About the Project
Overview:
Besides the many technological benefits of living in the “plastic age” (Thompson et al., 2009; Andrady & Neal, 2009), the unsustainable use, inappropriate waste management and durability of plastics, with rises in production from 2 to 300 million tons per year since 1950, pose severe environmental and public health concerns (Andrady, 2011; Koelmans et al., 2014). There is growing concern that microplastics (particles < 5 mm) pose severe environmental environmental risks (Wright et al., 2013). Microplastics (MPs) in the form of primary (manufactured) particles, or as secondary products of macroplastic degradation can cause toxicity, directly, or by acting as vectors for sorbed contaminants (Hartmann et al., 2017). With recent evidence of MPs entering our food chain (Deng et al., 2017; Wright & Kelly, 2017), regulators, water and chemical industries globally are concerned about the environmental and public health impacts of the endocrine disrupting additives Bisphenol A (BPA) and Nonylphenol (NP) leaching from MPs (Dris et al., 2015; Eerkes-Medrano et al., 2015).
Our ability to assess global risks of MP impacts on environmental and public health is critically limited by the lack of knowledge of their transport, fate and ecotoxicological impacts in freshwater ecosystems (Wang et al., 2017; Horton et al., 2017; Klein et al., 2015), which is crucial for the assessment of their global impacts given that the majority (70-80%) of all MPs reaching the sea have been transported by rivers (Jambeck et al., 2015, Sadri & Thompson, 2014; Cheung et al., 2016; Rech et al., 2014).
We welcome applications from candidates for a PhD studentship who are interested in interdisciplinary research on microplastic fate and transport in freshwater ecosystems. The studentship is embedded in a larger research project funded by the Leverhulme Trust (PlasticRivers - Fate and transport of microplastics in rivers) and we are looking for PhD candidates interested to investigate the following research questions:
• How are MPs distributed in rivers globally, and how do their physical (size, shape, density) and chemical properties (incl. additives such as Bisphenol A and Nonylphenol) differ in relation to catchment properties, prevalence of primary and secondary MP sources, hydrodynamic and sediment conditions?
• Which processes control the transport and accumulation of MPs with different shapes,
densities, composition and the release of Bisphenol A and Nonylphenol at freshwater-sediment interfaces?
• How can transport, accumulation, and Bisphenol A and Nonylphenol release from MPs be predicted under variable hydrodynamic, biogeochemical and sediment conditions?
• Are MP’s biomagnifying through aquatic food webs and do they increase the uptake of Bisphenol A and Nonylphenol via Trojan horse effects and/or biomolecule-enhanced release?
The PhD student will for this project have access to unique experimental infrastructure such as the EcoLab artificial river labs () and Birmingham Engineered Nanoparticle facility as well as BlueBear High-performance Computing facility.
We welcome applications from students with degrees in geographical and environmental sciences, engineering or related disciplines. While we would not expect any applicant to possess all the technical skills required, full training on the different technical aspects of the research will be provided.
Training and Skills:
PhD students are provided with comprehensive postgraduate training opportunities throughout their PhD, including training on environmental science, research methods and core transferable skills. Throughout the PhD, training will progress from core skills sets to master classes specific to the student’s projects and themes.
The project will additionally provide unique international training opportunities within the recent HiFreq H2020 RISE project lead by Prof. Krause. This includes wide ranging opportunities for collaboration during fully funded research visits or participation in international training courses at more than 20 European, US, AUS, NZ and JAP partner institutions.
Funding Notes
The PhD studentship is expected to commence by September 2018 and includes:
• Full payment of tuition fees at UK/EU fee level of £4,270 in 2018/19, to be paid by the University;
• An annual tax-free doctoral stipend at £14,764 for 2018/19, to be paid in monthly instalments by the University;
• The award of the studentship is for 3.5 years (42 months) with an anticipated start date of September 2018 (although there is some flexibility).
Supervisors: