Scientific background: Rip currents interact with density-driven freshwater plumes along the coast to mix and disperse contaminants from fluvial discharge into the shelf-sea where they impact the environment. The ability to predict the transport of these contaminants would greatly assist in the compliance and regulation of water quality directives along the coast. Tighter coupling between […]
Read More
Tropical lakes systems provide vital ecosystem services to some of Earth’s fastest growing and most vulnerable human populations, but in response to climatic and anthropogenic pressure, the latter caused by land-use changes, lakes are under threat from shifts in water balance. There is an urgent need for regional climate information from tropical regions to allow […]
Read More
Deforestation is a major global driver of soil carbon loss. Soil carbon is central to ecosystem functioning including the regulation of climate change, and quantifying the effects of deforestation on soil carbon stocks has been a major research focus. How soil carbon stocks respond to forest planting is less well quantified but nonetheless crucial. Although […]
Read More
Being able to accurately quantify the transport of fine sediment (sand particles and finer) in rivers is hugely important for many reasons, for example because it is a major mode of pollution transport, it affects in-stream habitats and biodiversity, the sustainability of infrastructure (e.g. flood defences), and it can increase flood risk. At present the […]
Read More
This project will investigate the effects of joint climate and land cover change on the thermal vulnerability of animals at a global scale. While rising global temperatures are predicted to reduce thermal safety margins for many species, especially ectotherms, much less is known about the effects of land cover change on thermal microhabitats, especially in […]
Read More
This project will address the controversial and highly topical question of how we ensure that rivers do as good a job as possible of transporting water and thus reducing flood risk, whilst at the same time maintaining them as ecologically-healthy, aesthetically-pleasing elements of the landscape. Central to solving this conundrum is the need to understand […]
Read More
Environmental change due to human activities can have devastating impacts on microbial activities that are essential to the earth’s ecosystem functions. Microbial adaptations to stresses have been described in the laboratory, but it is not well understood how these relate to the natural environment. In particular, we have limited knowledge of the impact of physical […]
Read More
This PhD studentship presents a unique opportunity in the fields of organic geochemistry and risk-based land management. The student will optimise in vitro methods to measure the dermal bioavailability of organic soil contaminants and use the data to derive predictive numerical models. These models will help identify which factors affect the release of organic compounds […]
Read More
Biogeochemical processes in rivers, estuaries and coastal seas play key roles in the global carbon C cycle by controlling the flux of material from land to ocean. It has been estimated that as little as 10% terrestrial organic matter is transferred from rivers to sites of burial in the sediments of continental margins. However, the […]
Read More
The very presence of engineering species within a landscape promotes high levels of biodiversity and ecosystem goods/services. However, their loss and degradation is one of the most significant drivers of global biodiversity loss. Most studies overlook the spatial dynamics that drive the persistence of the engineering species themselves. In this project, we will address key […]
Read More