Project Lead: Arpita Mandal, Dept. of Geography & Geology, The UWI, Mona Campus
Co-Investigating Lead: Sudeshna Basu, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University College London
Award: 1000 GBP
Limestone is a common building stone in London, and while different types of limestone are used, the Portland Stone, a well-cemented oolitic variety, also used in the construction of UCL is the most common. In Kingston, Jamaica, limestone occurs in outcrops as White and Yellow Limestone groups and are used in the construction of different heritage sites and university buildings. It is important to understand the decay processes of limestone, influenced by observed and predicted climate change, in order to identify suitable interventions to minimize their deterioration. In the study, the suitability of the limestone as building materials will be investigated, taking into account their journey from the quarry to the construction site and focusing on any role of moisture in the degradation processes. Other collaborators are Drs. Y. D. Aktas and S. Orr (UCL) and Prof. Simon Mitchell (UWI-Mona) as well as students from both Universities.
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
