Through this Fellowship, I aim to develop fundamental scientific methods for the design, optimisation and control of next generation resilient water supply networks that dynamically adapt their connectivity (topology), hydraulic conditions and operational objectives. A dynamically adaptive water supply network can modify its state in response to changes in the operational conditions, performance objectives, an increase in demand and a failure. This is a new category of engineering (cyber-physical) systems that combine physical processes with computational control in a holistic way in order to achieve dynamic adaptability, resilience, efficiency and sustainability. Water utilities are facing an increasing demand for potable water as a result of population growth and urbanisation. Cities are reaching unprecedented scale and complexity and the reliable provision of safe water is a global environmental security challenge. New technologies and knowledge are urgently needed to meet environmental, regulatory and financial pressures. Recent advances in sensor and control technologies, wireless communication and data management allow us to gain extraordinary insights into the operation of complex water supply networks and their control. Novel simulation and optimisation methods are required to make use of the new knowledge about the dynamics of large-scale water supply systems and the ability to control their operation in order to improve resource and asset utilisation. In the course of pioneering and leading an extensive programme of applied research in dynamically adaptive water supply networks, I have identified fundamental mathematical and engineering challenges of how such complex systems should be designed, retrofitted, modelled and managed in order to address multiple operational applications either simultaneously or sequentially. For example, the network management can be optimised to reduce leakage, improve water quality and enhance incident response. Furthermore, developing a robustly scalable simulation and control system is extremely challenging due to the complexity of the computational tasks for medium to large-scale water supply systems. This research programme will investigate, develop and validate a novel analytical and robust computational framework for the concurrent design, operation and control of adaptive water supply networks that dynamically configure their connectivity (topology), hydraulic conditions and operational objectives. The proposed framework should simultaneously optimise the design (e.g. placements of advanced network controllers and monitoring devices) and the operational control (e.g. the optimal selection of functions and settings for the valves and pumps). This co-design approach also considers the hydraulic dynamics, uncertainties, environmental changes and the development of mathematical optimisation methods for network operability and controllability in order to manage the operation of complex water supply systems efficiently, intelligently and sustainably. This is an ambitious and transformative research programme that requires solving numerous problems spanning several disciplines in water systems engineering, applied mathematics, control engineering, cyber-physical systems and sensors research. The Fellowship will provide me with a unique opportunity to dedicate most of my time to develop, validate and champion into practice the design and control methods for dynamically adaptive, resilient and sustainable water supply networks.

Every year vegetation fires (wildfires and management burns) affect ~4% of the global vegetated land surface. This includes forests, grasslands or peatlands, which provide 60% of the water supply for the world's largest 100 cities and for 70% of for the UK's population. In England 114 km2 of uplands are affected by management burns alone and the UK Fire and Rescue Services attend to over 70,000 vegetation fires per year. Vegetation fires can have serious impacts on water quality, which, combined with the current and projected future further decline in fresh water availability and increase in fire risk in many regions around the world, has given rise to increased attention to water contamination risks from fire. The primary threat is ash left behind by fire, which can be transported very easily into water bodies by water erosion. Ash is typically rich in contaminants and its transfer into water supply catchments has led to numerous drinking-water restrictions and substantial treatments costs in recent years (e.g. for Belfast, Canberra, Denver, Fort McMurray, Sydney). In the UK, losses to the water industry from vegetation fires are estimated at £16 Mill. per year. Models are widely used by scientists and land managers to predict soil erosion or flood risks after disturbance events such as harvesting or wildfire, however, no models currently exist that allow predicting of ash transport and associated water contamination risk following fire. This gap in knowledge and resource seriously compromises the ability of land managers to anticipate water contamination risks from fire and to implement effective mitigation treatments to reduce fire risk, prevent erosion after fire and, adjust water treatment capabilities. This timely project brings together an interdisciplinary team of international experts from the UK, USA and Australia with the aim to address this critical knowledge and tools gap. Building on recent advances and proof-of-concept work in this field, we are now able to (i) obtain critical fundamental knowledge on wildfire ash transport processes and its contamination potential and, using this knowledge, to (b) develop the first end-user probabilistic model that allows predicting ash delivery and associated water contamination risk to the hydrological network. The model will be validated for key fire-prone and fire-managed land cover types that have suffered critical ash-induced water pollution events in the past (including UK uplands, US conifer forest and Australian eucalyptus forest) using the first field dataset on ash transport parameters by water erosion and an extensive dataset on potential contamination by ash obtained through this project for these key regions. To maximize the impact of the project, the web-based model will developed in collaboration with, and be made available to, users from land and catchment management sectors to support effective protection of aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supply from contamination by ash.

