Available PhD topics, current PhD projects, open projects, NERC and other funding bodies
Although many people do a PhD in order to go into academia, it can also be very beneficial for careers in industry and the private sector. A PhD is hard work and takes at least 3 years to complete, so you need to find a suitable topic, which will engage your enthusiasm and interest for the long-haul.
AvailableTopics
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.
- SE Asian-Australian Continental Shelves, Chemical Weathering, Vegetation and Impact on Miocene-Recent Climate Change
Enquiries: Prof Peter Clift (peter.clift@ucl.ac.uk)
Application Deadline: 31st May 2024
Start date: October 2024
Funding from the Royal Society is for UK domestic students only.Tropical continental shelves may have a significant impact on global climate as a resulting of their exposure during glacial low stands. Wide areas of shelf in SE Asia and offshore northern Australia are exposed as sea level falls, resulting in enhanced chemical weathering that draws CO2 out of the atmosphere. At the same time forests may grow on the exposed shelf, sequestering more carbon and enhancing the glaciation.
This project aims to quantify the effects that low latitude shelves have on global climate. The project involves analysis of existing Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) cores using major element data both directly measured and from continuous scanning to assess the degree of alteration of the sediments. Clay minerals will also be used to constrain the intensity and style of chemical weathering on the shelf and interior of Australia. Combined Sr and Nd isotopes will be used to see if the sources of the sediments change through time. Biomarkers extracted from organic material in the core will be used to constrain the types of vegetation that grew on the shelf and immediate hinterland.
This work will be done in collaboration with colleagues at Bristol University. This data can be used to estimate how much carbon might be stored on the shelf during sea level low stands and inform what type of climate existed, whether seasonal or more tropical. The project will use volume calculations from offshore seismic reflection data to estimate the carbon budget of the shelf since the Mid Miocene. Correlations with global climate change will be assessed.
Finally, the student will undertake climatic and environmental numerical modelling. This will furthermore result in better predictions of the impacts of future global warming as it will establish a more rigorous baseline understanding of the role that weathering and forest growth/contraction have had on past climates change. Funding from the Royal Society is for UK domestic students only.
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 studentships covering all aspects of earth and environmental science, hosted by different London-based academic institutions including UCL.
- Past Life and Environments
Project Title Supervisor(s): Using the Past to Improve Predictions of the Future of Vertebrate Biodiversity. Details Prof Phil Mannion; Dr Alex Pigot Integrating past archives of crocodylians into diversity baselines and future projections. Details Prof Phil Mannion; Dr Samuel Turvey Neuroanatomical insights into the early evolution and biogeographic history of alligatoroid crocodylians. Details Prof Phil Mannion; Prof Paul Upchurch Signs of life in Paleoarchean chemical sedimentary rocks: a strategy to search for extra-terrestrial life. Details Prof Dominic Papineau; Dr Matthew Powner The Cambrian explosion: causes and consequences. Details Prof Graham Shields; Dr Nick Lane The Evolutionary and biogeographic impact of the break up of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic Details Prof Paul Upchurch; Dr Julia Day Size control on extinction dynamics in Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera. Details Prof Bridget Wade; Dr Andy Purvis Quantifying temperature changes in the Oligocene icehouse. Details Prof Bridget Wade Giants and dwarfs: body size, climate and extinction. Details Richard Twitchett, NHM & Prof Bridget Wade
- Solid Earth Dynamics
Project Title: Supervisor(s): The initial condition for the long-term evolution of terrestrial planets. Details Dr Maxim Ballmer; Prof John Brodholt The seismic signals of the heterogeneous Earth mantle. Details Dr Maxim Ballmer; Dr Paula Koelemeijer The dynamics of mantle plumes, and their geophysical and geochemical expressions. Details Dr Maxim Ballmer; Prof Ana Ferreira Role of fluids during faulting. Details Prof Nicolas Brantut; Prof Phil Meredith The deep nitrogen cycle – nitrogen storage in the subduction system. Details Prof John Brodholt; Dr Andrew Thomson Glacial erosion in the tropics: The Santa Marta Range, southern Caribbean. Details Dr Matthew Fox; Prof Andrew Carter Rates of drainage network evolution measured with detrital data and inverse methods. Details. Dr Matthew Fox; Prof Pieter Vermeesch Illuminate intra-crustal magma/gas transport beneath active volcanoes with very long-period tremors (VLP). Details Dr Teh-Ru Alex Song; Prof Chris Kilburn Mapping Core-mantle boundary anisotropy with core-reflected P waves. Details Dr Teh-Ru Alex Song The viscosity of the Earth’s inner core. Details Prof Lidunka Vočadlo; Prof John Brodholt Understanding the Earth’s cores: benchmarking the ELASTIC toolkit for core-forming materials. Details Prof Lidunka Vočadlo; Prof John Brodholt The structure, dynamics and composition of the Earth’s core. Details Prof Lidunka Vočadlo; Prof Ian Wood
- Earth, Atmosphere & Ocean Processes
Project Title: Supervisor(s): The aridity, drought and biodiversity impacts of Solar Geoengineering. Details Dr Peter Irvine Defining the source parameters for operational models of ash resuspension. Details Dr Emma Liu; Prof Tom Mitchell Data fusion of 20 years of polar remote sensing data: emerging climate trends? Details Dr Michel Tsamados; Prof Julienne Stroeve Deep Learning for radar altimetry echo classification and sea ice surface image recognition. Details Dr Michel Tsamados; Prof Julienne Stroeve Testing Earth’s thermostat with novel isotope tracers. Details Dr David Wilson; Dr Susan Little Ice sheet-ocean-climate interactions during the Pleistocene Ice Ages. Details Dr David Wilson; Dr Heather Ford
If you are interested in any of these topics, 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 our Department, the list is not exhaustive and we also welcome enquiries from students who wish to formulate their own topics.