Maclean

[Full fees and a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7.] This PhD studentship at the University of Exeter focuses on understanding how tropical forest microclimates are changing under fire, degradation, land-use change, and climate change in Amazonia. The project sits at the intersection of environmental sensing , computational modelling , data analytics , and remote sensing , with a strong emphasis on predicting fine-scale climate conditions that influence tree mortality, drought stress, and fire risk. The research will develop and test an integrated framework for predicting microclimate dynamics in complex, data-sparse environments. Key themes include sensor performance and uncertainty, validation and improvement of physics-based microclimate models, fusion of in-situ sensor data with airborne and satellite observations, and upscaling predictions while quantifying uncertainty. The project uses Amazonian forests as a challenging real-world test case and draws on the UKRI-funded Amazon PyroCarbon Project , which provides extensive environmental sensor networks and field datasets across forests with different fire and land-use histories. The doctoral researcher will work with established dataloggers, custom-built and prototype devices from an industry sensor partner, and open-source microclimate models developed by Prof Maclean's group . The project also includes data from GEDI/Lidar, optical satellite imagery, and open land-use datasets. The successful applicant can shape the project around their interests, with possible emphasis on sensor development, modelling, or data science. Training will cover sensor design and calibration, physics-based and statistical modelling, machine learning, geospatial analysis, high-performance computing in R and Python , and reproducible research practice. Fieldwork in Brazil is possible subject to research permits, but the project can also be completed as a desk-based study using existing and partner-collected data. The studentship offers an opportunity to join an international UK–Brazil research team and to contribute methods with relevance beyond tropical forests, including environmental monitoring in agriculture, cities, conservation, and wildfire management. Funding: The studentship is funded by the EPSRC and provides fees plus a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7 . Deadline: 2026-12-08.