Approximately 20% of people display allergic reactions to combinations of tree and grass pollen causing symptoms ranging from discomfort (e.g. hay fever) to respiratory complications (e.g. asthma), with associated socio-economic costs to society and health services. Identifying pollen from different species of tree can be achieved using labour-intensive microscopy. Nevertheless, since most grass pollens look […]

Rhizosphere microbes are key players in the carbon transformations underlying the generation and sustenance of soil organic matter. Recent evidence suggests that the production of stable soil organic matter compounds may be related to microbial recycling of cellular products. Additionally new research reveals that changes in the abundances of specific microbial taxa following fresh nutrient […]

This project aims to develop new geophysical data processing techniques for imaging groundwater changes within unstable slopes (e.g. natural landslides and vulnerable earthworks). Conventional monitoring methods involve examining the surface (either by people on the ground or from aerial photos) and using point sensors, like moisture content and tilt meters, which only give information in […]

Would you like to earn a PhD doing research at the cutting edge of biodiversity, ecosystem services, land-use change and agriculture? We are looking for an enthusiastic, numerate student with a passion for ecology. The project will use state-of-the-art modelling and existing very high quality field data to estimate the likely success of agri-environment scheme […]

Coastal erosion and flooding are global environmental and economic threats. The safety of coastal communities is of paramount importance in the U.K., given the relevance of these areas for the economy and heritage. However, existing coastal defence structures are aging, exposing the communities to increased hazard. Many of these structures exist in combination with natural […]

Soil hosts a quarter of the planet’s biodiversity and represents one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth. Understanding how soils function and respond to natural and anthropogenic perturbation is therefore one of the greatest challenges in ecosystem science, particularly as soil functioning underpins a wide range of key ecosystem services (e.g. food provisioning, climate […]

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 […]

This is an exciting opportunity to use ecology-driven science to understand why moths are in such dramatic decline and to offer solutions that can reverse these destabilising trends. The project will explore which environmental and biological factors are causing declines and how moths interact with plants as their host, as sources of nectar and as […]

Researching crustal deformation processes and the degree of their proposed coupling with climate is the focus of this research, using the type example of India-Asia collision and Himalayan-Tibet evolution. The timing and mechanism of Tibetan plateau uplift and associated regional climate change is much debated and poorly constrained. This project will use the Cenozoic sedimentary […]

In the transition stage towards a dominant use of renewable clean energy, the emission of greenhouse gases is currently mitigated by capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main greenhouse gases causing global warming. Subsurface saline aquifers have been identified as important targets for geological storage of CO2. In these settings, containment […]