Projects

An experimental and macroecological investigation of precipitation effects on Arctic plant root traits

The Arctic tundra is particularly exposed to climate change, with warming of up to 5°C measured during the 20th century, and substantial in…

Assessing the impact of environmental contaminants in the Kruger National Park, South Africa: from sediments to crocodiles

This project will explore the presence and bioaccumulation of organic and inorganic contaminants along the Olifants River system in South Af…

Being behind the times? Assessing the liana-induced impact on forest phenology using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).

Lianas reduce growth and increase mortality of their host trees, thereby reducing carbon accumulation in tropical forests by as much as 76%.…

Blooming blanket weed: managing nuisance algae in National Trust water bodies

We are seeking a student with a love of fresh waters, algae and experimental ecology to study the problems of nuisance blanket weed blooms i…

Climate change effects on coastal flooding: are models fit-for-purpose and how do we mitigate the risk?

Coastal flooding has been ranked the second highest risk for civil emergency in the UK, costing £0.25bn annually in economic loss. Worse, g…

Climate change impacts on cold-adapted butterflies: discovering the mechanisms and testing potential mitigation approaches

Cold-adapted species, including those restricted to mountains, are highly vulnerable to climate change. For UK butterflies, cold-adapted spe…

Complementary strategies for the sustainable management of an invasive pest in Africa

In January 2016, the first reports of a new invasive pest was received in Africa. In less than two years, the new pest – the Fall armworm,…

Constraining late Pliocene palaeoceanographic changes in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean

The onset of major northern hemisphere glaciation (NHG) marked a significant threshold in the Earth’s history with the transition from…

Deep matter – soils and their power to fight climate extremes

Do you care about nature? Do you care about your health and the health of others? – Then you care about SOIL. Soils are crucial compon…

Dispersal of microplastics in the marine environment

With an estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic entering our oceans each year, marine plastics are one of the biggest and most immediate threa…

Exploring the unexplored: soil viral diversity, dynamics and function

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on the planet and represent the greatest reservoir of genetic diversity on Earth. Their nu…

Extending global forest carbon models based on LIDAR from tropics to other bioregions

LiDAR is a technology based on a laser mounted on a plane or satellite, which can yield detailed scans of forest ecosystems. This valuable i…

Geochemical controls on the dermal absorption of organic soil contaminants

This CASE PhD studentship is a unique opportunity to make significant advances in the field of organic geochemistry and risk-based land mana…

Holey hypervolumes! The multivariate geometry of adaptive radiation

Holey hypervolumes! The multivariate geometry of adaptive radiation. We seek a maths, physics or engineering graduate with an interest in bi…

Impact of sea level rise on atmospheric CO2 concentration over glacial-deglacial periods

One of the great under-answered questions in the geosciences relates to the cause of the big drop in the concentration of CO2 in the preindu…

Implications of coral reef degradation for fisheries

Around six million people fish on coral reefs, and the fish they catch provide critical sources of protein, micronutrients and income for ma…

Isotopic characterisation of methane and ethane within groundwater aquifers: assessing sources, flow pathways and the impact of shale gas exploration in the Vale of Pickering, UK.

Hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) is highly controversial with public concerns over environmental impacts, not least the risks to ground…

Landscape diversity underpins sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

The previous secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Anan, called for a uniquely African green revolution in response to the need to increase …

Landslide Modelling in the Laboratory

This project will explore granular slides observed in nature as landslides and (dry snow) avalanches and in industrial processing and storag…

Living in the dark: Impact of winter warming on ecosystem stability in the terrestrial high Arctic

The high Arctic is warming at an alarming rate, disrupting soil carbon, nutrient and hydrological cycles. This is resulting in increased soi…

Mountain soil resilience to land-use and climate extremes

Can our upland landscapes provide clean drinking water, store carbon, maintain biodiversity, act as a platform for leisure activities and pr…

Natural capital, biodiversity and ecosystem services – tackling scaling issues

This multi-disciplinary PhD will study natural capital, biodiversity and ecosystem services at a range of scales, to tackle critical questio…

Next generation landscape mapping: machine learning and big data methods for exploiting earth observation data

This is an exciting opportunity to explore machine learning and big data methods, in combination with earth observation data, to extract inf…

Plant adaptations to wetland conditions as regulators of methane oxidation and emissions from tropical wetlands

Natural wetlands are the greatest emitters of atmospheric methane. Plants are important controls of this as they can both stimulate high met…

Plasticiser in the UK terrestrial environment: Occurrence and bioaccumulation?

Researchers and the public are aware of the potential issues of plastic pollution. Images of birds, mammals and other charismatic species en…

Reducing Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions ‘RAGGE’

Nitrogen inputs into agricultural systems are an essential requirement for healthy, high yielding crop production, but they can also result …

Sensitivity of aquatic insect eggs to elevated fine sediment and phosphate concentrations in rivers

Insect populations are declining at an alarming rate, globally. Aquatic insects have a crucial functional role in the environment and are us…

Soil microbes to mitigate climate change

Human populations are expected to increase by 50% to 9 billion by 2050 as climate change continues – together these changes will place unp…

Solar parks: refuges for pollinators and boosting pollination services

Why this project is important: Solar parks are growing exponentially across the world and this growth is expected to continue. At the same t…

Sources, transfer and fate of microplastics in the Arctic marine environment

Contamination of the world’s oceans by plastic waste is of growing international concern. The presence of persistent microplastic particle…

Street-scale modelling of air quality in Beijing: Explaining spatial variability and assessing human exposure

Air pollution is a major problem in many parts of the world, and is particularly acute in countries with rapidly developing economies such a…

The effect of electromagnetic noise on the orientation of migratory birds

Animals face many challenges as increased urbanization impacts their ability to survive and reproduce. Nowhere is this more evident than in …

The environmental trade-offs of mining in a biodiversity hotspot

Historically nations have traded-off environmental degradation to achieve economic development. However, a turning point is sometimes observ…

Tracing environmental impacts associated with hydrocarbon production with novel geochemical techniques

With recent government green light for Lancashire fracking, concerns have arisen over the potential environmental impacts associated with dr…

Understanding parallel origins of industrial metal tolerance in Silene uniflora

Climate change, urbanisation and exploitation of natural resources increasingly alter the environment, posing significant challenges for pla…

Why does C4 photosynthesis rarely evolve in trees?

C4 photosynthesis is an ultra-efficient mode plant physiology that is used by our most productive food and bioenergy crops, including maize,…

Projects

Applications for 2019 are now closed.

Available Projects