Two PhD scholarships at the University of Wollongong, Australia

Coastal wetlands: are our valuable carbon sinks vulnerable?
 
Saline coastal wetlands in southeastern Australia are located within the intertidal zone of estuaries and are particularly vulnerable to decline in quality and extent with changing water levels. These wetlands provide many ecosystem services including coastal protection and carbon sequestration. Hence, coastal wetlands both mitigate climate change and promote adaptation to climate change. A recently awarded ARC Future Fellowship has provided an opportunity for two PhD candidates to be part of a team of researchers at the University of Wollongong, led by Dr Kerrylee Rogers to explore the vulnerability of coastal wetland carbon sinks. The proposed project will use isotopic tracers to quantify carbon retention and flux, sedimentation and surface elevation change within coastal wetlands in southeastern Australia.

The research will integrate field work and laboratory analyses with geospatial analyses. Candidates with a background in coastal and estuarine processes, isotopic dating, stable isotope analysis, statistics or geographic information systems are sought.

The PhD scholarships are available in the School of Earth and Environmental Science and are associated with ARC Future Fellowship FT130100532. The 2014 full-time stipend rate is $25 392 pa tax exempt for 3.5 years.

Interested applicants should initially send a cover letter and CV to Dr Kerrylee Rogers (Kerrylee@uow.edu.au). Applicants will also need to complete a candidature/scholarship application form and arrange two academic referee reports to be submitted to the Student research centre by 12 March 2014. Refer to: http://www.uow.edu.au/future/postgrad/apply/research/index.html