4A

I am a first year PhD student based at UKCEH Lancaster, where I am investigating mineralogical controls on the stability of Soil Carbon. I have a background in environmental geoscience as an undergraduate and masters student, where I assisted in a whole ecosystem approach to investigate the effects of elevated CO₂ on an mature deciduous forest, by studying nutrient cycling in the forest soil. I developed a strong interest in biogeochemical cycling and in particular, soil science, in which I find the interconnected and interdisciplinary nature of soils very interesting. This has led me to pursue my current PhD project.

Figure 1- I am currently interested in the fate of organic carbon associated with soil Iron oxide minerals during redox fluctuations.

I am looking forward to taking part in this enviroSPRINT challenge, where I hope to interact with other students developing ideas on practical solutions and policy to enable the improvement of soil carbon stocks.

Envision DTP profile: https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/envision/2020/sam-walrond/

As a PhD student at Durham University, my work covers active tectonics, structural geology, geomechanics, and geochemistry. My project aims to refine understanding of reactions occurring on faults during earthquakes, with a focus on fluid-rock exchanges. Research questions include: how do coseismic reaction products effect fault strength and, are there isotopic signatures to mechanical processes?  My work combines synthetic samples with natural fault gouge from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand.

Resources

Understanding minerology of active faults is important to how they will produce earthquakes in the future. Here is a brief video from GNS Science describing drilling into the Alpine Fault core and why it’s important.

And here is another video from GNS Science about why the Alpine fault makes for an interesting case study

As an active member on the Tectonic Studies Group committee and Durham’s departmental structural geology research group “FaultTea” committee, I find being involved in the research community a priority.

Throughout the first year of study, I demonstrated on two undergraduate courses and I sit on the Undergraduate Education Committee Panel. Thoroughly enjoying teaching, I look to get involved in more education and outreach work.

I completed University of Aberdeen’s 5 year MGeol course in 2019, with projects covering topics in: remote aerial photogrammetry of seismic hazards; Raman spectroscopy on UHP-HT eclogites and blueschists from Syros, Greece; mapping complex structures of the Ord Window, Skye which marks the tail end of the Moine Thrust. I then worked with the Virtual Outcrop Group in Aberdeen over the course of 2020, developing their outcrop database and producing learning resources.

Links

Twitter: @RebVMRob

Email: Rebecca.V.Robertson@durham.ac.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bex-robertson-b7684b112/

TSG Committee profile page: http://tectonicstudiesgroup.org/postgraduate-representatives/

DTP: INSPIRE

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancy_c_walker

PhD Project Title:  Modelling the mechanisms of olive dieback caused by Xylella fastidiosa biofilms

Supervisory Team: Prof. Tiina Roose (UoS), Dr. Steven White (UKCEH), Dr. Maria Saponari (CNR Bari)

Qualifications:

First Class MMath (with Honours), University of Warwick

Dissertation – Joint Optimisation of Spatial and Temporal Derivatives for Simulations of Varying Amplitude Waves (supervised by Dr Ed Brambley)

Research interests:

• Image-based modelling
• Numerical methods for PDEs
• Fluid Dynamics

DTP: INSPIRE

Profile

Hi there! I’m Beth, a second year in the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of East Anglia in partnership with AutoNaut Ltd. under the ARIES DTP.

My PhD project: Observing Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions from the Poles to the Tropics with an AutoNaut Uncrewed Surface Vessel

This involves using a 5m AutoNaut surface vessel alongside a Seaglider, to measure physical variables at the air-sea interface and using these to compute air-sea heat and momentum fluxes. Hopefully this work will feed into providing accessible near surface observations to improve climate models!

I spent 2 months out on fieldwork from January to March 2021, as part of the Eurec4a campaign to investigate the couplings between clouds, climate and circulation. Find out more here: Releasing Robots

I’m really passionate about science communication and outreach. I worked with Jack Mustafa on an Oceanography video for Norwich Science festival 2020, for which we were nominated for an UEA engagement award. I also love to work on digital art and infographics for science communication – I’ve included a drawing of our AutoNaut surface vessel on this page.

I am also on the editorial team for the EGU Ocean Sciences blog. We are always keen to find guest bloggers. If you work in any area of Ocean sciences and are interested, please get in touch!

Where to find me:

Email: E.Siddle@uea.ac.uk

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2431-8107

Twitter: @ElizabethSiddle

I am an ecologist, and my primary research interest is how animals survive and adapt within human-modified environments. I am currently working on my PhD project on the One Health effects of trace metal contamination from derelict lead mines in Wales. I have been collecting environmental and animal samples from abandoned mines and surrounding areas and assessing their trace metal concentrations and various health factors to determine the extent and impacts of trace metal contamination. I am a part of the Envision DTP, and based at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham.

Prior to my PhD, I earned an MRes in Biodiversity, Evolution, and Conservation at UCL, where I did one research project mapping museum specimen collection locations, and another camera trapping mammals in North London parks. For my undergraduate degree, I studied biology at Pomona College, a liberal arts university in California, USA, and did a year–long dissertation project studying the impact of fire and invasive flora on native vertebrate assemblages.

Links

Contact email: andrea.sartorius@nottingham.ac.uk

Twitter handle: @aisartorius