Projects

2025 Studentships:

Applications for the first cohort of YES•DTN studentships are now open! We offer only pre-defined projects. All projects listed below are for October 2025 entry. For more more information, please see our How to Apply page, candidate resources associated FAQs.

Equal Opportunities:

Within our programme, we are dedicated to diversifying our community. As part of our ongoing work to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the NERC Panorama DTP, we hope to be able to ringfence 10% of our interviews and at least 2 of our full DLA studentships for the following identified underrepresented groups in our PhD programmes: UK Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, and disabled people. More detail on eligibility and how to apply for the studentships will be available soon – please watch this space!

Important information:

Application deadline: w/c 6th January 2025
Shortlisting: we aim to contact candidates who have been shortlisted for interview during the week commencing 3rd February 2025
Interviews: Dates TBA.

Projects marked CASE have the possibility becoming an industry-partnered project which includes an external industry partner with additional research training and support grant (RTSG) funding and a placement. Please see the NERC CASE page for more information.

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Developing predictive models of earthquake induced landslides using advanced neural networks

Theme(s): Applied Geoscience
Primary Supervisor: William Murphy <w.murphy@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Earth and Environment)

The inner workings of the earthquake cycle: New insight from integrating Quaternary fault activity, microstructures, and geophysics

Theme(s):
Primary Supervisor: Laura Gregory <l.c.gregory@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Earth and Environment)

Anthropogenic stressors and freshwater ecosystems; the impact of plastic pollution, climate change and invasive alien species on invertebrate behaviour and community structure.

Theme(s): Applied ecology, ecosystem services and conservation, Ecology, Evolution & Biodiversity, Ecosystem processes, dynamics and functioning, Population, community and behavioural ecology
Primary Supervisor: Alison Dunn <A.Dunn@leeds.ac.uk>

From Core to Crust: Understanding Earth’s Rhythms with Normal Mode and Surface Wave Seismology

Theme(s): Tectonics, Volcanology and Solid Earth Geophysics
Primary Supervisor: Sjoerd de Ridder <s.deridder@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Earth and Environment)

How did solid Earth processes influence the accumulation of oxygen in our planet’s atmosphere?

Theme(s): Chemistry of the Earth, Evolution, palaentology and biotic change, Geomagnetism, Marine Biogeochemistry, Palaeoenvironments and Palaentology, Tectonics, Volcanology and Solid Earth Geophysics
Primary Supervisor: Benjamin Mills <b.mills@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Earth and Environment)

Quantifying the impact of tropical deforestation on coral reefs to support coordinated tropical forest and marine conservation

Theme(s): Applied ecology, ecosystem services and conservation, Aquatic/terrestrial/soil biogeochemistry, Climate, Climate Impacts, Ecosystem processes, dynamics and functioning, Hydrology, Marine Biogeochemistry
Primary Supervisor: Dominick Spracklen <D.V.Spracklen@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Earth and Environment)

The evolutionary genomics of life-history adaptations in pinnipeds

Theme(s): Ecology, Evolution & Biodiversity, Evolution, palaentology and biotic change, Physiology, development and ecologcal genetics
Primary Supervisor: Simon Goodman <s.j.goodman@leeds.ac.uk>
Institution: University of Leeds (School of Biology)

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