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 (non DTP) projects available:

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

STFC studentships to start autumn 2020. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact supervisors to discuss projects.

Apply before 17:00 GMT, Friday 1 May 2020:

• In situ dating of meteoritic olivines (Supervisors: Professor Tim Elliott and Dr Chris Coath) ELLIOTT_COATH_Dating_of_meteoritic_olivines (PDF, 353kB)
• Comparative planetary seismology across the telluric planets (Supervisor: Dr Jessica Irving) IRVING_Planetary_seismology_across_telluric_planets (PDF, 397kB)
• Titan: exploring planet atmospheres using infra-red spectroscopy (Supervisor:  Dr Nick Teanby) TEANBY_Titan_exploring_planet_atmospheres_using_infra-red_spectroscopy (PDF, 175kB)

Studentship funded by the MSCA Innovative Training Network. Application deadline: 17:00 GMT, Tuesday 15 October 2019:

• Modelling environmental controls on coral species distribution in the Coral Triangle (ESR6) (Lead Supervisor: Dr Erica Hendy) Modelling environmental controls on coral species distribution (PDF, 196kB)

Cotutelle dual PhD co-funded by the University of Bristol (through its Research Partnership Programme) and MacquarieUniversity, Sydney Australia.

Please note that the successful candidate must be willing to start this project by the 31st of July 2020:

• Self diffusion in iron alloys at extreme conditions (Supervisor at Bristol: Dr. Oliver Lord; Supervisor at Macquarie: Prof. Simon Clark) Self diffusion in iron alloys at extreme conditions (PDF, 626kB)

Note: This project is funded for 4 years and will involve the successful candidate spending years 1 & 3 in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol and years 2 & 4 at the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. See the document at the link above for more details

To apply to the University of Bristol you must apply online. You should select PhD in Geology as the programme in the drop down menu.

NERC GW4+ DTP projects 2020

Applications for the GW4+ DTP for study starting in September 2020 opened on 14th October 2019.  The deadline for applications is Monday 6th January 2020 at 16:00 hours GMT.

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

Projects list

• Revegetation and landscape stabilisation after explosive eruptions (Main supervisor Dr Byron Adams) ADAMS_Revegetation_and_landscape (PDF, 312kB)
• Linking precursory volcano deformation to eruptive activity using satellite InSAR (Main supervisor Prof Juliet Biggs) BIGGS_Linking_precursory_volcano_deformation (PDF, 237kB)
• How do redox and temperature fluctuations influence mineral protection of organic matter during permafrost thaw (Main supervisor Dr Casey Bryce) BRYCE_Redox_and_temperature_fluctuations (PDF, 362kB)
• Developing bioinspired magnetic nanoparticles for the recovery of critical metals (Main supervisor Dr James Byrne) BYRNE_Developing_bioinspired_magnetic_nanoparticles (PDF, 276kB)
• The geometry of melt and crystal networks in solidifying basalt (Main supervisor Prof Katharine Cashman) CASHMAN_The_geometry_of_melt_and_crystal_networks (PDF, 321kB)
• Tracking the topographic evolution of the Sierra Nevada, California (Main supervisor Dr Frances Cooper) COOPER_Topographic_evolution_of_the_Sierra_Nevada (PDF, 332kB)
• Living at the edge - evolutionary trends in foraminifera (Main supervisor Dr Laura Cotton) COTTON_Evolutionary_trends_in_foraminifera (PDF, 301kB)
• The evolutionary origin of teeth (Main supervisor Prof Philip Donoghue) DONOGHUE_The_evolutionary_origin_of_teeth (PDF, 250kB)
• Seafloor nutrient factories - The use of silicon and germanium isotopes to investigate early marine sediment diagenesis (Main supervisor Dr Kate Hendry) HENDRY_Seafloor_nutrient_factories (PDF, 201kB)
• Quantifying magmatic processes of pantellerites from Mayor Island (Tuhua)Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand (Main supervisor Prof Heidy Mader) MADER_Quantifying_magmatic_processes (PDF, 236kB)
• Understanding pyroxenite melting in the mantle using chromium and titanium isotope fractionation (Main supervisor Dr Ian Parkinson) PARKINSON_Understanding_pyroxenite_melting (PDF, 309kB)
• Impact of climate change on marine plankton – lessons from a hot planet (Main supervisor Prof Daniela Schmidt) SCHMIDT_Impact_of_climate_change_on_marine_plankton (PDF, 299kB)
• Monitoring Injection-Induced Earthquakes in the UK (Main supervisor Dr James Verdon) VERDON_Monitoring_Injection_Induced_Earthquakes (PDF, 253kB)
• Mass spectroscopic mapping of organically preserved fossils (Main supervisor Dr Jakob Vinther) VINTHER_Mass_spectroscopic_mapping (PDF, 248kB)
• Advancing earthquake forecasting with better physical models and machine learning (Main supervisor Dr Maximilian Werner) WERNER_Advancing_earthquake_forecasting (PDF, 341kB)

 
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 Great Western Four + DTP page at the end of the application pages, after the CV page, please specify the School of your project choice. You will need to make a separate application for each project.

To apply for any PhD project other than one within the GW4+DTP you should select PhD in Geology as the programme in the drop down menu.

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/