MRes Studentship: Exploring Coastal Pollution Along the Durham Coast: Sources and Sinks

Marine and coastal ecosystems are increasingly under environmental and economic pressure, and long-term monitoring and management strategies are required to protect and sustain coastal habitats and fisheries. The NE coast of England, and Durham in particular, has suffered many decades of coastal pollution due to the impacts of early industrialisation, coal mining and petro-chemical industries. This is despite being of international geological importance and nationally significant with respect to coastal habitats and fisheries (RAMSARS, SSSIs, and SAMs). 

This project will assess and investigate pollutant signals trapped within coastal sedimentary depo-centres and archives along the Durham and Tees coast. The archives investigated will include: pre-industrial saltmarsh sediments within the Tees estuary; contaminated estuarine sediments related to petrochemical industries adjacent to the Tees river; sediments related coal mining waste and offshore sediment dumps. This range of sites will provide a systematic assessment of the coastal pollutant history of the NE coast and lead to the identification of key pollutant types, the designation of pollutant zones/hotspots and the categorisation of pollutant threat.

The project will employ a range of methods which may include; fieldwork onshore and offshore to retrieve sediment samples and cores from the Durham Heritage Coast and Tees estuary; sediment characterization and analysis using a Geotek MSCL and CT scanner to establish the physical and sedimentological properties of the sediment; geochemical analysis such as  XRF, XRD ICP-MS and GC-MS analysis to assess  the elemental and PAH content; radiocarbon and Pb210 dating to establish a pollutant ‘event stratigraphy’.

Funding: This MRes is fully funded by the Fishmongers Company. The grant will include £4,500 for tuition, £5,000 for student stipend, and £8,000 for laboratory and fieldwork.

Host Institutions and supervisors: The project will be jointly supervised by Prof. David Roberts (University of Durham; d.h.roberts@durham.ac.uk), Prof Darren Grocke (Durham University), Dr John Bothwell (Durham University) and Dr Gary Caldwell (Newcastle University). The project will work closely with the Northeast Fishing Collective and the Fishmongers Company.

Interview date:  Interviews will be held as soon as possible after the deadline for applications.

Start Date:  June 2024 or earlier

Closing Date:  Open until filled

Application:  Please email the following documents to pg.geogadmin@durham.ac.uk

1. current CV
2. cover letter (1 page A4 max) which describes your motivation for applying to the Research MSc and your previous research experience
3. provide two people willing to give a reference
4. transcript of your previous qualification/s. Each candidate will be evaluated on a first come, first served basis.

For further information please contact Dave Roberts:  d.h.roberts@durham.ac.uk

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