Reappraisal of the constitutional realities in Britain and Ireland at a time of seismic change

Ireland's Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science launches significant new political science book

UCD Research & Innovation

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(L-R) Dr Paul Gillespie, book co-editor, Director of CFaB, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow and expert in British-Irish relations at UCD; Prof Michael Keating, book co-editor, Emeritus Professor of Politics at University of Aberdeen; Prof Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact; Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, TD; Prof Nicola McEwen, book co-editor, Emeritus Professor of Politics at University of Aberdeen; Prof Nicola McEwen, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at University of Glasgow. 

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Credit: Photography by John Ohle

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, TD, formally launched a significant new political science book Political Change across Britain and Ireland: Identities, Institutions and Futures, at an event in the Museum of Literature of Ireland (MoLI), last night.

The book is a key output of the research project ‘Constitutional Futures after Brexit’ (CFaB) which is supported by a strategic partnership between University College Dublin (UCD) and the Reconciliation Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Lawless said: “We are experiencing a moment of extraordinary change. It is timely at this moment to examine ourselves as nations and ask the difficult questions about identity and how we express it, how we maintain relationships within and across borders, and what the future of these relationships will be. The research explored in this book and by the ‘Constitutional Futures after Brexit’ project aims to navigate those very questions about national identities, cohesion and fragmentation. Now is a time for careful consideration of these issues in order to strengthen our existing partnerships and build new ones.”

Dr Paul Gillespie, co-editor of the book and director of CFaB, said: “This book proposes novel concepts to examine the complexities and dynamics of the various British-Irish relationships. The two islands' political and constitutional futures are now entangled and interconnected in several new ways. We want to encourage fresh research in this area based on the framework of identities, institution's and futures the book explores.”

Prof Kate Robson Brown, Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, said: “It is heartening to see a very positive energy in Ireland around scientific research as well as recognition of the importance of independent science advice. At this critical time of change in long-standing geopolitical relationships, we need robust research for evidence-based policy and decision-making in the best interests of our societies and our cross-border and global partnerships, and to help the communities of these islands continue on a positive and collaborative journey towards our joint futures.”  

The book, which is published by Edinburgh University Press, is co-edited by: Dr Paul Gillespie, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow and expert in British-Irish relations at UCD, columnist and former Foreign Policy Editor with The Irish Times; Prof Michael Keating, Emeritus Professor of Politics at University of Aberdeen; Prof Nicola McEwen, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at University of Glasgow.

Dr Gillespie is Director of the CFaB project which is led by the UCD Centre for Peace and Conflict Research at UCD School of Politics and International Relations. The book launch coincided a with a conference related to the project with a focus on the general theme ‘Ireland, Britain and Europe: Constitutional Futures after Brexit,’ examining the fundamental shift in the dynamics of the Ireland-UK relationship after Brexit.

About the Book (from Edinburgh University Press)

Constitutional order across the islands of Britain and Ireland faces critical challenges with the rise of Scottish, Welsh and Irish nationalism, an emerging English consciousness, and Brexit. There is no resolution within the old assumptions about nations, states, sovereignty and borders. Nor can we rely on post-devolution practices in relations between the various governments, which are based on bilateral relations between London and Dublin, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Political Change across Britain and Ireland examines the whole web of what has been called the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands, asking difficult questions about identities and institutions and what prospects for the future might be.

• Examines key issues across the nations rather than within individual nations.

• Brings the Republic of Ireland into the analysis, while also recognising its distinct status.

• Crucially includes the question of England’s place in the Union.

 

How to get rid of carbon dioxide for good

What happens when captured CO2 is pumped into the ground? Highly sophisticated computer simulations now make it possible to predict its long-term behavior

Vienna University of Technology

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We have to stop emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) if we want to save the climate – there is no doubt about that. But that alone will not be enough. In addition, it will also be necessary to capture CO2 that is already present in the atmosphere, and store it permanently, for example by pumping it deep into the ground. This naturally raises the question of what happens to this CO2 in the long term. Is it guaranteed to remain in the ground, or is it possible that it could escape over decades or centuries?

