UCL Earth Sciences

Available PhD Topics






ES Funded projects open for applications

If you are interested in applying to do a specific PhD project in our Department(self-initiated, self-funded or through a non-DTP studentship), you should direct your initial enquiry to the named supervisor (or co-supervisor) who can guide you further. In cases of uncertainty, you may also direct your enquiry to the Graduate Tutor. Once a supervisor has agreed in principle to supervise your project, or if you are applying for a specific funded studentship, you must complete a formal UCL PhD application.

TOPIC

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR

FUNDING BODY
 P-V-T equations of state of low-density geofluids and industrial materials using novel in situ
techniques. Project details
Application Deadline: until filled 		David Dobson
  Simon MacLeod (AWE)  STFC - Industrial Case
Volatiles, Geodynamics and Solid Earth Controls on the Habitable Planet. Project details
Application Deadline: until filled
John Brodholt
  
NERC
THe Martian Core. Project Details. Deadline: until filled.
Lidunka Vocadlo
 David Dobson
 STFC


The London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP).

The PhD topics shown here are representative examples of projects offered by our department that are eligible for funding through the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). The London DTP offers between 30-40 studentships per year covering all aspects of earth and environmental science, hosted by one of nine different London-based academic institutions including UCL.

If you are interested in any topic below, please contact the named supervisor for more information in the first instance. To apply for a DTP studentship, please do not apply to UCL directly but instead follow the DTP instructions. Whilst the topics illustrate a cross-section of active research within the Department of Earth Sciences at UCL, the list is not exhaustive and we also welcome enquiries from students who wish to formulate their own topics.

FOR A REGULARLY UPDATED LIST OF POTENTIAL PHD TOPICS VISIT THE DTP WEBSITE


Biodiversity and Ecology

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: A multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of crocodylian phylogeny, diversity and biogeographic history in ‘Deep Time’ Paul Upchurch Julia Day


Earth, Atmosphere and Ocean Processes

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Sea ice monitoring and imaging using FMCW radar on unmanned aerial vehicles Peter Sammonds  
Topic: Remote sensing of melt ponds from multiple satellites
Julienne Stroeve
Michel Tsamados
Topic: Data fusion of 20 years of polar remote sensing data: emerging climate trends? Michel Tsamados
 Julienne Stroeve
Topic: Orbital climate variability in the middle and late Miocene Bridget Wade


Environmental Pollution

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Terrestrial water storage in the Bengal Basin – piezometric monitoring to validate and complement GRACE observations William Burgess Shamsudduha, Mohammad


Natural and Biological Hazards

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Reassessing the volcanic hazard of unusual lavas in the East African rift. Adrian Jones Chris Kilburn
Topic: Ca isotopes as a potential tracer for CO2 in magmatic systems. Christina Mannin, RHUL Phillip Pogge Von Strandmann


Past Life and Environments

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Architecture and stacking patterns of deep-marine lobe and related deposits, Eocene Hecho Group, Jaca basin, Spanish Pyrenees: Depositional processes, sandbody geometry and stacking patterns Kevin Pickering
 Paul Bown
Topic: Keeping the Earth habitable Philip Pogge von Strandmann  
Topic: Signs of life in Paleoarchean chemical sedimentary rocks Dominic Papineau
 
 Topic: The Evolutionary and biogeographic impact of the break up of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic Paul Upchurch Day, Julia
Topic: Pleistocene hominins in the African savannah: the evolution of male reproduction in the first hunter-gatherers  Bridget Wade
  Nicolas Pound
     


Solid Earth Dynamics

TOPIC

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: The deep nitrogen cycle – nitrogen storage in the subduction system John Brodholt

 Andrew Thomson
Topic: What can long period seismic tremors tell us about physical-chemical processes inside active volcanoes?
Alex The-Ru Song
  
Topic: Multiscale characterisation of seismic scattering, diffraction and anisotropy in the lithosphere/asthenosphere system
Alex The-Ru Song

Topic: Pre-melting in the Earth’s core.

 Lidunka Vočadlo Ian Wood
Topic: Lab Geophysics – the acoustic velocity of mantle minerals

 Andrew Thomson

Ian Wood


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