Geology

Faulting, magmatism and fluid flow during volcanic rifting in East Africa

University of Southampton

Not stated

Location
Southampton, United Kingdom
Funding
Fully funded (UK and international); Stipend in line with UKRI standard levels, including the recent cost of living increase.
Application deadline
See university guidance

About the project

Oceanic islands are often regarded as key early indicators or microcosms of the impacts of global heating, but they also are impacted by a wider range of human impacts, including introduction of invasive species, accelerated soil erosion, and pollution. This accelerated human impact, particularly from the 1950s during the “Great Acceleration” of global anthropogenic impacts (the beginning of the proposed Anthropocene epoch), is overprinted however on centuries of earlier human impact and natural environmental change [1]. Local sedimentary systems record evidence of these changes in their morphology, sediments, chemistry and fossils [2], and are key archives of longer-term and more recent human impacts and environmental changes. This project will examine the use of recent sedimentary deposits from around the Hawaiian archipelago in identifying the putative Anthropocene, and distinguishing it from earlier sedimentary, geochemical and biological variability. In effect, it will identify whether there is a clear trajectory in the sedimentary record that shows that envelopes of Holocene variability have been left behind, and assess the implications of this for future environmental management in the Hawaiian archipelago and similar island systems.

For full project details visit the Inspire project page .

Supervisors

  • Professor Andrew Cundy (University of Southampton)
  • Professor David Sear (University of Southampton)
  • Professor James Goff (University of Southampton)
  • Professor Paul Hughes (University of Southampton)

Lead supervisor

  • Lead supervisor: Professor Derek Keir Professor

Professor Derek Keir

  • Professor Derek Keir: Professor

Professor Lisa Mcneill

  • Active tectonics
  • Geohazards
  • Marine geophysics

Professor Thomas Gernon

  • Solid Earth drivers of Earth's climate state
  • Earth surface processes
  • Influence of global tectonics on geochemical cycles through geologic time

Entry requirements

A 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent , in one of these subjects:

  • geology
  • geophysics

Fees and funding

INSPIRE studentships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC, part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI). The stipend is in line with UKRI standard levels, including the recent cost of living increase.

All studentships are fully funded for 3.5 years.

How to apply

To make an application, visit the how to apply section of the Inspire website .

Contact us

For questions about the project, email Dr Derek Keir:

For questions about the application process, email the graduate school office:

  • d.keir@soton.ac.uk
  • gsnocs@soton.ac.uk

Research areas

GeologyEarth Sciencessciences

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