Highly sophisticated numerical simulations on supercomputers are now showing for the first time exactly what happens when CO2 mixes with groundwater: in a complex interplay between CO2-richer and CO2-poorer areas, the CO2-richer water slowly sinks downwards, allowing the CO2 to be permanently stored underground.

CO2 rises – but CO2 dissolved in water sinks

Deep underground, the pressure is so high that carbon dioxide remains liquid, but with a much lower density than water. One might therefore think that CO2 would immediately drift upwards when pumped into the groundwater. But the matter is somewhat more complicated.

“Pure CO2 has a lower density than water, but the situation changes when CO2 is dissolved in water. When the two are mixed, the total volume decreases, creating a denser liquid,” explains Marco De Paoli, head of the research project. Water with a high CO2 content has a higher density than water with a lower CO2 content and therefore sinks.

Marco De Paoli is currently working at the University of Twente in Enschede, Netherlands, and at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at TU Wien and is currently in the process of relocating to Vienna. In 2024, he was awarded an ERC grant by the European Research Council, and he will implement this project at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at TU Wien from autumn 2025.

Irregular structures that sink

“Because water with a higher CO2 content has a higher density than water with a lower CO2 content, the dynamics in the porous rock are highly interesting,” says Marco De Paoli. “Where the CO2 concentration is highest, the mixture sinks faster, which in turn ensures even better mixing.” This results in a network-like pattern of areas with higher and lower CO2 concentrations.

Overall, the team was able to show with their computer simulations that the CO2 sinks downwards and remains there – for unlimited periods of time. From the calculations, the team was able to derive simple models that can now be used by engineers to predict the CO2 flow in the ground and design injections strategies without having to carry out complex and massive computer simulations for every situation.

Suitable geological conditions

Of course, this does not work everywhere. First of all, you need a rock layer that is as impermeable as possible, under which the CO2 can initially collect until it has dissolved in water. The rock below should be as porous as possible so that the CO2-containing water can easily sink downwards. Once this has happened, the impermeable rock layer above no longer plays a role. Even geological changes, such as an earthquake or anthropogenic activities, would no longer affect the situation. The CO2 is safely stored in the ground.

“Such geological conditions are not that rare,” says Marco De Paoli. “You could use depleted oil reservoirs. There are also large areas called saline aquifers, located under the seabed or inland, where CO2 storage would be possible according to this scheme. At least six saline aquifers are also present in Austria.”

In the next few years, Marco De Paoli plans to answer further important questions in his ERC research project at the TU Wien. For example, it should also be clarified how the rock changes when CO2-containing water flows through it. Certain chemical reactions can cause rock minerals to dissolve, which would allow an even greater flow of CO2 downwards. “All these questions must be answered in detail if we want to mitigate the effects of climate change on a large scale by capturing CO2,” says Marco De Paoli.

 

This work, funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, is the outcome of an international collaboration involving scientists from the University of Twente (Enschede, the Netherlands), Sapienza University (Rome, Italy), Newcastle University (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom) and the PhD students Lea Enzenberger and Eliza Coliban from TU Wien.

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Journal

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2025GL114804 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Simulation and Modeling of Convective Mixing of Carbon Dioxide in Geological Formations

Article Publication Date

9-Apr-2025

 

Nanoplastics in soil: how soil type and pH influence mobility

Researchers conduct batch adsorption testing in different soil types to understand the adsorption and aggregation behavior of nanoplastics in soil

Waseda University

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Researchers investigate the effect of soil pH and surface properties on the adsorption and aggregation behavior of plastic nanoparticles.

