Overview

Three PhD studentships form part of ‘Stronger Shores’, an innovative Environment Agency project hosted by South Tyneside Council. Projects will help develop Nature-based Solutions for coastal erosion, flood risk, climate change and biodiversity management, and will support innovative monitoring, working closely with multiple project partners.

PhD 2: Modelling the role of seagrass, kelp and oyster beds in dampening wave action.

Wave flumes and scaled structures mimicking seagrass, kelp and oyster beds are powerful tools for understanding wave energy impacts on our coastlines, e.g. structure on vertical seawalls can reduce wave overtopping and vegetated habitats can improve flood protection, but significant knowledge gaps exist.

The proposed studentship will address three of these gaps:

  • Using scaled mimics, to what extent do seagrass, kelp and oyster beds attenuate wave energy under different environmental contexts e.g. spatial extent, water depth, wave magnitude and period, engineered versus natural coastline?
  • Using scaled mimics, what density of restoration will maximise wave attenuation while minimising cost?
  • Using IPCC scenarios, how does increased storm frequency and intensity affect wave attenuation by these habitats?

Experiments will be undertaken in Newcastle University’s wave, wind and current tank. The student will work closely with two other Stronger Shores PhD’s to address a question of global significance. This truly multi-disciplinary project provides an exciting opportunity to work with hydrodynamic modellers, physical oceanographers and marine ecologists as well as project partners.

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

April 2023

Award Duration

3.5 years

Application Closing Date

Monday 16th January 2023

Sponsor

South Tyneside Council

Supervisors

Dr Heather Sugden, Newcastle University

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a Merit or higher at Masters level, or international equivalent in a relevant subject (inc. marine science, engineering, maths, physics).

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate (UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status and meet the residency criteria). International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

  • search for the ‘PhD Marine Science’ using the programme code: 8315F
  • select ‘PhD Marine Science (full time)’ as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:

  • a ‘Personal Statement’ (mandatory) – upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form
  • the studentship code SNES245 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
  • when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select ‘Write Proposal’ and upload a document explaining how you would address the Research Questions outlined in the proposal.

Contact Details

heather.sugden@newcastle.ac.uk

Further information can be found in here.