NERC PhD studentships in Earth and Environmental Sciences (IAPETUS)

Location: St Andrews
Salary: ~£14,777 per annum
Hours: Full time or Part time

The School of Earth and Environmental Science at University of St Andrews currently has 16 IAPETUS PhD Studentships available to Home/European Union candidates with the relevant qualifications. IAPETUS2 is the North East of England’s and Scotland’s multidisciplinary Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) for the environmental sciences funded and accredited by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), in a united approach to doctoral research and training the next generation of leaders in the science of the natural environment. IAPETUS2 Studentships cover:

• Full payment of tuition fees;
• A tax-free stipend set at ~£14,777/year (UK residents only)
• Access to extensive research support funding and facilities;
• A wide range of technical and general skills training.

IAPETUS2 projects are co-supervised in partner institutions within the DTP and sometimes include additional external supervisors. Here is a list of IAPETUS2 project titles currently advertised at St Andrews in a range of Earth and environmental science topics:

• Understanding the response of tropical corals to heavy metal pollution in a changing climate
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Nicola Allison
• Deciphering the climatic forcing of major volcanic eruptions from minor isotopes
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Andrea Burke
• Whodunit? Determining the source and climatic forcing of unidentified volcanic eruptions from ice core archives
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Andrea Burke
• Monsoon-ocean interactions in a changing climate
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Michael Byrne
• Microbial carbon fixation in geothermal environments as an analogue to early Earth habitability
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Claire Cousins
• Using microbial biomarkers, geochemistry and petrology in Precambrian and Pleistocene lake sediments to unravel early planetary biospheres
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Claire Cousins
• Giant Dykes & Deep Time Tectonics; the Role of Dyke Swarms in Driving Precambrian Tectonics
  Principal Supervisor: Dr William McCarthy
• 100 million years of ocean pH and atmospheric CO2 – novel reconstructions of seawater chemistry
  Principal Supervisor: Dr James Rae
• Snowguns, seesaws, and CO2: million-year to millennial climate and productivity change in the Arctic
  Principal Supervisor: Dr James Rae
• The Southern Ocean’s role in CO2 change
  Principal Supervisor: Dr James Rae
• Novel archives of CO2 and oxygen change
  Principal Supervisor: Dr James Rae
• Thermochronology and Evolution of the Malawi Rift
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Tim D. Raub
• Achondrite meteorites as snapshots of Earth’s earliest history
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Paul Savage
• The effect of hydrothermal alteration and seafloor weathering on the oceanic Si isotope cycle
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Paul Savage
• The co-evolution of Earth’s continental crust and atmosphere: a Si isotope perspective
  Principal Supervisor: Dr Paul Savage

A full list of projects currently on offer at the University of St Andrews through IAPETUS2 can be found here https://www.iapetus.ac.uk/category/institution/st-andrews/

For more information on the IAPETUS2 program please go to www.iapetus.ac.uk. For details on one of these positions at the University of St Andrews please contact the relevant supervisor to discuss the project further (required prior to submitting an application). For more detail on PhD study in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at St Andrews, please visit our school webpage. For administrative assistance contact the PGR Secretary.

General information about studying at the University of St Andrews as well as the online application form can be found on www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/pg/apply. The closing date for applications is 18th January 2019.

The University of St Andrews is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all and has a series of University wide diversity awards including the Athena SWAN Institutional Bronze Award, the European Commission HR Excellence in Research Award and the LGBT Charter, see www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/. We welcome applications from women, persons of colour and persons with disabilities. You can find out more about Equality and Diversity in the University at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi.