Promotion in Agrar-, Umwelt- und Geowissenschaften

Work on a cutting-edge project with the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship team

Description
PhD researchers are sought to join the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship team 'Caves and their stalagmites: linking climate to groundwater recharge'. The project is funded from 2025 to 2030, and we are looking to recruit PhD researchers to the team in 2027. 

International candidates will have to apply for a Tuition Fee Scholarship.

The specific projects are:
PhD 1: Climate, recharge, and groundwater sustainability (collaborating with Gabriel Rau, University of Newcastle).
PhD 2: Climate, recharge, and groundwater policy (collaborating with Marilu Melo Zurita and Cameron Holley, UNSW). 

https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr/our-projects/caves-and-their-stalagmites-linking-climate-to-groundwater-recharge 
 

Are you passionate about coastal ecosystems and ready to make a meaningful contribution to climate action? This exciting PhD opportunity offers the chance for two candidates to join a well-supported, interdisciplinary research program focused on seagrass restoration in Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay.

The two projects available are:

• Developing tools and knowledge for seagrass restoration in Port Phillip Bay.
• Upscaling seagrass restoration in Victoria

Seagrass meadows are critical to the health of coastal environments. They provide essential habitat, improve water quality, and play a key role in capturing and storing carbon dioxide, making them vital natural allies in the fight against climate change. However, many of these ecosystems have experienced dramatic declines due to urbanisation and changes in land use, particularly in Port Phillip, where extensive seagrass beds once thrived.

There is an urgent need to assess the current extent and condition of seagrass meadows and develop targeted strategies for their restoration. This industry supported PhD project will undertake the development of the knowledge and tools required for effective, large-scale seagrass restoration—an important step toward helping Australia meet its net-zero emissions target by 2050. The scholarship stipend includes an industry funded top-up.

These PhD projects are in collaboration with experienced scientists, Melbourne Water as the industry partner and Traditional Owners and offer the opportunity to undertake impactful, applied research within a supportive academic setting.

If you're ready to contribute to the recovery of a critical marine habitat and make a real difference for climate resilience, we encourage you to apply.

Both scholarships are available over three years (possible six-month extension) and offers:

• a stipend of $45,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
• a relocation allowance of $500–1,500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
• contribution to research purposes including travel of $1,500 per annum for three years.

For international students, the awardee will also receive:

• tuition fees offset for the duration of four years
• single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa.

Additional desirable criteria:

• a passion for marine and coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration, especially with seagrass habitats
• a strong interest in marine ecology and biology, with foundational knowledge in ecological theory and seagrass ecosystems
• comfort working in marine and estuarine environments, setting up and conducting restoration trials, seed collection, ecological surveys, and mesocosm or lab-based experiments
• mapping and identifying restoration priority areas, species distribution modelling, and geospatial data interpretation
• understanding genetic diversity, population structure, donor selection, connectivity mapping, and the role of genomics in restoration planning
• quantitative analysis, scientific writing, and data interpretation capabilities

This PhD project will apply advanced numerical approaches to analyse subglacial sediment generation by the Antarctic Ice Sheet for future and past warm periods. The project will develop an approach to define the expected sedimentary output for Antarctic glacial retreat including expected signals in glacial detritus and its provenance. The new approach will be applied to past, present and future East Antarctic ice sheet. These model will help to constrain past ice sheet evolution and sea level. The outcomes of this project will help to understand deglaciation events in the past and projections for the future of sea level and climate.

The PhD student will:

1) Develop numerical workflows to model subglacial sediment generation and transport. 

2) Apply this to model ensembles for the past, present and future of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

3) Express these results in the context of identifying signals of future glacial change in Antarctica and sea level change

Read more about the project here.

The student will have a background in Earth, Cryosphere or Ocean sciences, Geomorphology or Physical Geography.

The student will be able to engage in quantitative numerical and spatial analysis methods.

Please apply through for a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) scholarship on the UWA website. www.uwa.edu.au/study/fees-and-scholarships/hdr-scholarships 

Other international scholarships matching the HDR one could be considered.

The Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia is one of the world's premier regions for gold mineralisation.  

