PhD in physical geography
The School hosts three internationally-recognised groups that cover a broad spectrum of Physical Geography research. Together they provide a stimulating environment to answer fundamental questions about the dynamics of the Earth’s system.
Bristol Physical Geography postgraduate research covers a wide range of themes, methodologies and applications, from numerical modelling and remote sensing to biogeochemistry and laboratory experimentation. We welcome new applications from across the discipline and beyond, and are particularly interested in projects that complement and extend existing strengths within and across our research groups. The University offers scholarships to UK/EU and overseas prospective students, who have demonstrated excellence at undergraduate and/or masters level. The School also offers fully-funded studentships to eligible applicants and is supportive of students who are self/externally funded. We are very happy to be involved the formulation of projects in the latter case.
Currently, the research areas in which we would consider PhD supervision are as follows,
Faculty: Dr Alexandre Anesio, Prof. Jonathan Bamber, Dr Dan Lunt, Prof. Tony Payne, Prof. Martyn Tranter, Dr Jemma Wadham
- Biogeochemical processes in subglacial environments
- Microbial diversity and function in the cryosphere
- Limnology of cryoconite holes and proglacial lakes
- Carbon cycling in and methane emissions from permafrost
- Bio- and chemical-sensing of icy ecosystems
- Remote sensing studies of Greenland and Antarctica
- Land and ice topography from satellite laser altimetry
- Regional climate modelling of glaciated areas
- Surface mass balance modelling of glaciers and ice sheets
- Interaction of ice shelves and oceans
- Developing models of iceberg calving
- Palaeo-ice sheet/climate interactions
- Long-term future evolution of the cryosphere
Faculty: Prof. Malcolm Anderson, Prof. Paul Bates, Dr Jim Freer, Dr Katerina Michaelides, Dr Guy Schumann
- Flood inundation modelling
- Flood risk, uncertainty and climate change
- Large scale hydraulic modelling of remote river basins
- Remote sensing data assimilation for hydraulic models
- Slope stability modelling
- Hillslope hydrological modelling
- Modelling human impacts on hydrology (including climate change)
- Wetland hydrology
- Uncertainty analysis of hydrological models
- Hillslope sediment-transport modelling
- Laboratory experimentation into hillslope hydrological and sediment-transport processes
- Erosion and nutrients
Faculty: Dr Rachel Flecker, Dr David Richards, Dr Andy Ridgwell, Dr Joy Singarayer, Prof. Paul Valdes.
- Modelling ocean-sediment interactions and the marine geological record
- Modelling marine nutrient cycles
- Past controls on atmospheric CO2
- Modelling ocean-sediment interactions
- Dating long-term landscape evolution in limestone areas
- Hydrological and geochemical processes in karst terrains
- Forward modelling of stable isotope proxies of terrestrial palaeoclimate
- Modelling of carbonate sedimentation and diagenesis
- Earth system modelling of both past and future change
- Development of improved biogeochemical models
- Ice sheet-climate interactions
- Future Land use-climate interactions
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