Globally, one in four cities is facing water stress, and the projected demand for water in 2050 is set to increase by 55%. These are significant and difficult problems to overcome, however this also provides huge opportunity for us to reconsider how our water systems are built, operated and governed. Placing an inspirational student experience at the centre of our delivery model, the Water Resilience for Infrastructure and Cities (WRIC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) will nurture a new generation of research leaders to provide the multi-disciplinary, disruptive thinking to enhance the resilience of new and existing water infrastructure. In this context the WRIC CDT will seek to improve the resilience of water infrastructure which conveys and treats water and wastewater as well as the impacts of water on other infrastructure systems which provide vital public services in urban environments. The need for the CDT is simple: Water infrastructure is fundamental to our society and economy in providing benefit from water as a vital resource and in managing risks from water hazards, such as wastewater, floods, droughts, and environmental pollution. Recent water infrastructure failures caused by climate change have provided strong reminders of our need to manage these assets against the forces of nature. The need for resilient water systems has never been greater and more recognised in the context of our industrial infrastructure networks and facilities for water supply, wastewater treatment and urban drainage. Similarly, safeguarding critical infrastructure in key sectors such as transport, energy and waste from the impacts of water has never been more important. Combined, resilience in these systems is vitally important for public health and safety. Industry, regulators and government all recognise the huge skills gap. Therefore there is an imperative need for highly skilled graduates who can transcend disciplines and deliver innovative solutions to contemporary water infrastructure challenges. Centred around unique and world leading water infrastructure facilities, and building on an internationally renowned research consortium (Cranfield University, The University of Sheffield and Newcastle University), this CDT will produce scientists and engineers to deliver the innovative and disruptive thinking for a resilient water infrastructure future. This will be achieved through delivery of an inspirational and relevant and end user-led training programme for researchers. The CDT will be delivered in cohorts, with deeply embedded horizontal and vertical training and integration within, and between, cohorts to provide a common learning and skills development environment. Enhanced training will be spread across the consortium, using integrated delivery, bespoke training and giving students a set of unique experiences and skills. Our partners are drawn from a range of leading sector and professional organisations and have been selected to provide targeted contributions and added value to the CDT. Together we have worked with our project partners to co-create the strategic vision for WRIC, particularly with respect to the training needs and challenges to be addressed for development of resilience engineers. Their commitment is evidenced by significant financial backing with direct (>£2.4million) and indirect (>£1.6million) monetary contributions, agreement to sit on advisory boards, access to facilities and data, and contributions on our taught programme.

