Skip to main content
Taff and Ely Observatory

The Taff and Ely Observatory is a key source of evidence on river ecosystems with urban, industrial and agricultural influences.

Research in the catchment area spans bioscience, chemistry, and engineering, among other disciplines. Our findings directly contribute to policy recommendations and contributions to high-impact academic publications.

River Taff

Toxic chemicals hindering the recovery of Britain’s rivers

Welsh rivers in urban locations still have damaged food chains and fewer species of invertebrates in comparison to rural rivers

Scientists pour cold water on claims British rivers are ‘cleanest since Industrial Revolution’

Water quality still ‘unacceptably poor’ in many Welsh – and UK rivers – research shows

bottleriver

Will Wales lead the battle against plastic pollution?

Prof Steve Ormerod and Dr Ifan Jams were interviewed by BBC Wales to discuss the recent National Assembly for Wales report on plastic pollution.

River Taff

Plastics found in fifty percent of freshwater insects

New research shows that microplastics are being overlooked in river ecosystems where they contaminate insects and pose risk to other wildlife

Doctoral research projects

ProjectStudentSupervisorStakeholder Partner
STREAM: study of two rivers' eDNA analysis and anthropogenic pollutant monitoringMaya LhosteDr Pablo Orozco Ter WengelAfonydd Cymru