2015 PhD studentships

NERC GW4+ Doctoral Training Partnership PhD studentships

The GW4+ Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) has announced the latest Earth Science studentships which will start in October 2015. The GW4+ brings together the Universities of Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Bath along with a consortium of over 30 research, industrial and third-sector organisations to deliver innovative training to environmental science PhD students. Those collaborating include: the Welsh Government; Natural Resources Wales; the British Antarctic Survey, the British Geological Survey, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the Met Office, the Natural History Museum, BHP Billiton, the Food and Environment Research Agency, and Syngenta.

Under the programme, a minimum of 30 per cent of the students will work with non-academic partners. This is intended to provide students with the valuable industry experience they need to enter a wide range of careers.

At Cardiff University, the following NERC GW4+ DTP Earth Science studentships for an October 2015 entry will be available:

PhDs in Earth Surface Processes

• Unravelling the origin of floodplains along freely meandering rivers
• Himalayan sediment production: unravelling the role of frost cracking
• Quantitative observations of storm-driven coastal change using a UAV

PhDs in Geodynamics

• Jurassic oceanic gateways of the North Atlantic
• How fast do rocks deform? A speedometer for fracture in the Earth
• Early tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Panama arc and inter-American seaway
• How does the mantle drive plate tectonics?
• Geometry, deformation mechanisms, and seismic style of oceanic transform faults research theme: natural hazards, resources and sustainability

PhDs in Geomicrobiology

• Bacterial endospores– shuttles to the deep biosphere and beyond?
• New tricks to old bugs–links between the marine organic carbon and nitrogen cycle and methanogenesis

PhDs in Paleobiology

• The role of heterotrophs in glacier surface ecosystem productivity
• Origin, development, and early evolution of wood
• 'Microbialite' carbonates: from hydrocarbon play to carbon sequestration

PhDs in Paleoclimate and Climate Systems

• Atmospheric CO2 variability during the Plio-Pleistocene
• Surface to deep water connections in the Labrador Sea during the Holocene
• Probing the top of the world: Arctic temperatures and chemistry from foraminiferal proxies
• The role of carbonate dissolution in the formation of organic rich sediments in the modern ocean
• How hot is hot? Paleotemperatures in the Eocene Indo-Pacific Warm Pool
• What is driving glacial–interglacial ocean change in the subpolar North Atlantic?
• Seasonal to decadal extremes in the North Atlantic system
• Oil palm to coral reefs: Understanding downstream responses to land use intensification using geochemical records in coral reef skeletons

PhDs in Magmatism and Metallogenesis

• Reconstruction, petrogenesis and economic potential of the c.1.97 Ga Pechenga-Onega LIP of northern Europe
• Crystal-scale records of the mid-ocean ridge magma plumbing system
• Petrogenesis of the Kemi chromite deposit, Finland
• Development of nascent arc lithosphere following subduction initiation: controls on post-axial magmatism in the Oman-UAE ophiolite
• The relationship of gold mineralisation to ocean crustal structure and hydrothermal systems in the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus

3 further PhD studentships with guaranteed funding

Constraining water cycle using spherical mantle convection models

Supervisors    Dr Huw Davies (Cardiff University), Dr Don Porcelli (University of                                     Oxford) & Prof Tim Elliott (University of Bristol)

Closing date:  2nd February 2015

Diamonds in southern Africa, from source to sink: controls on the concentrations of alluvial mineral deposits in dryland river systems

Supervisors      Prof Chris MacLeod, Dr Tim Jones, Dr TC Hales & Dr José Constantine

Closing date:   15th January 2015

Diamonds in southern Africa, from source to sink: indicator mineral geochemistry of kimberlites and alluvial deposits

Supervisors      Prof Chris MacLeod, Dr Tim Jones, Dr David Buchs & Dr Iain McDonald

Closing date:   15th January 2015

For details on how to apply, please visit the Cardiff Postgraduate website or contact us at:Postgraduate Research Enquiries

Email: earth-pg@cf.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)29 208 75772
Fax: +44 (0)29 208 74326