PhD: The Morphodynamics and Palaeohydraulics of Ancient Large Tropical Rivers University of St Andrews in United Kingdom

This funded PhD project at the University of St Andrews investigates the morphodynamics and palaeohydraulics of ancient large tropical rivers, focusing on their role in sediment and nutrient transport during the Upper Carboniferous. Tropical rivers, which drain about 20% of the modern land surface, are responsible for a significant portion of the world’s particulate and dissolved matter delivery to the oceans. Their catchments, characterized by high temperatures and intense rainfall, drive rapid biogeochemical weathering and sediment liberation, processes that have likely influenced global climate change during major greenhouse intervals in Earth’s history.

The project aims to quantify particulate carbon and sediment fluxes from ancient tropical catchments by reconstructing catchment morphometrics and river system behavior. The student will study fossilized tropical rivers from the Early-Mid Pennsylvanian Breathitt Group in the Central Appalachian foreland Basin (USA), utilizing a robust coal-seam correlation framework and excellent exposure to track individual rivers over more than 50 km. The research will also compare the dynamics of fully tropical rivers with those of a major continent-scale river whose catchment was largely extra-tropical, providing a unique side-by-side analysis of river systems of equivalent age within the same basin.

Methodologically, the student will combine sedimentological and architectural field observations with state-of-the-art palaeohydrological reconstruction techniques. Quantitative measurements of bedforms, bar-forms, and grain sizes will be used to estimate channel depths, slopes, water discharge, channel planform, and sediment transport capacities. These reconstructions will help resolve the morphodynamics of these rivers and provide new insights into their behavior and impact, delivering quantitative constraints on sediment loads and nutrient fluxes at continental scale.

The student will be based in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at St Andrews, joining a vibrant postgraduate research community and benefiting from workshops on research methods and transferrable skills through St Leonard’s College. Short research stays at Imperial College and the University of Liverpool are likely, and substantial fieldwork in the USA is required. Training will cover novel methods for fluvial palaeohydrological data collection and analysis, basin and source-to-sink analysis, preparing the student for a future career in Earth and Environmental science across industrial, government, or academic sectors.

Applicants should hold a 2:1 or equivalent degree in Earth or Environmental Sciences. The position is fully funded by the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews. The application deadline is February 28, 2026. For further information or reference copies, contact Dr Rhodri Jerrett at [email protected].

For more details and to apply, visit the project page: FindAPhD Project Link.