ICTA - Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals

The Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) is a multidisciplinary centre that promotes academic research and postgraduate education on environmental sciences. It aims to improve our understanding of global environmental change, and the nature and causes of environmental problems. In addition, it studies policies, strategies and technologies to foster a transition to a sustainable economic and societal model.

The ICTA-UAB addresses major global environmental and sustainability challenges related to anthropogenic climate and global change. Researchers at ICTA-UAB undertake advanced research in specific areas of environmental science, divided into three general areas, namely “Earth and life sciences”, “Social environmental sciences” and “Technology, environment and society”.

About the Unit of Excellence María de Maeztu ICTA-UAB is the only research centre in environmental sciences to be identified as a Unit of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), the highest institutional recognition of scientific research in Spain.

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2025-12-19
18:10
13 p, 6.4 MB Vulnerability to climate change, depopulation and the global food regime An index-based approach for rural Spain / Villamayor Tomás, Sergio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic) ; Gaitan Cremaschi, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Corbera, Esteve (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia) ; Pierri-Daunt, Ana Beatriz (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Santos de Lima, Letícia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Rural regions in Europe currently face multiple interacting stressors, including climate change, depopulation, and the deepening of a global a food regime. Research on the overlapping impact of these climate, demographic and socio-economic phenomena on rural livelihoods is mounting, yet efforts to identify larger-scale patterns at country level are still scarce. [...]
2025 - 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104254
Environmental science & policy, Vol. 174 (December 2025) , art. 104254  
2025-12-18
18:10
37 p, 406.4 KB Particulate organic carbon export across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current at 10°E Differences between north and south of the Antarctic Polar Front / Puigcorbé, Viena (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Roca Martí, Montserrat (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Masqué Barri, Pere (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física) ; Benitez-Nelson, Claudia (University of South Carolina. Department of Earth & Ocean Sciences) ; Rutgers v. d. Loeff, Michiel (Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener Institute) ; Laglera, Luis Miguel (Universitat de les Illes Balears. Departament de Química) ; Bracher, Astrid (University of Bremen. Institute of Environmental Physics) ; Cheah, Wee (Academia Sinica. Research Center for Environmental Changes) ; Strass, Volker H. (Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener Institute) ; Hoppema, Mario (Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener Institute) ; Santos-Echeandía, Juan (Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas - CSIC) ; Hunt, Brian P.V. (University of British Columbia. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences) ; Pakhomov, Evgeny A. (University of British Columbia. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences) ; Klaas, Christine (Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener Institute)
The vertical distribution of 234Th was measured along the 10°E meridian between 44°S and 53°S in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) during the austral summer of 2012. The overarching goal of this work was to estimate particulate organic carbon (POC) export across three fronts: the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF), the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) and the Southern Polar Front (SPF). [...]
2017 - 10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.05.016
Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Vol. 138 (April 2017) , p. 86-101  
2025-12-18
14:10
17 p, 3.1 MB Distributions of total and size-fractionated particulate 210Po and 210Pb activities along the North Atlantic GEOTRACES GA01 transect : GEOVIDE cruise / Tang, Yi (City University of New York. Graduate Center) ; Castrillejo, Maxi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Roca Martí, Montserrat (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física) ; Masqué Barri, Pere (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Lemaitre, Nolwenn (ETH Zurich) ; Stewart, Gillian (City University of New York)
Vertical distributions of total and particulate polonium-210 (210Po) and lead-210 (210Pb) activities in the water column were measured at 11 stations in the North Atlantic during the GEOTRACES GA01 transect: GEOVIDE cruise in May-June 2014. [...]
2018 - 10.5194/bg-15-5437-2018
Biogeosciences, Vol. 15, Num. 17 (September 2018) , p. 5437-5453  
2025-12-18
19:10
45 p, 33.9 MB A methods assessment and recommendations for improving calculations and reducing uncertainties in the determination of 210Po and 210Pb activities in seawater / Rigaud, S. (University of Delaware) ; Puigcorbé, Viena (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Cámara Mor, Patricia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Casacuberta, N. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física) ; Roca Martí, Montserrat (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; García Orellana, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Benitez-Nelson, Claudia (University of South Carolina. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences) ; Masqué Barri, Pere (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Church, T. (University of Delaware)
