[ES_JOBS_NET] Fully funded UK PhD studentship in Ice-Volcano interactions over the last glacial cycle, Northumbria Uni

[Jack Longman]

*Title: Reducing the carbon footprint of polar volcano-ice research:
Re-using model and cores to understand Antarctic volcanic feedbacks*
Open to both UK and international students - fully funded via competition
funding.

*LINK:*
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-polar-volcano-ice-research-re-using-model-and-cores-to-understand-antarctic-volcanic-feedbacks-ref-2619-nzps-nu-longman/?p192269

*Description:*
It is speculated that the loss of ice in Antarctica will lead to an
increase in volcanic activity on the continent. Theoretically, as ice
retreats, pressure exerted by the weight of the ice on volcanic systems is
released, leading to eruptive activity. A pair of interacting positive
feedback mechanisms exist in this system, firstly with locally-enhanced
magmatic flux below the ice sheet leading to enhanced melting of the ice
from below, which in turn drives greater eruption volumes. As volcanoes
erupt, they emit greenhouse gases, which could then drive greater
atmospheric warming, further enhancing the loss of ice sheets. This
process, therefore, could represent a potential additional warming
mechanism to consider in future simulations of global climate and the
carbon cycle. However, the details of this process remain unclear, and so
to date it is not considered in any models used in the projections of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The link between ice retreat and enhanced volcanism has been made in
Iceland and in other volcanic regions of the globe where ice caps occur,
such as the Andes and the Cascades, with past deglaciations representing
periods of significantly enhanced volcanic activity. However, such research
has never been completed on the largest ice sheet on Earth, Antarctica.
This is despite evidence for over 100 potentially active volcanoes lying
beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet, which is particularly sensitive to
climate change.

This PhD would fill this gap in our knowledge, and combine state of the art
ice sheet modelling with the analysis of sedimentary core-based records of
previous volcanic activity. There will be opportunities to visit core
repositories to create a database of volcanic ash layers in Southern Ocean
sediments, which will be compared to modelled data on the extent and
thickness of the Antarctic ice sheet for the last deglaciation (c. 20,000
years). The project will then focus further on the West Antarctic ice sheet
and specifically onto the Pine Island Glacier. By combining ice load data
from model simulations and models of mantle melting the link between ice
retreat and volcanic activity will be clarified mechanistically.

*FULL DETAILS AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: *https://nzps-dtp.ac.uk/
*APPLICATION DEADLINE*: 7th January 2026

*Location*: Northumbria University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK
*Supervisor*: Dr. Jack Longman (Northumbria Uni)
*Co-supervisors*: Prof. Hugh Tuffen (Lancaster Uni), Dr. Ronja Reese
(Northumbria Uni).

Any questions, please feel free to get in touch with me:
jack2.longman at northumbria.ac.uk

Cheers,

Jack


*Dr. Jack Longman *

*Assistant Professor*

*School of Geography and Natural Sciences*



[image: image.png]


E:  jack2.longman at northumbria.ac.uk



D113, Ellison Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1
8ST, United Kingdom
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