PhD Studentship: Listening to La Soufrière: Fibre Optics and AI for the Next Generation of Volcano Monitoring University of East Anglia in United Kingdom

[Fully funded studentship covering fees, maintenance stipend of £21,805 per year for 2026/27, and a research training and support grant (RTSG). Limited number of studentships available for international applicants with home/international fee difference waived; relocation, visa, and health surcharge costs are not covered.]

PhD Studentship at the University of East Anglia in volcanology, fibre-optic sensing, and AI-based seismic monitoring.

This project, Listening to La Soufrière: Fibre Optics and AI for the Next Generation of Volcano Monitoring, sits within the NERC Large Grant Expecting the Unexpected (Ex-X): Understanding Dangerous Volcanic Transitions. It focuses on the 2020–21 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, and on how new monitoring technologies can improve the detection and interpretation of volcanic unrest.

The successful candidate will work with Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) data collected from a subsea fibre-optic cable around northern St Vincent. DAS turns telecommunications fibre into a dense seismic array, allowing researchers to observe volcanic and tectonic processes in areas that were previously unmonitored. The project aims to develop automated workflows for processing continuous DAS data, using machine learning and signal-processing methods to detect, classify, and characterise earthquakes. The student will also integrate DAS with the permanent seismic network run by the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre and with dense nodal data from Ex-X.

Key research activities include improving earthquake location methods, applying ambient-noise imaging to investigate subsurface structure, and assessing how DAS can contribute to volcano monitoring and operational situational awareness. The project is strongly research-intensive and has a clear geohazards and observational seismology focus, with opportunities to develop software and workflows for real-world monitoring.

Training includes seismology, volcanology, DAS, machine learning, scientific programming, and geophysical imaging. The student will also gain experience working with large datasets and developing operational software for geohazard monitoring. Fieldwork in St Vincent is part of the project, including maintenance of the DAS installation, and the student will spend several months embedded in an operational volcano observatory through a CASE partnership with the Seismic Research Centre.

Funding is available through ARIES/UKRI terms and conditions. Eligible candidates will receive a fully funded studentship covering fees, a maintenance stipend of £21,805 p.a. for 2026/27, and a research training and support grant (RTSG). A limited number of places are available for international applicants, with the home/international fee difference waived, though relocation, visa, and health surcharge costs are not covered.

Applicants should hold a degree in geophysics or a related discipline. Coding, data analysis, or machine learning experience is desirable, and a strong interest in geohazards and interdisciplinary research is essential. Apply via the University of East Anglia postgraduate research portal before the deadline of 16 December 2026.