Page 72 - UniZulu Annual Report 2020

part of South Africa. The departments are also studying the response of river streamflow to the changing climate. The study investigates the influence of climate change in rivers from southern KwaZulu-Natal to the Pongola River in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The approach to these studies is unique because UNIZULU uses novel time series analysis techniques and signal processing to analyse the data. The Geography Department is working with the South African Weather Services’ global atmospheric watch laboratory in Cape Point to analyse the long-term trends and variability of atmospheric CH4 and CO2. This climatological study is important because, in terms of atmospheric chemistry, CH4 and CO2 are the main greenhouse gases that contribute to the continuation of global warming. Recently, a paper that proposed a novel time series analysis method and hybrid LSTM data-driven time series forecasting model was accepted by the MDPI atmosphere journal in the special issue ‘Ozone Evolution in the Past and Future’. The study used a climatological time series of total column of ozone (TCO) time series from Argentina.
Sustainable Goal 14 – Live Below Water
UNIZULU is uniquely located in a coastal region with a world-renowned diversity of coastal and marine ecosystems. These include not only important marine conservation areas such as Isimangaliso Wetland Park, but also the
vital estuarine link between land and sea in the form of estuaries of national conservation importance such as Lake St Lucia and the Richards Bay Harbour – Mhlathuze Estuary complex. Estuaries serve as essential nursery areas for all marine ecosystems but are increasingly under threat from human pressures. UNIZULU researchers from the Zoology, Geography and Botany departments focus on coastal and marine biodiversity research, with great strides being made to increase the understanding of how the human footprint and global warming are affecting aquatic ecosystems and ultimately marine biodiversity. Research and student funding support for marine and estuarine biodiversity research from the South African Aquatic Biodiversity Institute (SAIAB) through NRF funding has allowed many postgraduate
UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND ANNUAL REPORT 2020 70
14 LIFE
BELOW WATER