PhD: Assessing the eco-hydrological and geomorphic effects of floodplain restoration

Award Summary

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate). Additional project costs will also be provided.

Overview

Naturally functioning floodplains provide a range of ecosystem services. Through hydrological connections to rivers, they store water helping to attenuate floods and maintain baseflows during droughts. They also facilitate biogeochemical processing of nutrients, aiding water quality remediation, and carbon sequestration. Despite their relatively small area, floodplains support a disproportionately high biodiversity due to dynamic geomorphic and hydrological processes that create a variety of habitats.

This study will be mainly centered on the Mar floodplain near Braemar in the Cairngorms National Park and will build on earlier monitoring through considering a wider area of the floodplain. Repeated detailed topographical surveys using a differential Global Positioning System (dGPS) will be used to quantify changes in geomorphology. Changes in water table pre- and post-restoration will be monitored using the existing network of piezometers distributed across the floodplain and additional piezometers installed. Additional measurements, for example soil moisture and groundwater oxygen concentrations within the restored floodplain, will also be taken to provide additional insights. New vegetation quadrats will be established in representative vegetation communities to assess the distribution of vascular and non-vascular plants. Modelling will enable the simulation of the hydrological impacts of the restoration under both current and projected future climate which will, in turn, permit assessment of potential vegetation responses.

Throughout this PhD you will have opportunity to spend time at the field site and with James Hutton Institute, as well as at CEH and UCL.

For further information on the project, we will be hosting a ‘Prospective applicant webinar’ at 2:00pm on the 26th of November. Link to the event can be found here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/376b2195-d8da-47c0-86e2-b18813ec19e3@4a5378f9-29f4-4d3e-be89-669d03ada9d8. 

Number Of Awards

1

Start Date

1st October 2026

Award Duration

3.5 years

Application Closing Date

8th January 2026

Sponsor

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

Supervisors

Professor Claire Walsh 

Eligibility Criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (inc. computing, mathematics, engineering etc.). Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements.  

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. 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.  

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 ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8040F
• The Research Area is: Civil Engineering (Water Resources) 
• Select PhD Civil Engineering (full time) as the programme of study 

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

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (include your research interests in flooding and rationale for your choice of project)
• The studentship code FLOOD263 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

• Your CV giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests

In your application you will also need:

• The name two current academic referees together with an institutional email addresses
• Academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English)
• Language certificate (IELTS/TOEFL), if applicable.

Contact Details

claire.walsh@ncl.ac.uk