UCL Department of Geography

📣 Have you heard? Thanks to incredible minds from every corner of the globe, from curious first-years to Nobel prize-winning researchers, we’re now joint #8 in the QS World University Rankings.

We are University College London. And here, it can happen.

🔗 Learn more about our ranking: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/jun/ucl-ranked-8th-best-university-qs-world-rankings

Looking to gain teaching experience alongside your research?

Applications for Postgraduate Teaching Assistant (PGTA) positions in UCL Geography for the 2026/27 academic year close at 23:59 on Sunday 21 June.

PGTAs contribute to teaching across a wide range of modules, helping students develop their knowledge and skills while gaining valuable experience in higher education teaching.

The department aims to match successful applicants with opportunities that support their professional development, research interests and availability.

If you're a Geography PGR and would like to build your teaching experience, make sure to submit your application before the deadline.

Questions about the application process? Find out more: tinyurl.com/ucl-pgta26

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From MSc dissertation to a publication in Nature Communications (Nature Portfolio).

Congratulations to MSc Climate Change graduate Fangjingcheng Zhu, whose dissertation research has contributed to a new paper exploring how the Gulf Stream responded during an abrupt global cold snap nearly 13,000 years ago, and what these findings could tell us about future climate change.

Using marine sediments recovered off the east coast of Canada, the international research team reconstructed the history of the Gulf Stream, finding that the current shifted further north during this period, temporarily disrupting eastern Canada's oceanic ecosystems. The findings improve our understanding of how the North Atlantic circulation system responds to abrupt climate change and could help scientists better anticipate future changes.

Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73832-4

Interested in studying climate change at UCL? Find out more about our MSc Climate Change programme: https://tinyurl.com/bdestt2z

Research team: Fangjingcheng Zhu, Alice Carter-Champion, Jack H. Wharton, Joel Bracamontes-Ramírez, Andrea Burke, Peter B. de Menocal, David Fairman, Lloyd D. Keigwin, Thomas M. Marchitto, Eirini Papachristopoulou, James W. B. Rae, Yair Rosenthal, Ning Zhao and David J. R. Thornalley.

What could a powerful El Niño mean for the world in the years ahead?

Scientists are closely monitoring a developing El Niño event that could influence weather patterns across the globe.

In a new episode of BBC World Service's The Climate Question, Professor Mark Maslin discusses how El Niño works, how it interacts with climate change, and why even relatively small increases in global temperatures can have significant impacts.

The conversation explores everything from extreme weather and food security to how governments and communities can prepare for future climate risks.

Watch the episode and let us know: what climate impacts are you most concerned about in the coming years?

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El Niño and climate change: Can we handle both? - The Climate Question podcast, BBC World Service Scientists say the El Niño weather pattern has started and this one...

A new report from UCL Geography examines how siege conditions are reshaping humanitarian access and protection across the Middle East and North Africa.

Professor Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh's latest report explores humanitarian access and protection in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

Drawing on discussions with humanitarian practitioners, researchers and policy specialists, the report argues that siege should not only be understood as a barrier to aid delivery, but as a political system that shapes everyday life, displacement and humanitarian action.

The report also highlights the importance of accountability, documenting violations of international law, and supporting local communities responding to crisis.

Read more and access the report: bit.ly/3SaNvWk

How can humanitarian actors maintain accountability in contexts of prolonged conflict and displacement?

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How do we measure the health of an ecosystem?

Dr Martin Mokroš has been awarded funding from ARIA's Engineering Ecosystem Resilience opportunity to develop a new approach to environmental monitoring.

The 3DTreePrint project combines low-cost LiDAR sensing, automated software and innovative workflows to create detailed 3D measurements of trees and forests. These measurements can help researchers and conservation organisations better understand ecosystem health, identify environmental change, and assess the effectiveness of management interventions.

The project brings together partners from UCL , Forest Research,Earthwatch Europe and the Polska Akademia Nauk.

Read more about the project and its potential impact on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience: tinyurl.com/ucl-mm

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"Bringing back Homo erectus would be an incredibly selfish scientific experiment...If we had the technology, there are much more exciting things we could do, like reversing the biodiversity damage we’ve already done."

Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science in UCL's Department of Geography, speaking to The Observer about Richard Dawkins' new novel, which explores the idea of bringing Homo erectus back from extinction.

Read the full article: https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/how-richard-dawkins-evolved-into-a-novelist

How Richard Dawkins evolved into a novelist | The Observer The Selfish Gene writer has begun a Jurassic Park-stye tale about bringing Homo erectus back from extinction – but the wider scientific community isn’t sure it’s wise…

How does race shape the way cities are built?

The second lecture in the Racial Capitalism and the Urban series turns to Brazil to explore how race and urban space are deeply interconnected.

Professor Renato Emerson dos Santos will examine how racial classification, segregation, and inequality shape the geography of Brazilian cities, and how these dynamics are tied to wider systems of urban development and labour.

The discussion also highlights how Black urban movements have redefined cities as spaces of resistance, struggle, and change.

📍 IAS Common Ground
🗓️ 16 June 2026 | 5 PM - 6:30 PM
🎟️ Free and open to all

Find out more: tinyurl.com/ucl-bart

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Racial Capitalism and the Urban: Racial dynamics in Brazilian cities The second lecture in the 'Racial Capitalism and the Urban' series examines how racial classification shapes peripheral urbanisation in Brazil, with Professor Renato Emerson dos Santos.

🚀 How do we measure pollution from rocket launches?

Researchers at UCL Geography are developing innovative ways to track spacecraft emissions using high-resolution satellite imagery.

Led by Professor Eloise Marais and funded by ARIA, the project will create new methods for detecting and quantifying pollution plumes released during rocket launches. The work could provide valuable insights into how the rapidly growing space industry affects air quality, atmospheric chemistry and climate change.

As launch activity increases worldwide, understanding these impacts is becoming an increasingly important scientific challenge.

Read more about the research and its potential impact: tinyurl.com/ucl-unl

What environmental questions about the space industry do you think deserve more attention?

When the graduate job market feels uncertain, how do you find your next step?

UCL Geography alumna Maahika Singh shares her experience of navigating rejection, building resilience, and ultimately launching her own business. Supported through UCL Innovation and Enterprise, she turned her passion for storytelling into a thriving venture.

Her journey shows how the skills developed through Geography, understanding people, places and complex challenges, can lead to opportunities far beyond traditional career paths.

Tell us: what has been the most valuable skill in your career journey?

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Four things that took me from 100 rejections to being a founder at 22 After graduating with a first from UCL and sending out hundreds applications without success, Maahika Singh quickly realised she had to adapt in a world of AI and hyper-competition. When hard work and good grades are no longer enough, here’s how she made her mark