Using new geophysical and regional geochemical data this project will develop new knowledge of the crust and uppermost mantle of the Yilgarn Craton. Lithospheric structure in the region will be analyzed to identify potential trans-lithospheric structures, and apply extensive quantitative analysis to define how deep-seated faults control gold mineralization.

As the PhD student you will:

1) Apply scale-integrated analysis to regional datasets to identify key structures and build 3D understanding of the lithospheric architecture of the Yilgarn Craton.

2) Apply multi-scale geostatistical approaches to define the spatial relationship of deep-seated structures with gold endowment and to identify measures to support improved exploration targeting.

3) Develop novel network analysis approaches to map the 3D connectivity structure of major fault networks and to define new measures that support improved exploration targeting.

4) Work with the project team and government and industry sponsors to express the findings in the context of developing a holistic understanding of gold mineralization in the Yilgarn Craton.

Yilgarn 2030 offers a novel, multi-disciplinary approach to investigate gold mineralising systems across the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane using a scale-integrated (from the lithosphere down to the mineral scale) holistic source-to-sink approach. The generation of pre-competitive data and concepts during this collaborative research project aims at supporting exploration strategies for targeting gold resources.

Read more about the project here.

The student will have a strong background in Earth Sciences with good exposure to hard-rock geology and quantitative data analysis, ideally including geostatistics and/or machine learning.

The student will be willing to learn new quantitative numerical and spatial analysis methods (implemented in Python, R, Matlab) as required by the project.

Artificial reefs are increasingly being deployed along coastlines worldwide for a range of purposes, including recreation, habitat enhancement and coastal management. While numerical and physical modelling are commonly used to inform reef design and approvals, there remains limited quantitative, field‑based evidence evaluating how artificial reefs interact with nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport and beach evolution once constructed, particularly in high‑energy wave environments.

A central motivation for this project is the need to empirically assess post‑construction coastal response to artificial reefs, and to evaluate assumptions commonly made during the design and approval process. By resolving coastal processes across a range of temporal and spatial scales, the project will improve understanding of how reef geometry, placement and wave climate influence coastal behaviour.

This project will investigate the coastal impacts of artificial reefs, with a focus on understanding how engineered reef structures modify wave transformation, nearshore circulation, sediment transport pathways and shoreline response. The research will address key knowledge gaps related to whether, and under what conditions, artificial reefs produce measurable changes to beach morphology, erosion and accretion patterns, or nearshore sediment dynamics.

The project will employ a combination of field‑based observations (e.g. wave and current measurements, beach and seabed surveys, sediment monitoring) and remote‑sensing and data‑driven analyses (e.g. satellite imagery, UAV surveys, coastal monitoring datasets). Outcomes will provide robust, evidence‑based insights to inform the design, monitoring and management of artificial reefs in energetic coastal environments. 

Read more about the project here.

Applicants will be required to apply for available scholarship opportunities. 

Any fully-funded scholarship opportunities will be linked to this project opporutnity via HDRhub. 

Read more about the project here.

Read more about the project here.

Read more about the project here.

A successful PhD candidate in this project requires strong skills in experimental design, molecular biology, and ecological genomics to conduct and analyze evolution experiments with coral-algal symbioses.

Additionally, proficiency in field-work, statistical modelling, bioinformatics, and data visualization is essential to interpret complex physiological and evolutionary data in the context of climate change.

Experience in laboratory techniques for culturing algae or cells is preferred, as this project involves maintaining and experimentally evolving Symbiodiniaceae strains. Hands-on expertise in algal or cell culture methods will be ideal for conducting controlled experiments and ensuring the consistency of symbiont populations across various environmental conditions.

Potential candidates should undertake the following:

• International & Australian candidates confirm fulfilment of all admission requirements at UWA PhD Program.
• Send a CV & cover letter, briefly outline research interests.

The selection of applicants for the award of higher degree research scholarships at Adelaide University involves consideration of your academic credentials and demonstrated research experience.

For detailed information regarding eligibility criteria, including specific GPA requirements and program structure please refer to the relevant Adelaide Graduate Research School (AGRS) Academic Program Rules for higher degree by research qualifications.

International applicants must provide evidence of meeting the minimum English language proficiency requirements for their application to be considered. Refer to the AGRS website for requirements.