Climate-Conscious Conservation of Documentary Heritage: An Integrated Multiscale Modelling Approach

Climate change threatens our documentary heritage, while current preservation methods can inadvertently worsen the problem over time. Energy-intensive climate control systems not only contribute to the climate crisis but also exclude less affluent institutions from equitable access to effective conservation efforts. Moreover, limited understanding of degradation-environment interactions prevents confident relaxation of stringent climate control measures.To address these challenges, I propose a revolutionary approach: developing a holistic understanding of paper-based documentary heritage’s interaction with its environment across all scales—from the molecular level to the repository. By integrating hygrothermal dynamics with material degradation kinetics through innovative multiscale modelling, I will significantly advance our understanding of the complexity in the degradation processes of documentary heritage, unlock its untapped environmental resilience, and revolutionise our ability to predict and prevent damage in conservation.This project will begin by developing a comprehensive model that quantifies material-micro-environment interactions for detailed paper degradation analysis. Simultaneously, innovative multiscale hygrothermal models will be established to capture heat and moisture transfer from individual volumes to entire repositories. Finally, these models will be integrated into an open-source online tool for dynamic, spatially-resolved environmental risk assessment and predictive preservation planning. Global case studies will be designed throughout the project to validate the models across diverse cultural and climatic contexts. This pioneering methodology will transform preventive conservation by enabling precise degradation predictions, empowering data-driven decision-making, and catalysing a fundamental shift towards sustainable and inclusive heritage preservation in response to climate change.