[Aqualist] 2 PhD projects at Flinders University

[Alexander Francke]

Dear all,

I hope you are all doing fine! This might be of interest to some on this email list - but if possible, would you be able to also forward this to interested students in your group?

The Department of Archaeology at Flinders University is seeking for expression of interests for two PhD positions to commence in early 2024. Suitable candidates will receive support to apply for and obtain a competitive Flinders scholarship; field and lab expenses are covered for the duration of the projects.

Please contact Alex Francke at alexander.francke at adelaide.edu.au<mailto:alexander.francke at adelaide.edu.au> and/or Ian Moffat ian.moffat at flinders.edu.au<mailto:ian.moffat at flinders.edu.au> for more information.

Introduction:
Australia’s dry interior is known to have undergone major modifications in its climate throughout the Late Quaternary. The lakes in northern South Australia, including Lake Eyre, Torrens and Frome, have complicated hydrological histories which suggest they have been periodically much larger and fuller than today. These changes have had major impacts on people, vegetation and animals, including megafauna.  Learning more about people, climate, and landscapes of Australia’s dry interior in the past will provide a perfect window into conditions to be predicted into the near future.


PhD 1: Palaeoclimate history and people in Desert Australia

We are seeking a motivated PhD candidate with a broad interest in Quaternary climates of dry landscapes. The candidate will work in a vibrant research environment at Flinders University as part of the multidisciplinary project ‘Dead Heart Beating? Landscape, Climate and People in Desert Australia’, which brings together archaeologists, geologists, and climatologists to study the history of people and climate in the Simpson Desert and the Coongie Lakes. The project will require fieldwork in remote central Australia and will develop and apply novel stable isotope geochemical methods to infer past climates. The focus will be on oxygen isotope analyses of phytoliths (microscopic structures made of biogenic silica found in plant tissue) found in the lake and lunette sediments of the Coongie Lakes and Simpson Desert. Previous experience in (stable isotope) geochemistry is an advantage, but not a requirement.


PhD 2: Palaeolandscapes, climate, and people in Australia

We are also seeking a motivated PhD candidate with a broad interested in Quaternary landscape change in arid, central Australia. Australia’s landscapes are under immense pressure by land use, bushfire, and climate change; at the same time, they provide important food resources and can act as source or sink of atmospheric carbon. The long-term impact of modern perturbations is poorly understood but can be studied in the geological past. This project will study how climate, vegetation and people affected soil erosion and sediment transport in Australia throughout the Late Quaternary until today, with a specific focus on the wider Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre catchment – and its connection to the Simpson Desert and Coongie Lakes. A main focus will be on how different cultural landscape custody practises and European colonialisation have impacted the fragile Australian landscape. The project will utilise novel and established trace metal isotope tools (uranium, neodymium) to trace landscape erosion and sediment transport in arid Australia. Fieldwork in remote Australia (Coongie Lakes, Simpson Desert) may be required, previous experience in geochemistry is an advantage, but not a requirement.

The Higher Degree by Research Main Scholarship Round – Domestic Students – opens on the 15th of August and closes on 1st October.

The Flinders International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (FIPRS) – International Students – closes on the 4th of August.


Cheers

Alex

Lecturer in Geoarcheology
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Flinders University