Around a decade ago, mountaineers, expeditions to cold climates, or indeed anyone involved in outdoor activities took a polythene bivvy bag or a ‘space blanket’ with them for emergency use. These, at best, provided an extra water and windproof layer.
Now, led by Dr Sam Oliver of the University’s Extremes Research Group, PhD student Jennifer Brierley is undertaking collaborative research with Blizzard Survival, the inventor and manufacturer of a new material designed to aid survival in extreme conditions. Jennifer has been researching how effective the innovative material is in directing escaping body heat back into the body, preventing or delaying the onset of hypothermia in extreme conditions.
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