STFC studentship - Impact melting and reprocessing of mafic planetary crusts

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three and a half year PhD to commence in October 2025. 

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science and Health, and will be supervised by Professor James Darling, Dr Hugo Moreira, Dr Eleanor Jennings (Birkbeck, University of London), and Dr Elder Yokoyama (University of Brasília)

This is an STFC funded position, and the application process is competitive. Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£19,237 for 2024/25). Bursary recipients will also receive Research Training Support Grant (RTSG).

Costs for student visa and immigration health surcharge are not covered by this bursary. For further guidance and advice visit our international and EU students ‘Visa FAQs’ page.    

The work on this project could involve:

●       Petrogenesis of impact melts in rare terrestrial analogues for mafic planetary crusts

●       Revealing the origins of suspected impact melts in Apollo mission samples, lunar meteorites and/or martian regolith breccia meteorites

●       Enhancing our ability to identify impact melts and understand the cumulative effects of bombardment across the Solar System

Project description

Impact cratering is a dominant feature of the surfaces of rocky planetary bodies, but the role of impact melting in crustal evolution and the development of chemical reservoirs remains poorly understood. Igneous rocks derived from impact melting of mafic-ultramafic crust have long been challenging to identify, and our understanding of impact melt evolution is limited (e.g. Su et al., 2023). This reflects preservation bias in the terrestrial record towards continental settings, and a lack of geological context for most returned samples and meteorites. Although siderophile element enrichments can be used to reveal impactor contributions, these signatures are not always detectable in known impact derived igneous rocks (e.g. Koeberl et al., 2024). As a result, endogenic magmatic versus impact origins for many key samples and processes remain enigmatic.

Our work has shown that phase-heritage in baddeleyite, a common accessory mineral in mafic-ultramafic igneous rocks, can reveal extreme temperature histories that can only be reconciled with impact-melt origins (White et al., 2020). Building from wider application of this unique new mineralogical tool, this project aims enhance understanding of melt generation and evolution during impacts into mafic-ultramafic planetary crusts.  This will be achieved by combining detailed petrology, geochemistry, geochronology and microstructural analysis of several key sample sets. These include rare terrestrial analogue materials from impact craters within the Paraná flood basalts of southern Brazil, enhancing understanding of melt processes within detailed field context (with the option of further field data collection in Brazil). The new findings will be applied to suspected impact melt samples of basaltic composition returned from the Apollo missions, as well as clasts in lunar meteorites. The student will also have the option to study clasts from martian regolith breccias. The outcomes will elucidate the extent and effects of impact melting in key records of planetary evolution.

General admissions criteria

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognized university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

Specific candidate requirements

We are looking for candidates with a strong background in geology, Earth Sciences, planetary sciences, or another related discipline. You should have relevant experience in igneous petrology, mineralogy, and geochemistry, and an interest in developing advanced laboratory analytical skills. Some knowledge or previous experience in any of the key analytical techniques to be applied in the project would be helpful – SEM, EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, data analysis, isotope geochemistry – but this is not a requirement, as detailed one-to-one training will be provided in all the relevant analytical techniques. The project could include geological field data collection in remote localities, but this is not compulsory as sample sets are in-hand. You will be encouraged to attend national and international conferences to share your research.

How to Apply

We’d encourage you to contact Prof James Darling  (james.darling@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV.  Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code ELS50370125 when applying. Please note that email applications are not accepted.