"PhD Studentship: Mapping Geohazard Proximity and Risk Trends Around UNESCO Sites. NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2026 Entry"

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

For eligible successful applicants, the studentships comprises:

• An stipend for 3.5 years (currently £20,780 p.a. for 2026/27) in line with UK Research and Innovation rates
• Payment of university tuition fees
• The budget for project costs is £9,000 which can be used for computer, lab, and fieldwork costs necessary for you to conduct your research.
• There is also a conference budget of £2,000 and individual Training Budget of £1,000 for specialist training

Project Aims and Methods

This large-scale project supports the conservation of UNESCO Heritage Sites (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/), Biosphere reserves and/or GeoParks by analysing global and local geohazard databases to assess their proximity and potential risk to those sites. Geo-Hazard databases may include data from Earthquakes and Volcanos discovery (https://earthquakes.volcanodiscovery.com/), WRI Aqueduct Floods Hazard Maps, Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) and Global Drought Observatory. The DR would co-develop the research objectives. Some ideas to discuss include (1) incorporating predictive modelling approaches to estimate how geohazard exposure might evolved around UNESCO sites in future scenarios, (2) use anomaly detection to identify under-recognised geohazard patterns near sites, (3) incorporate uncertainty quantification methods to strengthen scientific robustness of the risk analysis, (4) land-change maps creation using human-in-the-loop label propagation to tackle the time-consuming labelling process, (5) develop a visualisation dashboard or interactive GIS application to support stakeholder engagement and policy translation. Further flexibility is offered by focusing on geohazards of personal interest, narrowing the scope to natural or cultural sites, and integrating diverse remote sensing datasets.

The supervisory team offers interdisciplinary expertise in geospatial analysis, machine learning, and heritage conservation, ensuring scientific depth and real-world relevance. Together, we will co-develop a personal development plan for both technical and interpersonal skills.

Useful recruitment links:

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via: m.miltiadou@exeter.ac.uk