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2017

Rip current and density driven dispersal of nearshore contaminants

Rip current and density driven dispersal of nearshore contaminants

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 […]

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Reconstructing 2000 years of hydrological change in Africa – implications for future climate scenarios

Reconstructing 2000 years of hydrological change in Africa – implications for future climate scenarios

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 […]

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Quantifying carbon change in afforested soils

Quantifying carbon change in afforested soils

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 […]

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Novel high resolution surveying of fine sediment throughout large river cross sections; supporting improved flux estimation and habitat assessment.

Novel high resolution surveying of fine sediment throughout large river cross sections; supporting improved flux estimation and habitat assessment

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 […]

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Modelling thermal safety margins of animals worldwide under climate and land use change: past, present and future

Modelling thermal safety margins of animals worldwide under climate and land use change past, present and future

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 […]

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Modelling the influence of aquatic plants on rivers’ flood conveyance capacity

Modelling the influence of aquatic plants on rivers’ flood conveyance capacity

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 […]

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Microbial survival in stressed environments

Microbial Survival in Stressed Environments

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 […]

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Measurement and modelling human dermal bioavailability of potentially harmful organic soil contaminants

Measurement and modelling human dermal bioavailability of potentially harmful organic soil contaminants

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 […]

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Learning from the landscape: can the patch dynamics of reef communities guide their conservation and spatial management?

Learning from the landscape Can the patch dynamics of reef communities guide their conservation and spatial management

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 […]

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