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
Volatiles, Geodynamics and Solid Earth Controls on the Habitable Planet.
Three funded studentships. Project details
Application Deadline: until filled

John Brodholt
  

NERC
First-principles active materials by design. Project details (pdf)
Application Deadline:10th Jan 2015
Ronald Cohen   UCL studentship
First-principles simulations of Fluids in the Earth, Planets, and Exoplanets. Project details (pdf)
Application Deadline: 10th Jan 2015
 Ronald Cohen   UCL studentship
Impact melting and vaporization of Earth. Project details (pdf)
Application Deadline: until filled 		Lars Stixrude Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni MoltenEarth 
ERC Project
Computational studies of icy materials. Project details (pdf)
Application Deadline: until filled 		Dominic Fortes Ian Wood, Lidunka Vočadlo STFC
Pre-melting in planetary cores. Project details (pdf)
Application Deadline:until filled 		Lidunka Vočadlo Ian Wood, 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.

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
Topic: Evolution and extinction in Miocene planktonic foraminiferal genus Paragloborotalia. Bridget Wade Giles Miller, NHM
Topic: Size control on extinction dynamics in Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera. Bridget Wade Andy Purvis, NHM

Topic:Modularity, metamorphosis, and diversity: a quantitative perspective on the drivers of amphibian diversity

Anjali Goswami

Susan Evans


Earth, Atmosphere and Ocean Processes

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Ice shelf dynamics. Peter Sammonds  
Topic: Towards improving thickness retrievals from CryoSat.
Julienne Stroeve
Michel Tsamados


Environmental Pollution

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
     


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: Forecasting unrest and eruption at large volcanic calderas. Chris Kilburn Agust Gudmundsson, RHUL
Topic: Temporal and spatial strain accumulation within the Italian Apennines from modelling and laboratory experiments. Joanna Faure Walker, IRDR Peter Sammonds
Topic: Ca isotopes as a potential tracer for CO2 in magmatic systems. Christina Mannin, RHUL Phillip Pogge Von Strandmann

Topic: Terrestrial water storage in the Bengal Basin - piezometric monitoring to validate and compliment GRACE observations.

William Burgess
  


Past Life and Environments

TOPIC (PDF DOCUMENTS)

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Plankton evolution and the Paleogene/Neogene transition. Paul Bown  
Topic: Taxonomic, Stratigraphic and Environmental Bias in the Hominin Fossil Record. Philip Hopley, Birkbeck Paul Upchurch
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: The Neoproterozoic Luoquan/Fengtai glaciation on the North China craton. Graham Shields Daniel Le Heron, RHUL
Topic: The Neoproterozoic nitrogen cycle Graham Shields  

Topic: An organic ooze origin for granules in granular iron formations?
Dominc Papineau
  


Solid Earth Dynamics

TOPIC

SUPERVISOR

CO-SUPERVISOR
Topic: Global seismic imaging of the Earth's mantle Ana Ferreira

  
Topic: Evolution and significance of fault damage structures on plate boundary faults: the southern San Andreas fault system
Tom Mitchell
  
Topic: Nature of the link between tectonics and volcanism in the Central and Southern Andes.
Tom Mitchell
Andy Carter
Topic: Pre-melting in the Earth’s core.

 Lidunka Vočadlo Ian Wood
Topic: Physics of creeping crustal rocks. 

Nicolas Brantut

 

Topic: The structure of the lithosphere and the state of stress of the Earth.


Caroline Lithgow-Bertelloni

Lars Stixrude
Topic: First-principles simulations of fluids in the Earth, planets and exoplanets.
 Ronald Cohen  

Topic: Mutliscale characterisation of seismic scattering, diffraction and anistropy in the lithosphere/asthenosphere system.
Teh-Ru Alex Song
Vincent Tong

Topic:Towards a comprehensive understanding of transition zone seismic discontinuities.
Teh-Ru Alex Song
  


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