Past Wildfire Histories

There's an increasing interesting in understanding wildfires – how they occur, and how frequently they happen. This has, in part, been driven by climate change predictions, particularly how this might alter the expression of fire where their impact is limited, such as in Northwest Europe.

On this self-funded PhD programme, supervised by Dr Mark Hardiman, you'll examine these changes. Your project could involve reconstructing past wildfire frequency during periods of climate change. It could also involve studying charcoal preservation, transport and sedimentation.

The best way to examine these changes is to study sediment archives containing past incidence of fire through periods of abrupt climate change e.g. the Last glacial to Interglacial transition.

Potential projects include:

• production of high resolution macro and micro-charcoal palaeo-records to reconstruct past wildfire frequency during periods of abrupt climate change
• study of charcoal preservation, transport and sedimentation in both ancient and modern geomorphic systems.

Fees and funding

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

Funding availability: Self-funded PhD students only. 

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the UK Government Doctoral Loan (UK and EU students only).

Bench fees

Some PhD projects may include additional fees – known as bench fees – for equipment and other consumables, and these will be added to your standard tuition fee. Speak to the supervisory team during your interview about any additional fees you may have to pay. Please note, bench fees are not eligible for discounts and are non-refundable.