Lead Supervisor: Prof Roland Gehrels (University of York Department of Environment and Geography)
Co-supervisor: Annette Burden (CEH), Dr Brett Sallach (University of York Department of Chemistry), Dr R Kroeger (University of York Department of Physics )
The student will be registered with the Department of Environment and Geography
Microplastics have been observed around the world in marine, coastal, freshwater and estuarine environments. Microplastics are taken up by organisms and transferred up the food chain which has implications for the health of coastal ecosystems. However, little is known about the history of microplastic pollution in UK coastal waters and there are currently no studies that have quantified microplastic concentrations within salt-marsh sediments around the UK.
The successful applicant will use cores of salt-marsh sediments from around the UK and sample them for microplastics. All cores have established chronologies, which offers a unique opportunity to establish when microplastic pollution commenced, and how it developed during the 20th and 21st centuries. Plastics will be quantified and types of plastics will be extracted and identified using a variety of techniques and Raman spectroscopy. Sources of plastic pollution will be established from Raman spectra and reference plastics.
This NERC-funded ACCE DTP studentship will be based at the University of York and is a collaboration between the Department of Environment & Geography (York), the Department of Physics (York) and the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). Depending on skills and experience, the successful applicant will receive training in sedimentology, geochemistry, pollution science, and Raman spectroscopy. The supervisory team combines expertise in salt-marsh sediments (Gehrels - York), biogeochemistry (Burden - CEH), microplastic pollution (Sallach - York) and Raman spectroscopy (Kroeger - York). The project is open to students with at least a 2/1 degree (and ideally a Masters) in Physical or Environmental Geography, Chemistry, Environmental Science or a closely-related subject. Relevant field and lab skills and interests in coastal environments are a plus. For informal discussion please contact the main supervisor ([Email Address Removed]).
The ACCE DTP and the University of York are committed to recruiting future scientists regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or career pathway to date. We understand that commitment and excellence can be shown in many ways and we have built our recruitment process to reflect this. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in science, who have curiosity, creativity and a drive to learn new skills.
Entry Requirements: Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with backgrounds in any biological, chemical, and/or physical science, or students with mathematical backgrounds who are interested in using their skills in addressing biological, ecological or evolutionary questions.
Programme: PhD in ACCE (4 years)
Start Date: 1st October 2022 (the student will be registered with the Department of Environment and Geography)
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in the w/c 21 February 2022