PhD Study : Source water vulnerability and protection in complex catchments

Summary

BACKGROUND

Drinking water treatment is an intensive process with high materials and energy costs incurred between raw water and consumer supply. Of particular concern to suppliers is the presence of human health and taste agents such as pesticides, sediments, nutrients, bacteria, viruses and colour. Land use upstream of raw water intakes in rivers is fundamental in driving these treatment needs with agriculture and forestry practices implicated. The selective herbicide MCPA is an issue in upland raw water catchments throughout Ireland and the UK and is linked to incentives to maintain a grass sward in marginal areas. Slurry management on intensive meadows and pastures increases total ammonia and pathogen vulnerability and toxicity in raw water and is related to changing storm runoff patterns as these are affected by climate change. Forestry felling and land drainage practices alter sediment mobilisation and organic carbon dynamics.

PROJECT FRAMEWORK

The overall project aim will be to develop risk assessments of raw water vulnerability and provide assessments of catchment management effectiveness. This will be based on analyses of extant long-term datasets and new datasets collected during the research. The objectives are: 1.Investigate MCPA vulnerability and mitigation effectiveness of catchment-pesticide measures 2.Determine sediment and organic matter vulnerability and mitigation effectiveness of catchment-forestry measures 3.Determine nutrient vulnerability in space and time and establish best practice. 4.Provide a catchment-modelling framework for risk, sensitivity and management.

METHODS

The four objectives will operate at different scales but within a framework of important cross-border raw water supply catchments. Objective no1 will operate on extensive and mixed pasture areas using catchment scale data and soil scale process experiments; 2 will operate in afforested and deforested areas; 3 will operate on intensive pasture/meadow land. Risk assessments will be GIS based and numerical time series analysis will inform management effectiveness. Objective 4 will incorporate all extant and new data into a Bayesian modelling framework for risk and management.

IMPACT and COLLABORATIONS

This research is related to the needs of society through the sustainable provision of drinking water that is protected at source, with reduced treatment costs. Research impact is therefore explicitly part of the project structure and the Ulster University SUSTAINABILITY core theme. Northern Ireland Water, Irish Water, the Rivers Trust and AFBI are all major actors and stakeholders in the research and linked through the £5million 5year EU-INTERREG Va ‘Source to Tap’ project. Additionally, AFBI researchers will be part of the external supervisory panel with regard to objectives 1 to 4 and the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, will provide specialist supervisory input to objective 4.

SKILLS and OUTPUTS

The PhD candidate will develop skills in spatial analysis, water quality and climate time series analysis, statistical modelling, environmental measurements using state-of-the-art techniques, field-work and scientific writing. There will be opportunity for international conference presentation, stakeholder engagement and a requirement for the preparation of manuscripts for scientific journals. Primary target journals will be relevant for Five and Fifty objectives including Water Research, Environmental Science and Technology and Environmental Modelling and Software.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• First Class Honours (1st) Degree
• Masters at 65%
• Research project completion within taught Masters degree or MRES
• Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
• Work experience relevant to the proposed project
• Experience of presentation of research findings

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living