Current research degree projects
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
450 research degree projects
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Ocean and earth science | Geography and environmental science
Implications of diverse risk perceptions within and across coastal communities for adaptive capacity and community engagement
Coastal flooding hazard will be increasing over the next century driven by unavoidable sea level rise and other climate change impacts. Since we cannot eliminate the risk of all marine hazards on coastal communities, many coastal management strategies are shifting towards adaptive solutions. -
Ocean and earth science
Combining AI and climate projections to improve management, maintenance and operation of European storm surge barriers
Coastal flooding is one of the most dangerous and costly natural hazards that humanity faces globally and yet it will become even more frequent and challenging to manage because of climate change and other factors. In densely populated estuarine settings, a storm surge barrier is often an attractive and economical solution for flood protection. -
Ocean and earth science
Unlocking Improved Flood Modelling using Computer Vision Stream Gauging
Flood models are essential for helping to manage and mitigate the annual £2.2B cost of flooding to the UK. However, one of the big uncertainties that remains in these models is how complex floodplains are characterised under a range of real-world conditions. This project will use new technologies in flow monitoring to meet this challenge. Specifically, Computer Vision Stream Gauging (CVSG) offers a way off characterizing complex flows over floodplains. -
Ocean and earth science
Decision support to deliver gravel barrier adaptation pathways mapped to system state triggers
Gravel barrier shorelines offer widespread, critically important natural flood protection to many coastal communities. Their management, creation and enhancement are increasingly seen as sustainable, while providing nature-based adaptation options that boost natural capital. But these assets must be well managed to ensure they continue serving such functions in the face of increased risk of coastal erosion and flooding. -
Ocean and earth science
Satellite assessment of coastal hazards: compound effects of wind, waves and sea level on the England South Coast
This project explores coastal transformations along the south coast of England linked to the combined impacts of storms, waves, and rising sea levels. The south coast is highly vulnerable to climate change because of its exposure to powerful weather systems originating from the North Atlantic. -
Ocean and earth science
The Impact of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation on Flooding for Nuclear Sites in the UK
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a critical role in decadal climate variability with impacts on sea level, regional weather patterns, and thus flooding, which poses a significant hazard to coastal infrastructure, including the UK’s Nuclear Power Plants. The overall goal of this project is to address fundamental questions about the causes and consequences of flooding around the UK’s coastlines over the next 100 years. -
Ocean and earth science
Is carbon dioxide release from sedimentary rocks a missing driver of geological climate change?
The magnitude of future warming will depend upon the strength of carbon cycle feedback mechanisms. However, there are carbon cycle feedbacks that we still know little about. This PhD project will test whether CO2 release from sedimentary rocks is a missing carbon cycle feedback in past and future warm climates. -
Ocean and earth science
A seismic study of rift-plume interaction in the South Atlantic
Continental breakup can generate huge volumes of magmatism that are generally attributed to the influence of mantle plumes. The project will use new seismic data from the continental margin of Brazil to investigate variations in magmatism along this margin that appear to contradict current understanding of how plumes work. -
Ocean and earth science
Can nitrogen fixation contend ocean desert expansion?
Life in the ocean is sustained by nitrogen fixation, a microbial process supplying bioavailable nitrogen. This project will explore biological controls on nitrogen fixation in the Indian Ocean, bridging cell to ocean scale nitrogen fluxes in the least explored basin in the world’s oceans. -
Ocean and earth science
Long-term change in the benthos – seabed photography as a critical tool for monitoring
Long-term environmental monitoring of changes to the seabed is rare but important, particularly as climate change accelerates. Seabed photography makes it possible, but inconsistency in application reduces comparability. This project will assess climate-related ecological change in benthic fauna and develop the consistency in seabed photography key to future marine monitoring.