PhD Studentship: Across land, oceans and the atmosphere: Decoding Earth's carbon cycle with CO2 polyisotopologues

Scientific background: 

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to avoid dangerous climate change by reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Independent top-down constraints on emissions require accurate measurements of CO2 concentrations and fluxes, and robust attribution to natural and anthropogenic sources. Recent technological developments now allow analysis of extremely rare isotopic CO2 species, known as polyisotopologues, offering unprecedented insights into carbon sources, sinks and ecosystem productivity across the Earth system.

This studentship builds on the UKRI NERC POLYGRAM (https://polygram.ac.uk/) project and exploits unique datasets and measurement capabilities developed through this programme.

Main aim and hypothesis:

The project aims to determine whether atmospheric CO2 polyisotopologues can provide new quantitative constraints on ecosystem productivity and carbon cycling from local to global scales. It will test the central hypothesis that combined carbon and triple-oxygen isotope signatures contain information about these processes that cannot be obtained from conventional atmospheric CO2 observations alone.

Research methodology: 

You will work with existing and newly collected data from the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory (WAO), Alice Holt Forest Research Station, Atlantic ship transects and global atmospheric monitoring networks. Specifically, you will:

•  analyse seasonal and interannual variability in triple-oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O) and stable-carbon (12C, 13C) isotope signatures of atmospheric CO2 at Weybourne
  
  
•  quantify ecosystem-scale isotope variations at Alice Holt to investigate terrestrial carbon cycle processes
  
  
•  evaluate isotope gradients from Atlantic transects and remote monitoring sites as indicators of global primary productivity.

Together, these analyses will test whether CO2 polyisotopologues provide robust indicators of carbon uptake and productivity across scales, while allowing you to develop additional hypotheses arising from the observations.

Training: 

You will join a collaborative research team at UEA (COAS; https://www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-centres/centre-for-ocean-and-atmospheric-sciences) and Utrecht University (IMAU; https://www.uu.nl/staff/TRockmann). You will develop proficiency in state-of-the-art laser-spectroscopic measurements of CO2 and H2O isotopologues, advanced statistical analysis and modelling of environmental time series, and scientific communication through conferences and peer-reviewed publications. Opportunities will include specialist training, field measurements and a research visit to Utrecht.

Person specification: 

We seek an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual and team player with strong scientific interests and an interest in combining experimental measurements with quantitative data analysis.

Additional Funding Information

ARIES studentships are subject to UKRI terms and conditions(opens in a new window). Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/27) and a research training and support grant (RTSG). A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.