PhD Studentship: Blue carbon: Can seabed sediments really help save us from climate change?, NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2026 Entry

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP).  The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners:  British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,  the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.  The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

For eligible successful applicants, the studentships comprises:

• An stipend for 3.5 years (currently £20,780 p.a. for 2026/27) in line with UK Research and Innovation rates
• Payment of university tuition fees
• The budget for project costs is £9,000 which can be used for computer, lab, and fieldwork costs necessary for you to conduct your research.
• There is also a conference budget of £2,000 and individual Training Budget of £1,000 for specialist training

Project Aims and Methods

Reaching Net Zero is one of the greatest scientific and societal challenges of our time. Reducing emissions is essential—but unfortunately not by itself enough. To stabilise the climate, we must also actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. One promising idea is the restoration and enhancement of seabed “blue carbon” stores. Yet, the critical question remains: can seabed sediments reliably deliver this service, and on what scale? 

This PhD project will provide the tools to answer that question. Building on data and findings from the UK’s CONVEX seascape survey, this studentship will bring together controlled sediment experiments using the world-class Umeå Mesocosm Facility (time funded by the CONVEX seascape survey) and results from PML’s sediment disturbance experiments, within the BROM sediment–water column model we have been developing in Exeter. With a well calibrated and tested sediment/water-column model, we will then perform idealised experiments focused on a range of proposed blue carbon approaches, quantifying the potential for medium and long-term CO2 removal from the atmosphere. 

This is a unique opportunity for the PhD student to focus on blue carbon interventions of their choosing to tackle one of the most urgent climate questions: can the ocean floor help save us from climate change? 

Useful recruitment links:  

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via: p.halloran@exeter.ac.uk

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