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Credit: Kyouhei Tsuchida from Waseda University, Japan

Plastics are everywhere—from packaging and textiles to electronics and medical devices. As plastic waste breaks down, it releases microscopic particles that can penetrate our ecosystems, hinder plant growth, and potentially transfer harmful pollutants to organisms, including humans. Therefore, these plastic particles are a potential threat to the ecosystem, especially in their nanoparticulate form (1–100 nm diameter), which can penetrate the environment through different routes, including the soil beneath our feet.

With this in mind, a team of researchers from Japan set out to study the migration behavior of nanoplastics in different soil types. The study was led by Kyouhei Tsuchida, a PhD student from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Waseda University, Japan, with fellow students Yukari Imoto, Takeshi Saito, and Junko Hara also from AIST, and Professor Yoshishige Kawabe from the Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Waseda University. This study was published online in the journal Science of The Total Environment on April 4, 2025.

The researchers focused on the adsorption of the nanoplastics on soil and the aggregation characteristics of both the nanoplastics and soil particles under varying pH conditions. “The aggregation properties of nanoplastics and their adsorption onto soil particle surfaces are known to affect their migration in soil,” notes Tsuchida, “We conducted experiments to analyze these traits to get a better understanding of the migration of nanoplastics.” The research team focused on three major aspects. First, the homo or self-aggregation of the nanoplastics. Second, the adsorption properties of the nanoplastics onto soil, and third, how the adsorption of nanoplastics affects the aggregation of soil particles.

To understand the behavior of the nanoplastics under different soil conditions, the researchers used two different types of soil: andosol (volcanic soil) and fine sand. “Both andosol and fine sand have extremely different properties, and we utilized these two to get a broader idea of how the behavior of nanoplastics changes with respect to soil composition and surface characteristics,” explains co-author Hara.

For the self-aggregation studies of the nanoplastics, the team first prepared a suspension of polystyrene nanoparticles under three different pH conditions. Further, they determined its particle size, aggregate particle size, and zeta potential—a measure of the electrical charge on particle surfaces, which helps determine the stability of nanoparticles.

Additionally, the researchers tested the adsorption properties of the polystyrene nanoparticles onto the two soil types under varying pH conditions. To analyze the adsorption behavior, the researchers used batch adsorption testing. “We used batch adsorption testing to gain a deeper insight into how plastic particles accumulate in soil pores. This property hasn’t been well explained in column studies,” explains co-author Kawabe.

The analysis of aggregation and adsorption involved advanced instrumental techniques, including laser diffraction, UV spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. According to the results, no aggregation was observed in the polystyrene nanoparticles owing to the high negative charge on the polystyrene nanoparticles. “The highly negative zeta potential of the polystyrene nanoparticles causes repulsion between the particles and remains unaffected by pH changes,” reports Tsuchida. “This was in contrast to that observed for the adsorption properties of the nanoplastics onto soil. Polystyrene nanoparticles adsorbed onto soil, which was influenced by pH, and further, aggregation of the soil particles.”

The results, therefore, suggest that the soil type and pH of the solution can critically alter the movement of nanoplastics in the soil. Understanding these crucial aspects could help to reform policies and strategies for mitigating plastic pollution.

 

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Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178712

 

Authors: Kyouhei Tsuchida1,2, Yukari Imoto1, Takeshi Saito1, Junko Hara1, Yoshishige Kawabe2

                                           

Affiliations      

1National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan.

2Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Waseda University, Japan

 

About Waseda University
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University has produced many changemakers in its history, including nine prime ministers and many leaders in business, science and technology, literature, sports, and film. Waseda has strong collaborations with overseas research institutions and is committed to advancing cutting-edge research and developing leaders who can contribute to the resolution of complex, global social issues. The University has set a target of achieving a zero-carbon campus by 2032, which is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. 

To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en  

 

About Kyouhei Tsuchida from Waseda University and AIST
Mr. Kyouhei Tsuchida is a doctoral student at Waseda University and a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). At AIST, he is a part of the Integrated Research Center for Nature Positive Technology, where his specialization is studying environmental risk and transport phenomena of pollutants. He has co-authored several publications and has presented his work at different international conferences, including the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in 2023. His key research focuses on environmental risk and transport phenomena of pollutants, including the development of novel methods to measure nano/microplastic concentrations in soil.

