Miriam Glendell

Research Lead - Catchment Modelling
Environmental and Biochemical Sciences
T: +44 (0)344 928 5428 (*)
I'm a catchment scientist and modeler focusing on inter-disciplinary understanding of the effects of land use on multiple ecosystem services, including water quality, freshwater biodiversity, soil conservation and carbon management in catchment systems. Current work focuses on the application and development of statistical, mechanistic and risk-based models to address threats to clean water availability under current the future climate and land use scenarios. I lead research to design and apply water quality models of nutrients, pathogens, pesticides and emerging contaminants, with a special focus on the application of Bayesian Belief Networks as inter-disciplinary system-based decision support tools. I convene an inter-disciplinary research cluster to promote systems thinking and modelling in applied land systems research to support transformative change in socio-ecological systems.
2013 PhD Geography University of Exeter ‘Evaluating an ecosystem management approach for improving water quality on the Holnicote Estate, Exmoor
2013 – 2016 Associate Research Fellow, University of Exeter

2016 – 2023     Senior Scientist and Catchment Modeller, James Hutton Institute

2023 –               Research Lead – Catchment Modelling

2022-27 Emerging Water Futures – Scottish Government Strategic Research Program project to address challenges around managing water resources in Scotland in the context of future environmental change, understand the vulnerabilities of Scotland’s water resources to drought and future risks to water quality from nutrients and emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, microplastics, antimicrobial resistance genes) £3.5M PI

2022-2025 MOT4Rivers, part of NERC ‘Understanding changes in quality of UK freshwaters’ research programme. £389,677 Co-I

2025 ‘Beyond the current: Improving European flowing waters in an era of global change.’ Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks, Horizon Europe. 2.8MEuro, Hutton Value £267,923PI

2024 Source and effects of sediments in medium to large scale catchments across 3 continents. Swiss Science Foundation, Co-I (PI University of Basel), Hutton value £38,820

Past research

2024 CREW ‘Future predictions of water scarcity in Scotland: impacts to distilleries and agricultural abstractors’ £99,985 PI

2023 CREW ‘Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Scottish Standing Waters’ Co-I (PI CEH) Hutton Value £41,202 PI

2023 Hydro Nation Crucible ‘What lies beneath? Evaluating the risk associated with reservoir water quality under a changing climate to futureproof Scotland’s drinking water security’ Co-I £9,235

2020 Uplandia: Systems modelling for evidence-informed peatland policy. £33,463 Co-I

2020 Jersey Water ‘Developing a catchment pollution risk model for pesticides’ £45,647 PI

2020 CREW Scotland’s Centre of Expertise for Waters: ‘Scoping the development of a model to estimate phosphorus (P) loads to water from septic tanks (including a review of nitrogen and faecal indicator organisms)’ £60,245 PI

2019-2021 ESPRC GCRF ‘Developing statistical downscaling to improve water quality understanding and management in the Ganges basin’. £56,852 Co-I

2019-2020 Macaulay Development Trust ‘A high-resolution investigation of the effect of land use and land management on water quality in Scottish streams’. £26,000 PI

2018-2019 Climate X change: Scotland’s centre of expertise connecting climate change research and policy: ‘Climate Change, Natural Capital and Adaptation in Scotland’s Marginal Lands’. Co-I

2018-2021  NERC Newton ‘Antimicrobial resistance and pollutants:  interactive studies and novel sensor technologies’. Co-I

2018-2019 Teagasc Ireland.  ‘Development of a risk-based model of P pollution in the agricultural catchments programme’. PI

2017-2018 CREW ‘Factoring Ecological Significance of Sources into Phosphorus Source Apportionment’. PI

2017-2018 CREW ‘Reviewing best practice in the delivery of good drinking water quality using a prevention-led approach’. Co-I

2017-2018 University of Basel. ‘Testing the use of compound-specific stable isotope analysis of n-alkanes for river sediment source apportionment’. PI

Journals

Prior to appointment

Technical / contract reports

Conference papers

Conference posters / abstracts