Only 16% of rivers in the UK have good ecological state, with little to no improvement since 2016. Furthermore, discharge from storm overflows has been increasing since 2016 with concurrent increases in sewage pollution due to increases in rainfall intensity and reliance on combined sewerage in the UK. This increase in effluent discharge is putting further pressure on an already degraded aquatic environment and coupled with an increase in river users is beginning pose increased risks to health.
This PhD will assess the spatiotemporal scale and variation in faecal contamination in rivers and its links to the sources using novel analytical techniques. The objectives are:
a) To utilise specific animal and human sewage biomarkers, their compound-specific carbon stable isotopes, and microplastics in urban/rural river systems to assess the biological pollutant and the impact of storm overflows on these contaminants in light of current increasing projections of these events due to climate change.
b) Combine the findings with hydrological mixing models and climate change projections to quantify the sources of faecal contamination and project future contamination without catchment management interventions.
c) Apply the findings to the development of catchment and water management solutions in cooperation with policy makers and stakeholders.
The successful candidate will join our flourishing School of Biological & Environmental Sciences, at Liverpool John Moores University and work under the supervisory team of Jon Dick, Kostas Kiriakoulakis, Lee Bradley, and Patrick Byrne. You will be directly involved in the collection of spatiotemporal water samples and sediment cores from the River Mersey catchment for the analysis of organic biomarkers (coprostanol, cholesterol, caffeine, etc) using state-of the equipment and facilities (GCMS and GC-IR-MS). The biomarkers will be used to identify the scale of effluent pollution in the rivers as well as begin to discriminate between the potential sources and causal species using the ratios and compound specific isotopes. This will be coupled with microplastic analysis (type and polymer using our micro-FTIR) to further differentiate sources of pollution, in particular, those from greywater drains, secondary effluents and storm overflows. Finally, hydrological mixing models will be used to identify relative importance of contributing sources under different hydrological conditions which will used to develop catchment and water management solutions. This is an incredible opportunity to apply a highly novel suite of approach to a truly global environmental problem, and to gain experience working with our industry partners and stakeholders.
Continue with Facebook
