PhD Studentship in the Stratigraphy Group of the School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK

Sedimentology, depositional architecture and sequence stratigraphy of the shallow marine to non-marine transition in the Karoo Basin, South Africa
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester

Background
The SLOPE project has been working on the process sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and quantitative architecture of world class outcrops of Permian shelf edge, submarine slope and basin floor depositional systems in the Karoo Basin, South Africa for 9 years. In conjunction with the LOBE project (now in Phase 2) these studies have yielded a wide range of new understandings of linked shelf to basin systems in the Tanqua and Laingsburg depocentres (e.g. Hodgson et al., 2011; Flint et al., 2011). The projects have been supported by 20 oil companies from 6 continents, 6 PhDs have been completed and 4 are currently in progress. The 4th phase of the SLOPE project is due to start shortly and one PhD studentship is available from October 1st 2013 to work within a powerful 4-University, 3 continent research team to investigate a further range of fundamental research questions on deepwater and deltaic components of the Karoo system.
SLOPE Phase 4 has been constructed such that a Post-doctoral researcher position and two PhD Studentships are focussed on separate but complementary research issues and will integrate with two additional PhD students within the project, one based at West Virginia University USA (geochemistry and radiometric dating) and one at the University of Western Australia, Perth (magnetostratigraphy and radiometric dating).
Objectives of the PhD Studentship
This studentship will be focussed on the sedimentology, architecture and sequence stratigraphy of the shallow marine to non-marine transition in the basin, which is the ‘missing piece’ in the otherwise well-constrained stratigraphic framework of the basin-fill. The Waterford Formation exposes a rare temperate latitude coastal plain to fluvial section over 1000 km2. The project will interface with another Karoo project that is working on the younger purely fluvial succession deposited under semi-arid conditions, so the climatic changes related to rapid plate movement into lower latitudes will be a component of the project. The studentship will involve extensive fieldwork in South Africa and may include supporting petrographic analysis of the marine to non-marine transition
Training and Support
Training will be provided in field techniques and any required supporting laboratory work. The student will benefit from structured research and career skills training programmes. The appointee will be based at Manchester but will spend regular research time in Leeds. You will have a strong interest in sedimentology and stratigraphy, be comfortable with multiple 6 week periods of fieldwork in mountainous semi-desert terrain and must hold a full driving licence. The project team is fully equipped with four 4x4 fieldwork vehicles, a dGPS system and a wide range of geochemical laboratories in required.
Funding
The studentship is fully funded (3.5 years fees, living grant, fieldwork and laboratory costs) from an industrial consortium grant to the Universities.
Applications are invited from UK/EU candidates holding at least an upper second class degree or equivalent in a Geoscience area. To apply please send a covering letter and a Curriculum Vitae with the email contact details of two referees to Stephen.flint@manchester,ac,

uk<mailto:Stephen.flint@manchester,ac,uk> .