Brief Chalk and other sediments found at the bottom of the ocean are largely made up of microscopic shells. These shells contain important chemical clues to the environment in which the animal lived, Read more...
• A new catalyst for biofuel
  25 Sep 2012
  Scientists at the University of Oxford and Diamond Light Source have described a new chemical catalyst for producing methanol, a promising future biofuel. By reducing the energy needed to convert biomass Read more...
• Investigating toxic sludge
  20 Mar 2012
  In October 2010, a dam failure at an aluminium producing plant in western Hungary released around one million cubic metres of toxic red sludge into nearby towns and villages and across agricultural land. Read more...
• Studying dust frozen in time
  08 Dec 2011
  Ice cores drilled from the frozen Antarctic landscape are made up of layer upon layer of frozen snow, dating back hundreds of thousands of years. Trapped within the ice are minute dust particles which Read more...
• Protecting herbarium staff from mercury contaminated specimens
  22 Aug 2011
  The University of Manchester museum herbarium was founded in 1860 and contains over a million specimens from all over the world, with collections spanning hundreds of years. The challenge of how to preserve Read more...