PhD position with scholarship: Response of floodplains in semi-arid environments to precipitation

West Australian Biogeochemistry Centre, The University of Western Australia, Australia

Updated: 3 months ago
Location: Perth, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The West Australian Biogeochemistry Centre, School of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with School of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Australia (UWA), is seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to work in the areas of modelling of the flood plains functioning in a semi-arid climate, their contribution to groundwater recharge and their impact on groundwater dependent ecosystems. The study will assess direct responses to flood events using loggers and compare them to indirect measurements inferred from hydrochemical and isotope tracer models to better understand recharge patterns, evaporative losses, and interactions between surface runoff, floodplains, and aquifers at different positions in the landscape.

This project is co-funded from a larger-scale study conducted in Pilbara, Western Australia and financed by the Australian Research Council and the industrial partner Rio Tinto Iron Ore. The PhD student will collaborate closely with the industrial project partner and spend substantial periods working at remote locations in the Pilbara. Extensive groundwater modelling, analyses of hydrochemical and stable isotope compositions and water age modelling will be key methods used in this study to characterise flooding regimes and extents with respect to changing rainfall patterns and vegetation response.


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