Current research degree projects
Explore our current postgraduate research degree and PhD opportunities.
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166 research degree projects
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Ocean and earth science
Extreme Heating of the Upper Atmosphere by Aurora
This project will use optical imaging of the aurora together with radar observations of the ionosphere to investigate extreme heating of the neutral upper atmosphere caused by auroral processes. The understanding gained will benefit atmospheric modelling for climate predications and could improve predictions of drag on spacecraft and space debris. -
Ocean and earth science
Impacts of floral nutritional loss on pollinator community interactions
This project will use a multidisciplinary approach combining ecological surveying, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, and network analysis, to capture the impacts of loss of nutrition, including quality and quantity of nectar and pollen nutrients, on wild pollinator trophic, competitive, and parasitic interactions, in fragmented and agriculturally dominated landscapes. -
Ocean and earth science
Physical and biogeochemical responses to Antarctic sea ice loss: what are the implications for ocean carbon uptake?
This project will use observations from satellites, autonomous sensors and floats, combined with climate model outputs, to investigate how physical and biological processes (and the resulting carbon dioxide uptake) respond to changing sea ice conditions in the Southern Ocean (SO), the most important region globally for ocean anthropogenic-carbon uptake. -
Ocean and earth science
Assessing sedimentary Blue Carbon to inform marine management
Marine sediments contain massive amounts of ‘blue carbon’ isolated from the atmosphere for millennia. Net carbon flux into sediments and the influence of human activity and changing climate is poorly quantified. You will investigate factors influencing the accumulation, loss and fate of carbon in sediments to inform marine management strategies. -
Ocean and earth science
A hidden carbon source: permafrost under the Arctic shelves
Underneath the shallow Arctic shelves relict subsea permafrost contains a large pool of carbon including methane. The project will investigate future subsea permafrost degradation, the associated methane release and other concurrent changes in the marine environment. -
Ocean and earth science | Geography and environmental science
Contrasting peatland carbon dynamics in Britain and Newfoundland
This project explores the impact of nutrient deposition on long-term carbon storage in Holocene/Anthropocene peatlands by comparing near-pristine localities in Newfoundland with impacted counterparts in Wales. The approach will be interdisciplinary, integrating documentary archives with palaeoecological analyses (including ancientDNA) and peat geochemistry to create high-quality evidence for peatland conservation. -
Ocean and earth science
Nutrient limitation in a changing Arctic Ocean
As ice melts in the warming Arctic Ocean, primary productivity increases, drawing down atmospheric CO2: a process thought to be limited by nitrogen supply. Few data exist, however, on nutrient limitation and stress in the Arctic. This project will explore how Arctic change impacts the activities of carbon fixing microorganisms. -
Ocean and earth science
Tracking nutrient and metal exchange during Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement
Working in collaboration with Vesta, this project will investigate the fate of bio-limiting and/or toxic trace metals that may be released during olivine dissolution in coastal environments, improving our understanding of potential environmental and ecosystem impacts associated with ocean alkalinity enhancement as a form of ocean-based carbon dioxide removal. -
Ocean and earth science
Seismo-acoustic properties of sea-ice and applications to climate monitoring
Sea-ice melting impact ecosystems. Satellite methods cannot accurately measure sea-ice thickness due to assumptions of snow cover and freeboard. This project will develop green technologies for ice thickness measurements. This project will involve novel laboratory geophysical measurements of ice and development of low power acoustic source for autonomous underwater vehicles.
Ocean and earth scienceSeafloor Mapping with Flexible Autonomy in Heterogenous Swarms of Underwater Robots
The project aims to design a controller for collaborative task division among autonomous platforms surveying seafloor areas. Building on existing collective decision-making strategies in robot swarms, the project uses Machine Learning (e.g., multi-agent reinforcement algorithms) to enable a heterogeneous set of underwater vehicles (AUVs and Drifters) to map unknown areas.
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