CDT-SIS-519: Exploring the relationship between river restoration and flood risk management.

UK Rivers have been modified by man for a multitude of reasons for millennia. Efforts to restore rivers to a more natural condition, e.g. by reinstating meanders, reducing depth of incised channels, enhancing instream structural complexity, and removing infrastructure (such as redundant weirs), for the purpose of enhancing ecological condition also has the potential to reduce the risk of flooding by enhancing the capacity of the river to retain water.

Working in close collaboration with the Environment Agency, this project will use case study examples to explore the hydrogeomorphological and ecological response of rivers to restoration projects. State of the art technology, including Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to map bathymetry and velocity, will be employed to quantify physical, chemical and ecological responses to restoration activity. Further, modelling approaches will be employed to assess flood risk pre and post restoration for different projects.

The successful applicant will join an interdisciplinary team comprising experts in freshwater ecology, engineering and flood risk modelling. We are looking for an appropriate person interested at working at this interdisciplinary boundary, with a background in an appropriate subject (e.g. water engineering, geomorphology, river ecology) and willing to develop new skills, with a particularly interest in modelling. A full clean driving licence will be an advantage.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Prof Paul Kemp, Water and Environment research group, Email: [Email Address Removed]

Please be aware that the academic selectors review applications as soon as they are received so please make sure to submit your application for consideration as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

This project is being run in participation with the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (View Website). For details of our 4 Year PhD programme and further projects, please see http://www.cdt-sis.soton.ac.uk/