Physical Geography

NERC IAPETUS Partnership

Durham is part of the NERC funded IAPETUS partnership including the Universities of Glasgow, Newcastle, St Andrews and Stirling along with the British Geological Survey and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The partnership will award at least 12 NERC funded studentships for postgraduate studies from October 2015. See below for the list of eligible projects from Durham Geography.

For further information on the IAPETUS partnership please visit the IAPETUS website.

Application for these projects should be made through the Department, to apply please visit the How to Apply page for further information.

Further details, including how to apply, can be obtained from any of the named Durham supervisors. The closing date for applications is Monday 2nd February, 2015. Applicants should contact Dr Rich Hardy (physical.rpgadmissions@durham.ac.uk) or Kathy Wood (pg.geogadmin@durham.ac.uk) in the first instance and submit an application to the University by Monday 26th January, 2015.

In addition to the NERC funded projects, below is a list of other potential PhD and / or Masters by Research projects within the area of Physical Geography. These are examples to give an idea of possible projects and the range of physical geography research interests and themes covered by the department. Other projects that are related to the research areas within Physical Geography (or interdisciplinary links with Human Geography or other cognate disciplines) are also welcome. Potential applicants should contact the relevant member of staff to discuss project ideas from the links below or alternatively, that are not on this list. To apply for any of these projects please visit the How to Apply page for further information.

Potential topics are grouped into the three research themes:

• Maximising Information Iain from Catchment Monitoring and Modelling: An Integrated, Iterative Solution
• Connecting Water: Connecting People - A Study of Adaptive, Integrated Management of the Lower Wear Catchment
• Quaternary Fluvial Archives: The Study of Fluvial Sedimentary Records, Including Fossil Contents, in Britain and Elsewhere
• Processes and Forms of Rock Erosion in Bedrock Rivers and Rock Coasts
• Flume Modelling of Channelised Debris Flows (MSc or PhD)
• Rapid Assessment of Water Quality Pressures on Water Bodies Using New Tools and Techniques
• Improving the Representation of Vegetation in Hydraulic Models
• Balancing the Natural Environment and Sustainable Energy Production: The Case of Micro-Hydro Power Generation (MSc or PhD)
• Representing connection in hydrological landscapes (PhD)
• Modelling long-term nitrate pollution

• Debris-Flow Scaling Relationships and Fan Development: Is the Past the Key to the Future? (PhD)
• Living on the Edge: Environments and Resilience of Expanding Populations in Drylands
• Processes and forms of rock erosion in bedrock rivers and rock coasts

• Evidence for Acceleration in Global Sea Level (2 PhD topics)
• Holocene Sea-Ice Variability and Ocean Circulation from the West Greenland Margin (MSc or PhD)
• Ice, Oceans and Climate Interactions through the Quaternary (MSc or PhD)
• Mid-Late Holocene Sea-Level Changes in New Caledonia
• Remote Sensing of Recent Glacier Change
• The Cold Climate Landform Legacy of North Dartmoor
• New Methods to Reconstruct Holocene Temperature Variations Close to the Ice Sheet Margin in Southwest Greenland
• Use of Avian Stomach Oil Deposits (‘Mumiyo’) for Reconstructing Antarctic Ice Sheet History, Palaeoceanography and Seabird Palaeodiet (Masters or PhD)
• Using Mangroves to Reconstruct Holocene Sea-level Changes

For more information and questions on research topics please consult the research topic pages (above) or contact a potential supervisor within your research area of interest or the Physical Geography Postgraduate Admissions tutor (physical.rpgadmissions@durham.ac.uk).