PhD Studentship: Dusty Rivers: Quantifying Fluvial Flooding Controls on Aeolian Activity

Dryland environments are often characterised by intermittently-flowing rivers which play an important role in the distribution and storage of fine-sized sediment throughout the landscape. During dry phases, this fine sediment can be entrained and blown by the wind. An important question for aeolian-fluvial interactions is the control that floods play, and how predictably aeolian activity responds to these infrequent flood events. For example, the vegetative response to moisture and greening up of floodplains can cause time lags between fluvial sediment delivery and aeolian deflation. Time lags can be seasonal or a response to large-scale teleconnections (e.g. ENSO) and potential shifts in these are expected to occur under future climate change scenarios.

The aim of this project is to quantify flood activity in dryland fluvial systems and the degree to which mineral dust emissions vary in response to hydrological perturbations of these landscapes. The successful candidate will use satellite data to characterise emissive surfaces in dryland areas before and subsequent to flood events, and climate reanalysis data to quantify the primary meteorological drivers of river flow and dust emission. Focused fieldwork may also help achieve project goals e.g. satellite ground-truthing, channel survey, sedimentological analysis, geomorphological mapping.

Funding details

The NERC studentship is funded for 3.5 years starting from October 2025 and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (in 2024/25) for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK rate. It also provides a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £8,000. Further guidance about eligibility is available at UKRI Terms and Conditions. Due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates, but successful International candidates will have the difference between the UK and International tuition fees provided by the University.

Entry Requirements

Applicants will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Geography, Earth Science or Environmental Science, or an appropriate Master’s degree.

How to Apply

• Complete a CENTA studentship application form in Word format (available here).
• All applications should be made online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under programme name, select “Geography and Environment”. During the online application process, upload the CENTA studentship application form as a supporting document. Please quote CENTA2025-LU2 when completing your online application.
• Application closing date is midnight (UK time) on Wednesday January 8th 2025. Interviews for short-listed candidates are expected to be held in the period Monday February 3rd – Friday February 14th 2025.

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