Dr M Perks
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
This project is part of the ONE Planet DTP. Find out more here: https://research.ncl.ac.uk/one-planet/
The potential for broad scale changes in catchment management practices to alter the quality and quantity of runoff from catchments is hotly debated, with large-scale catchment alterations showing mixed findings as a function of complex geographical factors. More recently, the potential for local-scale interventions distributed across headwater catchments have been acknowledged as having the potential for delaying flood-waters and disconnecting the delivery of pollutants from hillslopes to rivers. Whilst some limited evidence for the efficacy of these interventions is available, a wider knowledge base is required to inform management practice across a range of catchment settings.
This project will use a range of sites distributed across the North of England where both existing Natural Flood Management (NFM) schemes exist, and where schemes are in the process of being designed. These sites include those established by the Demonstration Test Catchments (DTC) project and those that are currently in planning stages led by Northumberland Rivers Trust and Tyne Rivers Trust. The researcher will have the opportunity to developing a robust evidence base to assess the impact of these new riparian management options for reducing flooding and the delivery of pollutants. This will be achieved through a predominantly field-based approach where catchment processes and behaviour will be characterised by:
• Analysis of how wetlands, sediment traps, and modified buffer zones function before, during, and after flood events with specific reference to flow dynamics, fine sediment and phosphorus transport and accumulation
• Assessing how hydro-geo-ecological niches function, and how they can be optimised
• Sediment fingerprinting through physical and geochemical analysis of fine sediment to determine sediment sources and to inform wider catchment management initiatives
• Building or modifying a simple physical model to encapsulate the changes to catchment scale fluxes
• Optimisation of engineering designs to mimic and enhance natural processes
• Working with Government advisors to guide future farm management options
Prerequisites:
A desire to conduct field work and experimentation; understanding of catchment processes (e.g. sediment and phosphorus dynamics); basic lab skills, and a willingness to conduct lab work; numerical skills for time series analysis and model development.
For more information, please contact Dr Matt Perks ([Email Address Removed]).
Funding Notes
Fully funded (3.5 years) PhD studentship awards available for entry September 2019. Each award includes fees (Home/EU), an annual living allowance (£14,777) and a Research Training Support Grant (for travel, consumables, as required).