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Journal

Science of The Total Environment

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178712 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Effect of solution pH on nanoplastic adsorption onto soil particle surface and the aggregation of soil particles

Article Publication Date

4-Apr-2025

 

Classifying floodplains: an innovative approach to flood mitigation

What if the key to protecting communities from devastating floods lies in the landscape itself? UVM research explores the unique characteristics of floodplains, uncovering how the landscape can ease flood water’s momentum and impact

University of Vermont

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East Montpelier in July of 2024.

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Credit: Photo by Vermont Agency of Transportation

As extreme weather and flooding events become more intense and frequent due to climate change, improving flood mitigation strategies has never been more critical. The livelihood of downstream communities relies heavily on effective flood resilience measures to reduce flood levels and decrease the power of flood waters.  

Floodplains—low-lying areas adjacent to rivers and streams—can play a crucial role in reducing flood impacts, helping to protect lives, agriculture, and infrastructure by influencing how water moves across the landscape. Acting as a natural buffer, floodplains temporarily store floodwater, reducing flood peaks and minimizing the erosional power, in a phenomenon called attenuation. 

However, new research by the University of Vermont (UVM) shows that not all floodplains function in the same way. The study reveals that varying topographic features affect a floodplain’s ability to ease flood water’s momentum and impact. 

Publishing their findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, the team introduces an innovative method to detect floodplains and classify them based on their ability to attenuate floods. “This approach enables the assessment of floodplains and their processes across broad scales to better account for their functions and potential to contribute to flood resilience,” said Dr. Rebecca Diehl, the study’s lead researcher. “Floodplains typically aren't included in large-scale water resource assessments, such as flood prediction models, yet, they can play a significant role in routing floods across the landscape and determining the impacts of floods.” 

The study leverages widely available topographic datasets to identify features along the edge of the river channel that are hypothesized to slow floodwaters to a greater degree than the surrounding area. Floodplain settings were then grouped based on the presence, size, and shape of these features. When the research team evaluated the ability of each type of setting to store and slow floodwaters, they found distinct differences among them, demonstrating a clear relationship between flood routing and topography.  

This process was demonstrated in the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont, spanning elevations from 1,339 m to 29 m, through the steep gradients of the Green and Taconic Mountains to the lowlands of the Champlain and Hudson Valleys. The study revealed six distinct floodplain types present in the region, each playing a unique role in attenuating flooding.  

The resulting concept, the Hydraulic Floodplain Classification, emphasizes the landscape’s variable capacity to influence flood routing. While the initial study was conducted in the northeastern United States, the workflow and concepts proposed are transferrable, allowing it to be applied to other regions and watersheds across the country, offering a versatile tool for water resource assessments and floodplain management applications. 

Implications for Watershed Management and Restoration 

By pinpointing floodplains that are most effective at slowing floodwaters, the study provides valuable insights for restoration and conservation projects. Understanding which attributes have the greatest potential for attenuation can help guide watershed management by prioritizing sites for floodplain reconnection, infrastructure removal, or riparian revegetation, and guiding restoration design. 

Notably, classification systems such as the one proposed by the researchers can be effective communication tools, enabling policymakers and planners to make data-driven decisions about restoration and land use. By easing identification of naturally attenuating features, the approach can support flood resilience plans that rely on natural landscapes. 

“By classifying rivers based on the presence of floodplains and their attenuation potential, we are building a broad-scale understanding of how the landscape can influence flood routing, and which parts may best contribute to flood resilience projects”, says Diehl, a Research Associate Professor in the University of Vermont’s Department of Geography and Geosciences. “Communities will be able to determine whether a focus on upstream watershed management to slow the flow will be an effective part of their flood resilience plan.” 

