PhD Studentship: Oceanic Island Insights Into River-driven Volcano Landscape Evolution

Volcanic islands are exciting real-world climate and landscape laboratories. When geologically young (<10Ma) they provide a simplified and spatially limited setting for testing landscape evolution theories and models. This project aims to develop new insights into how bedrock incision processes interact with geological and climatic factors (i.e. spatially variable uplift, shield building, mega-landslides, orographic rainfall effects and extremes), using the volcanic island of Tenerife as a case study. 

Some work has been done (e.g. on Hawaii), but knickpoint geometry and using state-of-the-art streampower modelling offer the opportunity of dramatic new insights. The findings will provide a window into the wider question of the impact of extremes (e.g. in rainfall) on ocean islands, itself reflective of how a changing climate shapes planet Earth.

Our hypotheses, which you will refine and test are:

1. Bedrock channel incision in Tenerife is locally controlled by the climatic regime.
2. River profiles will yield spatially varying uplift information on timescales of ~1-10 ka, complementing the historical or archaeological ( 0.1 Ma) records. 

Pilot fieldwork has identified key sites (e.g. varying lithology, climate, catchment size), with sediment and laser scanning data offering a secure and rapid start to the work. This PhD has an international supervisory team providing expertise in volcanic island evolution, bedrock erosion and modelling.

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, Computer Science, Engineering, or an appropriate Master’s degree.

Funding

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 and 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. 

How to Apply

Complete a CENTA studentship application form in Word format (available from the CENTA website).

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 2025-LU4 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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