Supervisors: Gemma Coxon (UoB), Francesca Pianosi (UoB), Hayley Fowler (NU), Chris Hutton (Wessex Water)
Contact email: Gemma.Coxon@bristol.ac.uk
Location: Bristol
Project Rational: Compound hydrological extremes, such as successive drought and flood events, are a significant challenge to water managers and can have severe impacts. However, the drivers, impacts and adaptation to consecutive drought-flood events are a key unresolved problem. Typically floods and droughts are analysed separately, while adaptation measures address either floods or droughts in isolation.
This PhD aims to enhance our understanding of drought to flood transitions in a changing climate. It will study floods and droughts jointly, assessing the capabilities of climate and hydrological models to represent drought to flood transitions and understanding how these events might change in the future. Critically, it will focus on how we adapt to these changing extremes in partnership with water company experts. The PhD will focus on the UK which has experienced rapid hydrological transformations, such as the 2010-2012 drought to flood event that led to significant impacts across the UK. With the UK projected to experience warmer, wetter winters alongside hotter and drier summers in the future, understanding consecutive drought-flood events is critical.
Methodology: This project will leverage high-resolution climate projection datasets, national-scale hydrological models and water system models to:
1) assess the likelihood of consecutive drought-flood events in the future
2) enhance our ability to model compound hydrological extremes by incorporating new process representation in hydrological models
3) identify solutions for mitigating their impacts e.g. storing flood waters in reservoirs during the winter while still ensuring water supply during the summer.
We expect these objectives to evolve in line with the student’s interests and for the student to refine the research objectives as their ownership of the research develops. The student will have the opportunity to do a placement at Wessex Water to determine how the knowledge and tools developed during the student’s PhD can be used for decision making on future water resource planning.
Background Reading:
Kreibich, H., Van Loon, A.F., Schröter, K. et al. The challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management. Nature 608, 80–86 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04917-5
Salwey, S., Coxon, G., Pianosi, F., Lane, R., Hutton, C., Bliss Singer, M., McMillan, H., and Freer, J.: Developing water supply reservoir operating rules for large-scale hydrological modelling, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-326, 2024.
FLOOD-CDT
This PhD is being advertised as part of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT). Further details about FLOOD-CDT can be seen here https://flood-cdt.ac.uk. Please note, that your application will be assessed upon: (1) Motivation and Career Aspirations; (2) Potential & Intellectual Excellence; (3) Suitability for specific project and (4) Fit to FLOOD-CDT. So please familiarise yourselves with FLOOD-CDT before applying. During the application process candidates will need to upload:
• a 1 page statement of your research interests in flooding and FLOOD-CDT and your rationale for your choice of project;
• a curriculum vitae giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests;
• name two current academic referees together with an institutional email addresses; on submission of your online application your referees will be automatically emailed requesting they send a reference to us directly by email;
• academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English) - if you have completed both a BSc & an MSc, we require both; and
• a IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable.
Please upload all documents in PDF format. You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors by email to discuss project-specific aspects of the proposed prior to submitting your application. If you have any general questions please contact floodcdt@soton.ac.uk.
Apply
Apply for this PhD here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/geography/courses/postgraduate/physphd.html