Land-use and agriculture are responsible for around one quarter of all human greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While some of the activities that contribute to these emissions, such as deforestation, are readily observable, others are not. It is now recognised that freshwater ecosystems are active components of the global carbon cycle; rivers and lakes process the organic matter and nutrients they receive from their catchments, emit carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane to the atmosphere, sequester CO2 through aquatic primary production, and bury carbon in their sediments. Human activities such as nutrient and organic matter pollution from agriculture and urban wastewater, modification of drainage networks, and the widespread creation of new water bodies, from farm ponds to hydro-electric and water supply reservoirs, have greatly modified natural aquatic biogeochemical processes. In some inland waters, this has led to large GHG emissions to the atmosphere. However these emissions are highly variable in time and space, occur via a range of pathways, and are consequently exceptionally hard to measure on the temporal and spatial scales required. Advances in technology, including high-frequency monitoring systems, autonomous boat-mounted sensors and novel, low-cost automated systems that can be operated remotely across multiple locations, now offer the potential to capture these important but poorly understood emissions. In the GHG-Aqua project we will establish an integrated, UK-wide system for measuring aquatic GHG emissions, combining a core of highly instrumented 'Sentinel' sites with a distributed, community-run network of low-cost sensor systems deployed across UK inland waters to measure emissions from rivers, lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs across gradients of human disturbance. A mobile instrument suite will enable detailed campaign-based assessment of vertical and spatial variations in fluxes and underlying processes. This globally unique and highly integrated measurement system will transform our capability to quantify aquatic GHG emissions from inland waters. With the support of a large community of researchers it will help to make the UK a world-leader in the field, and will facilitate future national and international scientific research to understand the role of natural and constructed waterbodies as active zones of carbon cycling, and sources and sinks for GHGs. We will work with government to include these fluxes in the UK's national emissions inventory; with the water industry to support their operational climate change mitigation targets; and with charities, agencies and others engaged in protecting and restoring freshwater environments to ensure that the climate change mitigation benefits of their activities can be captured, reported and sustained through effectively targeted investment.

Catchment research has traditionally been focussed on the science and management of water flow and quality. In recent years, achieving good ecological status and compliance with the Water Framework Directive has been a priority. This has been challenging not least because the majority of rivers in the UK are heavily polluted with nitrogen, phosphorus, and a range of contaminants including pathogens and transfers of dissolved organic C from upland areas are increasing. These can be detrimental to the ecology of rivers and coastal waters, be a risk for human health and increases costs of the water industry. Following the publication of the National Ecosystem Assessment (2011) and the Government's White Paper on the Natural Environment (2011), catchment managers face an even greater challenge trying to ensure water resource objectives do not compromise delivery of other functions which deliver a range of regulating, provisioning or cultural services which we all benefit from. Underpinning delivery of these ecosystem services are basic ecosystem processes such as carbon fixation by plants and the return of carbon back to the atmosphere through decomposition (the carbon cycle), the cycling of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus through plants, soil, water and the atmosphere and detoxification of a range of contaminants including pathogens. Much is known concerning the individual carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus (C, N and P) and contaminant cycles, however the coupling of these cycles through the landscape and the subsequent impacts on the natural environment and the services provided are rarely studied. To respond to this gap in our current understanding we will address two research questions. The first is when, where and how do coupled macronutrient cycles (of C, N and P) affect the the functioning of the natural environment within and between landscape units at the catchment scale? The second is how will these coupled cycles alter under land use, air pollution, and climate-change and what will be the effect on water quality, carbon sequestration and biodiversity (three important ecosyststem services) at both catchment and national scale? To achieve this, we will quantify the fluxes, transformations and coupling of the C, N, and P cycles through key processes (net primary productivity, decomposition, nutrient cycling) and quantify the links to pathogen transfer and viability using a combination of targeted field-based monitoring and field- and laboratory-based experimentation in the Conwy catchment supplemented by measurements in intensively farmed areas of the Ribble. The following outcomes are expected: 1. Quantification and improved process-understanding of coupled C, N and P processes, transformations and fluxes across soil functional types and within processing hotspots. 2. Quantification of the effects of instream ecosystem function and co-limitation of N/P on eutrophication development in freshwaters. 3. Testing of hypotheses that terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity can be explained at the catchment- and national-scales as function of macronutrient flux and primary productivity. 4. Source to sea flux quantification and process-understanding of the fate of pathogens and the controls exerted by macronutrients within very fine sediments (flocs). 5. An integrated, parsimonious coupled macronutrient (C, N, P) air-land-water modelling platform, configured for a 1 km grid across the Conwy (i.e. an enhanced JULES model). 6. Sensitivity analysis of carbon sequestration, water quality and biodiversity to past and future climate, nutrient and land (forest) cover change to determine the key controls on past and future changes in carbon sequestration, water quality and biodiversity. 7. Quantification of trade offs in delivery of carbon sequestration, water quality and biodiversity at the catchment scale and the relationship to land cover type and climate regime.