PhD Studentship: River Beds from Surface Flow to Better Model Flooding

A great challenge in flood risk management to better model extreme events, particularly as flood frequency and severity are likely to increase in the UK as climate changes. A critical limitation for high-resolution flood modelling is inadequate information about the shape and roughness of the bed of our river channels.

This PhD project is ambitious and exploratory, yet based on a simple breakthrough idea: Water surface motion visibly reflects the key factors shaping flow in a river, almost by definition, so information for enhanced flood prediction should be observable from short videos of rivers (e.g. on a mobile phone). Its vision is to create a handheld, easily and widely deployable ‘tool’ for improving real-time flood risk assessment. It will have one critical conceptual advantage over other approaches (e.g. green lidar, structure from motion); it does not require light or sophisticated, expensive, equipment to penetrate to the river’s bed. It potentially reveals how riverbed shape changes during high flow events (i.e. when the water is entirely opaque), and Storm Desmond in 2015 demonstrated how important riverbed shape changes during high flows (i.e. River Greta) are in influencing flooding.

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-LU3 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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