Soil Scientist, Natural Flood Management Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Based in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences comprises four distinct areas across the subjects of chemistry, earth sciences, environmental sciences and geography, each delivering exceptional teaching, support and research.

Staff and students work and study in the stunning natural landscape of south west England. Our national parks, National Landscapes, characterful towns and cities, and 650 mile-long coastline provide the backdrop from which we address global sustainability challenges on land and at sea. Students develop in this supportive environment to be pioneers of a better and more sustainable future for our planet and all of its people.

An interdisciplinary team of world-class academics undertakes teaching and research focused on challenges including climate change, natural hazards, social justice, pollution, energy transitions, land- and seascape conservation and the sensitive development of natural resources.

The Climate Resilient Otter Catchment (CROC) is an exciting new partnership project funded by the Environment Agency as part of a £25 million Natural Flood Management applied research programme. The research project aims to better quantify the effectiveness of Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions in a systematic way allowing comparison between intervention types to inform future optimization of NFM. Monitoring in this way will also allow comparison with other NFM work being undertaken nationally.

CROC is the only national NFM project funded and led by the Environment Agency (EA) and is therefore a flagship project. The project builds on previous and ongoing successful UoP collaborations with the EA and researchers at the University of Exeter’s (UoE) Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW).

You would be joining a supportive and experienced NFM research team at UoP with related PDRF’s, academic researchers and PhD students, in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (SoGEES) https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/schools/school-of-geography-earth-and-environmental-sciences. You will have the added benefit of working closely with the University’s Sustainable Earth Institute Sustainable Earth Institute.

The PDRF will focus on the role of sustainable soils management in NFM in the River Otter catchment, East Devon. The Otter catchment is part of a successful Round 2 Landscape Recovery Plan, led by the Clinton Devon Estate who are project partners and delivers of the NFM interventions. The Otter catchment has experienced severe flooding in recent years with challenges of land management and soil erosion in rapid response River sub catchments.

The position would require extensive fieldwork in the lower Otter catchment, with follow-up work in UoP soil analytical and ISO-certified Consolidated Radio-isotope Facility (CoRIF) labs. In field monitoring will consist of traditional measures of soil compaction, soil water infiltration, soil aggregate stability and soil water runoff. Laboratory analysis will include sediment fingerprinting using x-ray fluorescence analysis to determine source apportionment of downstream riverine sediments. Experimental design will be a nested approach with field level soil analysis in 9 sub catchments where monitoring of net discharge and cumulative NFM benefits are being undertaken as part of wider project activities.

For an informal discussion, please contact Dr Paul Lunt (paul.lunt@plymouth.ac.uk) or Professor Will Blake (william.blake@plymouth.ac.uk)

This is a full-time position working 37 hours per week on a fixed-term basis until 31^st March 2027 due to funding.

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