PhD Studentship - How Polluted are our Modern Ports? An Eco-bio-geological Investigation

Project overview

Pollution derived from human activities has dramatically changed the coastal environment and increased the potential for these environments to become heavily impacted by disease (e.g., Toxoplasma, Hepatitis). English ports have a diverse history, including fishing, manufacturing, chemical industries and transportation; they harbour major sources of legacy pollution. Estuaries in particular have acted as conduits for pollutant delivery to the sea, however, they not only export waste from populated regions to the sea but also act as depocenters, archiving contaminated sediments over several centuries. This project will investigate eco-bio-geo pollution signatures in three estuaries, Tees Estuary (Teesport), Mersey Estuary (Port of Liverpool), Berwick-upon-Tweed (Port of Berwick) and will assess their decadal to centennial pollutant history. Sediment, seaweed and amphipoda (peracarid crustaceans) will be collected from the modern environmental system and analysed for metal (e.g., Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd), nutrient concentrations (e.g., N, P, K) which will be cross-referenced against histopathological and molecular tools (e.g., PCR, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics).

Deliverables

1. Train a PhD student in sedimentology, biogeochemistry, histopathology and molecular tools.
2. The project will produce at least three open-access publications in international peer-reviewed science journals.
3. Bi-annual meetings (online or in-person) with The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust (co-funder)
4. Develop relationships with local stakeholders in each of the ports.

Keywords: marine pollution, sediment, metal contaminants, nutrients, disease, pathogens, parasites, seaweed, amphipods, toxicity

Key references

Alldred, F.C., Gröcke, D.R., Jackson, S.E. (2024). Nitrogen isotope variability of macroalgae from a small fishing village, Staithes Harbour, Yorkshire, UK. Marine Pollution Bulletin 207:116828.

Bojko, J., Lipp, E.K., Ford, A.T., & Behringer, D.C. (2020). Pollution can drive marine diseases In: Marine Disease Ecology. Edited by: D.C. Behringer, K.D. Lafferty, B.R. Silliman, Oxford University Press.

Rodgers, K., McLellan, I., Peshkur, T., Williams, R., Tonner, R., Hursthouse, A.S., Knapp, C.W., Henriquez, F.L. (2019). Can the legacy of industrial pollution influence antimicrobial resistance in estuarine sediments? Environmental Chemistry Letters 17:595–607.

Funding: Fishmongers-Durham University fully funded studentship for 3.5 years, yearly stipend of £17,668, home fees paid and a small research grant to cover analytical and fieldwork costs.

Host Institutions and supervisors: Jointly supervised by Prof Darren Gröcke (Durham Earth Sciences, d.r.grocke@durham.ac.uk), Prof Dave Roberts (Durham Geography, d.h.roberts@durham.ac.uk), and Dr Jamie Bojko (Teesside Centre for Biodiscovery, j.bojko@tees.ac.uk). The PhD will be awarded from Durham University although laboratory work will be conducted at Durham and Teesside National Horizons Centre (Darlington).

How to apply: studyatdurham.microsoftcrmportals.com/en-US

The closing date for applications is 31^st March 2025.

Any questions about the project please contact Prof Darren Gröcke (d.r.grocke@durham.ac.uk) and on the application process, Louise Bowron, PGR Coordinator earthsci.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk

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