Additionally, this work highlights the importance of preserving natural floodplains, particularly as climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of storms. Floodplains not only slow the force of water, but they also support the deposition and storage of sediment, nutrients, and pollutants, ultimately improving water quality.  

Enhancing Flood Forecasting and Community Preparedness 

Proper representation of flood routing across the landscape is critical for accurate flood forecasting. Often, models developed to make predictions over large areas have limited information on the characteristics of rivers, floodplains, and the interaction of water with the landscape, resulting in errors in flood warnings, putting lives and property in danger. 

Understanding the unique hydraulic characteristics of floodplains is key to better managing flood risks and protecting communities. The Hydraulic Floodplain Classification provides a pathway towards improved representation of natural features and processes in large-scale models improving streamflow predictions and flood inundation mapping. Such an outcome can enhance operational flood warnings, helping downstream communities better prepare for flood events.  

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Journal

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2024JF007984 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Article Title

Identifying Hydraulically Distinct Floodplain Types From High Resolution Topography With Implications for Broad‐Scale Flood Routing

Article Publication Date

9-Apr-2025

 

Starch-based microplastics could cause health risks in mice, study finds

American Chemical Society

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Wear and tear on plastic products releases small to nearly invisible plastic particles, which could impact people’s health when consumed or inhaled. To make these particles biodegradable, researchers created plastics from plant starch instead of petroleum. An initial study published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows how animals consuming particles from this alternative material developed health problems such as liver damage and gut microbiome imbalances.

“Biodegradable starch-based plastics may not be as safe and health-promoting as originally assumed,” says Yongfeng Deng, the corresponding author of the study.

Microplastics (plastic pieces less than 5 millimeters wide) are entering human bodies through contaminated water supplies, foods and drinks — and even IV infusions. Scientists have linked plastic particles in the bloodstream and tissues to various health risks. For example, a study found that people with inflammatory bowel disease have more microplastics in their feces. Biodegradable plastics have been presented as a safer, more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics. One of the most common types comes from starch, a carbohydrate found in potatoes, rice and wheat. However, there is a lack of information on how starch-based biodegradable plastics affect the body. A team of researchers led by Deng tackled this issue by exploring these effects in animal trials.

The researchers compared three groups of five mice: one group consuming normal chow and two groups consuming food infused with starch-based microplastics. The doses (low and high) were calculated and scaled from what an average human is expected to consume daily. They fed the mice for 3 months and then assessed the animals’ organ tissues, metabolic functions and gut microbiota diversity. Mice exposed to the starch-based plastic particles had:

• Multiple damaged organs, including the liver and ovaries, with more pronounced damage in the high-dose group. However, mice eating normal chow showed normal organ tissue biopsies.
• Altered glucose management, including significant abnormality in triglycerides (a type of fat) and disruption in molecular biomarkers associated with glucose and lipid metabolism, compared to mice fed normal chow.
• Dysregulated genetic pathways and specific gut microbiota imbalances, which the researchers suggest could alter microplastic-consuming animals’ circadian rhythms.

“Prolonged low-dose exposure to starch-based microplastics can lead to a broad spectrum of health impacts, particularly perturbing circadian rhythms and disrupting glucose and lipid metabolism,” says Deng. However, the researchers acknowledge that because this is one of the first studies examining the impacts of consuming starch-based microplastics, further research is needed to understand how these biodegradable particles break down in the body.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Natural Science Foundation of China, the Jiangsu Province

Young Science and Technology Talent Support Program, the Joint Fund of Departments and Schools, the Start-up Research Fund, and the Zhishan Young Scholars Fund of Southeast University by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

The paper’s abstract will be available on April 9 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c10855

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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Journal

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

DOI

10.1021/acs.jafc.4c10855 

Article Title

Long-Term Exposure to Environmentally Realistic Doses of Starch-Based Microplastics Suggests Widespread Health Effects

Article Publication Date

9-Apr-2025