The research I am currently undertaking is part of the Dŵr Uisce project, a cross boarder project between Bangor University and Trinity Collage Dublin, funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Cooperation programme. The Dŵr Uisce project has the overall aim of improving the long-term sustainability of water supply, treatment and end use in Ireland and Wales. My research forms part of work package 7, Climate Change, which cuts across the whole project, both the technological and environmental sides.

During the course of my PhD research I quantified changes in historical hydroclimatic data for catchments in Wales, as well as established a relationship between daily weather changes and total water demand for public water supply. In addition, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) I assessed the impact of a worst-case scenario of future global greenhouse emissions, and therefore climate change, on streamflow and water quality for catchments in Wales. The results of this study were then used to assess the availability of water for both public water supply and hydropower generation in the catchments studied.

My current work aims to continue that started during my PhD, in particular the assessment of the impacts of future climate change on run-of-river hydropower, now for the whole of the UK and Ireland, studying first the impacts of hydrological regime change. This work will then be further expanded to analyse the potential implications of changing water quality parameters on the operation of hydropower schemes.

I undertake a small amount of teaching alongside my research work, mainly in the form of invited guest lectures/lecture series for specific modules, on topics related to my research. Recent examples include the following modules:

• Sustainable Development (DXX-2001), a second year module for which I deliver a series of lectures and computer practical sessions on global water resource exploitation, integrated water resource management, water resource modelling and allocation, and the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system software.
• Food Geographies (DXX-3600/DXX-3601), third year modules for which I talk about water use in the food and drink industry, covering concepts such as water footprints, virtual water trading, and the bottled water industry.
• Catchment Modelling and Analysis (DXX-3707), a third year module for which I provide a lecture on water resource allocation modelling and a demonstration of the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system.
• Green Technologies (DXX-4525), a masters level module in which I have contributed to a session looking at research careers in green technology/environmental studies. 

A notable exception to my predominantly guest lecture based teaching is my contribution to the Barcelona Field Course module (DXX-3003) which is offered to third year geography students, with which I am heavily involved. For this module I cover the physical geography content of the course, both before the weeklong visit, and during, on topics such as landscape formation, fluvial systems and water use, volcanic landscapes, and resource exploitation. I also set and assess work for the module in the form of group presentations, short fieldwork tasks, and longer research reports.

Qualifications and Membership of Professional Bodies

PhD, Geography (climate change and Welsh water resources); Bangor University (2021)

BSc, Geography with International Experience; Bangor University (2016)

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Member of the British Hydrological Society

Member of the European Geosciences Union

Member of the American Geophysical Union

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Office: Room F15c, Thoday Building

Email: r.dallison@bangor.ac.uk

LinkedIn: Richard-Dallison

Twitter: @richarddallison