School of Earth Sciences

Unless otherwise stated, all projects are eligible for full funding via our NERC GW4+ postgraduate training award. Please see the GW4+ website for further details.  Students may also be funded from a variety of UK and international industry and government sources; any funded studentships for which we are currently recruiting are also advertised below. 

Fully funded projects available:

• The kinetics of defect aggregation in diamond. Unlocking the history in natural diamonds (Main supervisor Professor Simon Kohn) Kinetics in diamond (PDF, 457kB)

STFC Projects

We have funding for one STFC studentship with 3 possible projects outlined below, but applicants are also welcome to formulate alternative projects in discussion with possible supervisors [Chris Coath, Tim Elliott, Zoë Leinhardt (School of Physics), Oliver Lord, Ian Parkinson, Nick Teanby, James Wookey].  The deadline for applications is Sunday 15th July 2018 at 23:59 hours GMT. Study start date is September 2018.

• Exploring the atmospheres of solar system planets and moons using infra-red spectroscopy (Supervisor Dr Nick Teanby) Solar system atmospheres_old (PDF, 155kB)

• In situ Cr isotope measurements and early solar system history (Main supervisor Professor Tim Elliott) Cr Isotopes_old (PDF, 220kB)

• ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr systematics of chrondules and the chronology of the early solar system (Main supervisor Dr Ian Parkinson) Chronology_old (PDF, 256kB)

GW4+ DTP projects

The GW4+ DTP opened for applications on 4th October 2017, with a deadline for applications of Sunday 7th January 2018 at 23:59 hours GMT. Study start date is September 2018.

Individual project titles that were available are listed below. Each description has details of the Project and Supervisor, and other background information.

Projects list

• Alternative methods and data in the phylogeny of the Arthropoda (Main supervisor Professor Davide Pisani) Phylogeny_of_the_Arthropoda (PDF, 476kB)
• Basaltic volcanic fields: Magma storage and controls on volcanic activity (Main supervisor Professor Kathy Cashman) Basaltic_volcanic_fields (PDF, 633kB) 
• Fragmentation, ash dispersal and sedimentation for hydromagmatic volcanic eruptions (Main supervisor Dr Alison Rust) Fragmentation_ash_dispersal_and_sedimentation (PDF, 552kB)
• Geophysical assessments of river levee strength (Main supervisor Professor Michael Kendall) Geophysical_assessments (PDF, 478kB)
• Imaging reservoirs using passive seismic data (Main supervisor Dr James Verdon) Imaging_reservoirs (PDF, 592kB)
• Isotopic and experimental constraints on the global Mo cycle (Main supervisor Professor Tim Elliott) Isotopic_and_experimental_constraints (PDF, 688kB)
• Magmatic processes and eruption variability at Mount Taranaki, New Zealand (Main supervisor Professor Heidy Mader) Magmatic_Processes (PDF, 539kB)
• Patterns, processes, rates, and constraints, in the evolution of morphological disparity (Main supervisor Professor Philip Donoghue) Morphological_disparity (PDF, 641kB)
• Phylogeny and function of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Thecodontosaurus antiquus (Main supervisor Professor Michael J Benton) Phylogeny_and_ function_of_Thecodontosaurus (PDF, 531kB)
• Postseismic deformation and earthquake triggering (Main supervisor Dr Max Werner) Postseismic_Deformation (PDF, 268kB)
• Probing mantle convection with anisotropic wavefield imaging (Main supervisor Dr James Wookey) Probing_mantle_convection (PDF, 473kB)
• Pterosaur flight biomechanics: how did the largest airborne animals get off the ground? (Main supervisor Professor Emily Rayfield) Pterosaur_flight_biomechanics (PDF, 489kB)
• Rates and amplitudes of climate change - are there tipping points in the pelagic ecosystem (Main supervisor Professor Daniela Schmidt) Rates_and_amplitudes_of_climate change (PDF, 491kB)
• Structural controls on the growth of magma bodies: thermal modeling of porphyries, plutons and active defromation in the Andes (Main supervisor Dr Juliet Biggs) Structural_controls_in_the_Andes (PDF, 476kB)
• Thermomechanical controls on unrest and pre-eruptive processes: A comparison of the Auckland volcanic field and Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand (Main supervisor Professor Jo Gottsmann) Thermomechanical_controls_New_Zealand (PDF, 542kB)
• Understanding chromium and titanium isotope fractionation in the Earth's mantle (Main supervisor Dr Ian Parkinson) Understanding_fractionation_in_the_Earths_mantle (PDF, 486kB)
• Unravelling the sources of carbon during global warming events (Main supervisor Professor Laura Robinson) Unravelling_global_warming_events (PDF, 477kB)
• Untangling the origin and movement of ghost nets in the Indian Ocean (Main supervisor Dr Erica Hendy) ‌Untangling the origin and movement of ghost nets in the Indian Ocean (PDF, 455kB)
• When did the Earth's cratonic lithosphere form? A new look at the record from inclusions in diamonds (Main supervisor Professor Simon Kohn) When_did_the_Earths_cratonic_lithosphere_form (PDF, 476kB)

To apply to the University of Bristol you must apply online

When applying for the GW4+DTP please select 'NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Programme DTP PhD' in the Programme Choice page drop down menu. When you reach the end of the application pages, after the CV page, on the Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (NERC) page please specify the School of your project choice. You will need to make a separate application for each project.

Please note that unless applying for the GW4+DTP you should select PhD in Geology as the programme.

If you have any questions, please contact the Postgraduate Administrator via email earth-postgrad@bristol.ac.uk.

General information on postgraduate admissions can be found on the University postgraduate webpages http://www.bris.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/.