Blair, Gordon S., Bassett, Richard, Bastin, Lucy, Beevers, Lindsay, Borrajo, Maribel Isabel, Brown, Mike, Dance, Sarah L., Dionescu, Ada, Edwards, Liz, Ferrario, Maria Angela, Fraser, Rob, Fraser, Harriet, Gardner, Simon, Henrys, Peter, Hey, Tony, Homann, Stuart, Huijbers, Chantal, Hutchison, James, Jonathan, Phil, Lamb, Rob, Laurie, Sophie, Leeson, Amber, Leslie, David, McMillan, Malcolm, Nundloll, Vatsala, Oyebamiji, Oluwole, Phillipson, Jordan, Pope, Vicky, Prudden, Rachel, Reis, Stefan, Salama, Maria, Samreen, Faiza, Sejdinovic, Dino, Simm, Will, Street, Roger, Thornton, Lauren, Towe, Ross, Hey, Joshua Vande, Vieno, Massimo, Waller, Joanne and Watkins, John (2021). The Role of Digital Technologies in Responding to the Grand Challenges of the Natural Environment:The Windermere Accord. Patterns, 2 (1), p. 100156.
Abstract
Digital technology is having a major impact on many areas of society, and there is equal opportunity for impact on science. This is particularly true in the environmental sciences as we seek to understand the complexities of the natural environment under climate change. This perspective presents the outcomes of a summit in this area, a unique cross-disciplinary gathering bringing together environmental scientists, data scientists, computer scientists, social scientists, and representatives of the creative arts. The key output of this workshop is an agreed vision in the form of a framework and associated roadmap, captured in the Windermere Accord. This accord envisions a new kind of environmental science underpinned by unprecedented amounts of data, with technological advances leading to breakthroughs in taming uncertainty and complexity, and also supporting openness, transparency, and reproducibility in science. The perspective also includes a call to build an international community working in this important area.
| Publication DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2020.100156 |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | College of Engineering & Physical Sciences College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Systems analytics research institute (SARI) Aston University (General) |
| Funding Information: | This work is partially supported by the DT/LWEC Senior Fellowship (awarded to G.B.) in the Role of Digital Technology in Understanding, Mitigating and Adapting to Environmental Change, EPSRC : EP/P002285/1 , and by the greater Ensemble research programme . The authors would also like to thank Dee Hennessy (Creative Exchange) and Steve Cross (Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow) for their creativity and energy in facilitating the workshop and steering us toward an energizing conclusion. The summit was held in an area of outstanding natural beauty, with the venue being located on the shores of Lake Windermere, the largest lake in the Lake District, UK (with the Lake District recently being awarded UNESCO World heritage Status). We thank our hosts for providing such an inspiring venue for our deliberations, one where we were constantly reminded of the wonders of the natural environment. The summit discussed in this perspective was hosted by Ensemble ( https://www.ensembleprojects.org/ ), an umbrella initiative examining the role of technology in supporting a new kind of environmental science; that is, a science that is open, integrated, and collaborative, involving data scientists, computer scientists, experts in communication, and also earth and environmental sciences. The work of Ensemble is partially funded by the DT/LWEC Senior Fellowship, awarded to Prof. Gordon Blair , on the Role of Digital Technology in Understanding, Mitigating and Adapting to Environmental Change (EPSRC: EP/P002285/1 ). In our work, we have studied a variety of environmental challenges around the themes of flooding, biodiversity, soils, and ecosystems/systemic thinking. For each of these themes, we work with academics from multiple disciplines, as well as numerous external partners, including government, businesses, the public, and third sector organizations to find ways to deepen and refine the impact of technology within the realm of environmental change. |
| Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | data science,digital environment,digital technologies,DSML 1: Concept: Basic principles of a new data science output observed and reported,environmental science,General Decision Sciences |
| Publication ISSN: | 2666-3899 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2026 11:16 |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jan 2021 15:21 |
| Full Text Link: | |
| Related URLs: |
https://www.sco ... ons/85099041460
(Scopus URL) https://www.sci ... 66638992030204X (Publisher URL) |
PURE Output Type: | Review article |
| Published Date: | 2021-01-08 |
| Accepted Date: | 2021-01-01 |
| Authors: |
Blair, Gordon S.
Bassett, Richard Bastin, Lucy ( 
0000-0003-1321-0800)
Beevers, Lindsay Borrajo, Maribel Isabel Brown, Mike Dance, Sarah L. Dionescu, Ada Edwards, Liz Ferrario, Maria Angela Fraser, Rob Fraser, Harriet Gardner, Simon Henrys, Peter Hey, Tony Homann, Stuart Huijbers, Chantal Hutchison, James Jonathan, Phil Lamb, Rob Laurie, Sophie Leeson, Amber Leslie, David McMillan, Malcolm Nundloll, Vatsala Oyebamiji, Oluwole Phillipson, Jordan Pope, Vicky Prudden, Rachel Reis, Stefan Salama, Maria Samreen, Faiza Sejdinovic, Dino Simm, Will Street, Roger Thornton, Lauren Towe, Ross Hey, Joshua Vande Vieno, Massimo Waller, Joanne Watkins, John |