Application Deadline: 13 January 2025
Details
Project aims and methods:
The Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) in southeastern Africa is shared by eight countries and is home to ~40 million people. It is at risk of a 10-20% reduction in precipitation by 2050 due to projected global temperature increases of 1.5-2°C. This could significantly impact water availability and economic activities reliant on these resources. However, there is uncertainty surrounding these estimates, including spatial and seasonal variations in rainfall and drying patterns. A paleoclimate perspective on this issue would be particularly valuable, given that the extreme climates of the late Pleistocene significantly disrupted the main factors influencing ZRB hydroclimate, as known from modern observations.
To address these challenges, this project will adopt a holistic approach and utilise co-registered quantitative sediment provenance, hydroclimate, and palaeoceanographic proxy reconstructions from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1477 at an unprecedented, up to multidecadal temporal resolution. Additionally, it will incorporate paleo- and present-day climate model simulations, to investigate the mechanisms and forcings driving climate variability and hydroclimate extremes in the ZRB during the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e; an important ‘process analogue’ for warmer-than-present climates) and the recent. The project will include skills training in multi-proxy quantitative paleoclimate reconstruction, uncertainty analysis, and data-model integration.
Useful recruitment links:
For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via: hall@cardiff.ac.uk, webpage https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/earth-environmental-sciences
Please ensure that at the time of making the application, you upload the ‘GW4 + DLTP Personal Statement’ in place of the Cardiff University Personal Statement/cover letter. Please e mail EARTH-PG@cardiff.ac.uk prior to starting your online application for a copy of the statement which you would then complete and upload. Also, at the point of making an application please complete the ‘DLTP PhD applicants questionnaire’ at the following link https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/nercdtp/dltp-phd-applicants-questionnaire-2024-25
Applications can be made using the following link: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/earth-sciences Use the black boxes on the right hand side and select ‘Doctor of Philosophy’, ‘Full-Time’ and the start date of ’01/10/2025′. If you have studied with us before, or made a previous application, please use the same login details and application number. Please ensure that you type in the project title, the lead supervisor and the source of funding as GW4+ Doctoral Landscape Training Partnerships (DLTP).
The application deadline is Monday 13 January 2025 at 2359 GMT.
Funding Notes
Students will receive a stipend for 3.5 years, payment of their university tuition fees, a Research and Training and Support Grant (RTSG) of £11,000 and an individual training budget of £1000. The stipend for 2025/26 will be the amount for 2024/25 (£19,237 p.a.) plus an annual inflation adjustment. The training budget of £1000 is for each student to undertake specialist training relating to their specialist area of research and career development and to pay for travel and accommodation.
