About the project
Floods have been identified as one of the most dangerous hazards in the UK causing potentially billions of pounds of economic and social damage per year. Flood risk is becoming an increasing concern as studies suggest that flood frequency and magnitude are changing over time in the UK, with events that would have been rare in the recent past seeming to become less rare now.
While the most recent major UK flood episode in late 2023/early 2024 saw some extreme peak flows, it was also remarkable for its repeated nature (with a relentless series of extreme storms, including ‘Ciaran’ and ‘Henk’), spatial extent, and duration. Other recent episodes (e.g. 2019/2020) have also seen repeated flooding and wide spatial footprints. Traditional assessments of flood severity, and of long-term trends in floods, are based on peak flow magnitude, but there is a pressing need to better understand other flood signatures like duration, total volume and spatial extent, how they are changing, and for what reasons. Capturing the likelihood of simultaneous flooding events is also crucial for developing tools for resource allocation in emergency response to flooding.
As well as Professor Justin Sheffield, you will also receive supervision from Dr Gianni Vesuviano from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).
Please contact the lead supervisor if you require further information about the project.
Potential supervisors
Lead supervisor
Professor Justin Sheffield
Head of School
Research interests
- Large-scale hydrology and its interactions with climate variability and change.
- Hydrological extremes, climate change, and hydrological processes from catchment to global scale.
- The application of fundamental research to natural hazards impacts reduction, including monitoring and prediction systems.
Entry requirements
You must have a UK 2:1 honours degree or higher in a relevant subject.
You can also have its international equivalent.
International applications
If English is not your first language, you will need an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in all components.
Visit our English language proficiency pages to find out about other qualifications we accept.
Fees and funding
For UK students, tuition fees and a stipend of £15,285 tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years.
How to apply
You need to:
- choose programme type (Research), 2025/26, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
- choose PhD in Ocean and Earth Science FLOOD CDT (full time)
- add the project title under ‘Topic or field of research proposed’
- add your supervisor in section 2
Applications should include:
- a 1 page statement of your research interests in flooding and FLOOD-CDT and your rationale for your choice of project
- a CV (resumé) giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests
- name two current academic referees together with institutional email addresses (on submission of your online application your referees will be automatically emailed requesting they send a reference to us directly by email)
- academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English) – if you have completed both a BSc and an MSc, we require both
- an IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable.
Contact us
Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
If you have a general question, email our doctoral college: fels-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk.
Project leader
For project specific queries, email the lead supervisor: Justin Sheffield justin.sheffield@soton.ac.uk or Gianni Vesuviano (UKCEH) giaves@ceh.ac.uk.
