PhD Studentship: Resilient Dunes: Determining The Impacts of Winter Flooding Variability on Coastal Dune Wetland Plant Communities Using Remote Sensing

Coastal dune slacks are depressions in dune systems at the level of the water table. They are a very biodiverse and extremely rare habitat which is under threat, and so are a nature conservation priority. Dune slacks are seasonally flooded, and the extent, depth and duration of this flooding is a key control over their ecology. Understanding the dynamics of this flooding is particularly important in the context of climate change, which is predicted to cause a gradual lowering of water tables resulting in drying or total loss of UK dune slacks (Curreli et al. 2013). Monitoring of dune slack water tables is labour intensive, and so data is highly limited in temporal and spatial extent. Ainsdale Dune Slacks and Newborough Warren National Nature Reserves are two of the most important coastal dunes in England and Wales, with a long history of monitoring both water table depth and vegetation change (54 years at Ainsdale: Clarke and Sanitwong Na Ayutthaya, 2010). Working with Natural England, this project will develop new methods using remote sensing data for advancing understanding of dune slack hydrology, which will be combined with historical monitoring data to evaluate the resilience of their rich biodiversity to climate change.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must already have, or expect to shortly graduate with, a very good undergraduate degree or Master’s degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree) – or an equivalent international qualification from a high ranking university – in a relevant subject. EU and Overseas applicants should achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each competency.

Funding

Studentship type – UKRI through Flood-CDT (flood-cdt.ac.uk) The studentship is for 3.5 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Excellent International candidates are eligible for a full international fee waiver however due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates. 

How to Apply 

All applications should be made online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under programme name, select Geography and Environment. Please quote the advertised reference number: FCDT-25-LU1 in your application. This PhD is being advertised as part of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT). Further details about FLOOD-CDT can be found here. Please note, that your application will be assessed upon: (1) Motivation and Career Aspirations; (2) Potential & Intellectual Excellence; (3) Suitability for specific project and (4) Fit to FLOOD-CDT. So please familiarise yourselves with FLOOD-CDT before applying. During the application process candidates will need to upload:

• a 1 page statement of your research interests in flooding and FLOOD-CDT and your rationale for your choice of project
• a curriculum vitae giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests
• academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English)
• a IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable.

You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors by email to discuss project specific aspects of the proposed prior to submitting your application. If you have any general questions please contact floodcdt@soton.ac.uk.

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