In marine systems, 210Po and 210Pb disequilibria are being increasingly used to examine oceanic particle formation and export. Here, an updated assessment of current methods for determining 210Po and 210Pb activity in marine samples is provided and includes a complete description of the vast number of calculations and uncertainties associated with Po and Pb loss, decay, and ingrowth during sample processing. [...]
2013 - 10.4319/lom.2013.11.561
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, Vol. 11, Num. 10 (October 2013) , p. 561-571  
2025-12-17
18:10
15 p, 2.4 MB Helicosphaera carteri (Prymnesiophyceae) under high carbon dioxide : An experimental study / Bianco, Stefania (University of Pavia) ; Bordiga, Manuela (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) ; Langer, Gerald (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Ziveri, Patrizia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Cerino, Federica (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) ; Relitti, Federica (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) ; Laudicella, Vincenzo Alessandro (National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) ; Di Giulio, Andrea (University of Pavia) ; Lupi, Claudia (University of Pavia)
The coccolithophore Helicosphaera carteri is an understudied, yet ecologically and biogeochemically important, marine calcifier. Hence, its response to ocean acidification has implications for ecosystem function and the marine carbon cycle. [...]
2025 - 10.1111/jpy.70103
Journal of Phycology, November 2025  
2025-12-18
20:10
25 p, 2.7 MB Modelling Maize Agriculture by the Pre-Columbian Casarabe Culture of Amazonian Bolivia An Agent-based Approach / Hirst, Joseph (University of Reading. Department of Geography and Environmental Science) ; Singarayer, Joy S. (University of Reading. Department of Meteorology) ; Lombardo, Umberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Mayle, Francis (University of Reading. Department of Geography and Environmental Science) ; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Prehistòria
Scholars have long debated the extent to which pre-Columbian (pre-1492 CE) indigenous cultures modified and 'domesticated' the landscapes of Greater Amazonia. Compelling evidence to support large-scale pre-Columbian landscape modification can be found in the forest-savanna mosaic environments of northern Bolivia, where the Casarabe Culture constructed hundreds of earthen settlement mounds, integrated by a vast causeway-canal network. [...]
2025 - 10.18564/jasss.5736
JASSS, Vol. 28, Num. 4 (October 2025) , art. 5  
2025-12-18
13:10
7 p, 1.9 MB Short communication Estimating radiocarbon reservoir effects in Bolivian Amazon freshwater lakes / Garcia Escarzaga, Asier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Lombardo, Umberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Prehistòria) ; Bello Alonso, Patricia (Universidade de Vigo) ; Capriles, José M. (Pennsylvania State University) ; Colonese, Andre Carlo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Dudgeon, Kate (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Simões, Carlos Duarte (Universidade do Algarve) ; Fernandes, Ricardo (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology)
The Llanos de Moxos, in the Bolivian Amazon, preserves a remarkable archaeological record, featuring thousands of forest islands. These anthropogenic sites emerged as a result of activities of the earliest inhabitants of Amazonia during the Early and Middle Holocene. [...]
2025 - 10.5194/gchron-7-583-2025
Geochronology, Vol. 7, Num. 4 (November 2025) , p. 583-589  
2025-12-17
18:10
13 p, 4.4 MB Finding the ghosts : Snow leopard density and distribution in the multi-use region of Jammu and Kashmir, India / Khanyari, Munib Sajad (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Shah, Tariq Ahmed (Chenab Division) ; Bajaj, Deepti (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Rao, Rajat (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Sharma, Charu (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Sharma, Neeraj (University of Jammu) ; Tobge, Rinchen (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Thuktan, Tanzin (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Angrup, Dorje (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Chunit, Kesang (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Chhering, Tandup (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Hameed, Shahid (Nature Conservation Foundation) ; Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh (Nature Conservation Foundation)
Large carnivores occur in human-dominated landscapes globally, albeit with varying consequences for the animals and people involved. This lies in stark contrast to the belief that Protected Areas are the only means to conserve large carnivores, and in particular big cats. [...]
2025 - 10.1002/2688-8319.70155
Ecological Solutions and Evidence, Vol. 6, Num. 4 (November 2025) , art. e70155  
2025-12-17
19:10
9 p, 730.3 KB Ecomodernism, Green Growth and the Imperial Arrangement / Hickel, Jason Edward (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
2025 - 10.1163/24714607-bja10196
Journal of Labor and Society, November 2025, p. 1-9  
2025-12-17
21:10
20 p, 2.2 MB After the land rush : land and social life in Cambodia / Xu, Yunan (University of Cambridge) ; Song, Danik (Equitable Cambodia) ; Scheidel, Arnim (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Vuthy, Eang (Equitable Cambodia) ; Borras Jr., Saturnino M. (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
This paper demonstrates how the global land rush simultaneously produces operational land deals and non-operational/'failed' land deals. We argue that it is important to study both types, and the logic that produces them, because both can fundamentally alter social relations and the wider landscapes in which they are embedded. [...]
2025 - 10.1080/14747731.2025.2583305
Globalizations, November 2025  
Focus on:
The Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (56)
Environmental and Climate Economics (ECE) (87)
Integrated Assessment: Sociology, Technology and the Environment (IASTE) (65)
Integrated Earth System Dynamics Laboratory (IESD) (27)
Observatori de la Tordera (15)
Sustainability and Environmental Protection (Sostenipra) (147)