[Aqualist] Fully funded PhD project available at Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)

[Stephen Piva]

Dear Quaternarists

A fully funded PhD project is available at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand investigating the characteristics and regional impacts of New Zealand supereruptions. More information about this exciting research opportunity, studying at VUW and life in Wellington is provided below.

PhD Topic: New Zealand supereruptions and their regional impacts

Large explosive volcanic eruptions can drastically impact the environment. Historic events indicate that recovery of regional environments may take years to decades, depending on the thickness and extent of the eruption products, as well as the ambient climate conditions. Supereruptions generate plumes that result in stratospheric ash dispersal across millions of square kilometres and pyroclastic flows that can reach >100 km from vent, completely burying and reshaping the landscape. The Taupō Volcanic Zone in the central North Island of New Zealand has produced three supereruptions in the past one million years: the 1 Ma Kidnappers, 350 ka Whakamaru and 25.5 ka Ōruanui supereruptions. These events would have destroyed forests and choked drainage systems across vast areas, leading to substantial disruption of hydrological and sedimentary systems both on land and offshore. With such impacts, these supereruptions may have influenced the evolutionary patterns of plant and animal species, changed ocean chemistry, and affected marine productivity. However, these evolutionary responses are largely unknown, whilst the severity and duration of supereruption environmental impacts remain largely speculative and are not yet constrained by quantitative assessment. This PhD project will refine the eruptive characteristics of three NZ supereruptions using fieldwork, marine sediment cores and plume modelling to assess the nature of ash distribution over the landscape, oceans, and broader Southern Hemisphere. Using multiple pollen records and other palaeoecological records around New Zealand the student will interrogate the timing of the supereruptions in the contemporary climatic context and interpret regional post-supereruption changes in vegetation and environmental recovery on ecological timescales. This project will refine our understanding of the role of supereruptions in the Quaternary ecological and geological record of NZ. We are looking for a student with a strong background in field geology and volcanology, with interests in palynology, palaeoecology and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. As part of a full Marsden project the student will interact and work closely with other project members and utilise the USGS ash dispersal model Ash3D.
Supervisors: Dr Simon Barker (VUW), Prof Colin Wilson (VUW), Prof Rewi Newnham (VUW), Dr Andrew Rees (VUW), Prof Lionel Carter (VUW), Dr Alexa Van Eaton (USGS), Larry Mastin (USGS).

Stipend: $35,000 p.a. (inc. 3 years of enrolment and student fees), as well as funding for international travel for conferences and analytical work.

Funding provided by 3-year Marsden project: “Climatic and environmental impacts of the largest explosive volcanic eruptions on Earth”. Based at Victoria University of Wellington.

Ideal starting date: Mid to late 2022.


Living in Wellington:
Wellington regularly ranks as one of the most liveable cities in the world. It is compact, safe, friendly, and a great place to live. See more details here: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/international?ref=/why-wellington.


Earth Sciences at VUW:
Victoria University of Wellington is ranked first in New Zealand for research excellence and first in New Zealand for Earth Sciences (consistently in top 100 in QS World University Rankings by Subject). The student will be joining a vibrant community of postgraduate students in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Kura Tātai Aro Whenua (https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/sgees<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wgtn.ac.nz%2Fsgees*__%3BKg!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!YIjNmWTD5TKxnI7BCI28vq37jd5LuwurOTZkii7C7K-NG7o2QeYLXzsRa8cvBQcmkrU2HHviLb_xHqz_%24&data=05%7C01%7Cstephen.piva%40vuw.ac.nz%7C6e690c2121d841e7eb3a08da4db1bda9%7Ccfe63e236951427e8683bb84dcf1d20c%7C0%7C0%7C637907723035505499%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=u19J5RtOBXTppDnfO%2BDVCoUEhyDh4IG7unr2ojtlQxI%3D&reserved=0>).


Application process:
Those wishing to apply for this PhD project should send a CV, indication of academic standing, list of referees, and a one-page cover letter to Simon Barker (simon.barker at vuw.ac.nz<mailto:simon.barker at vuw.ac.nz>). Questions and expressions of interest can also be directed to any of the listed co-supervisors. Further details of this topic, other available PhD projects and current research underway can also be found here: http://www.simonjbarker.com/opportunities.html<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simonjbarker.com%2Fopportunities.html__%3B!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!dKkO4yCLbok7o5XClbdhC4oYRxsQLTA7mhsNghm5gP0OEEX0HQJJ8K6O1_jycbVGdFgAo74iXaDVPf3p%24&data=05%7C01%7Cstephen.piva%40vuw.ac.nz%7C6e690c2121d841e7eb3a08da4db1bda9%7Ccfe63e236951427e8683bb84dcf1d20c%7C0%7C0%7C637907723035505499%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WsNpqS3vcc9jvBjxXy3uZiTpQy5ndrZnkBi6BSAfNqM%3D&reserved=0>

Full details on the VUW PhD application process are available from the Faculty of Graduate Research (https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/fgr/apply/how).

Best wishes
Stephen Piva