NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2027 Entry - Closing the Aquatic Observational Gap: Low-Cost Environmental Sensing from Recreational Watercraft Ref: 6041

Supervisors

Lead Supervisor  

Dr Bob Brewin, Exeter, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter

Additional Supervisors

Dr Diego Panici, Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW), University of Exeter

Stefan Simis, Marine Processes and Observations, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Dr. Philip Bresnahan and Dr. B. Troy Frensley, University of North Carolina

Location: University of Exeter

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP).  The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners:  British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,  the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.  The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

For eligible successful applicants, the studentships comprises:

• You will receive a stipend, which will start at £21,805 p.a. for the academic year 2026/27, and expected to increase annually to reflect inflation.  
• Your university tuition fees will be paid by us (£5,238 for 2026/27, expected to increase annually to reflect inflation).
• A Research Training Support Grant of £11,000 (plus contributions from a project partner on some projects) which is used for project costs such as lab and field work and attendance at an international conference.
• A further budget of £1,000 (which can be increased to £2,000 on application) to attend specialist training courses. 

Project Aims and Methods

Aquatic environments face increasing pressures, including extreme events and climate-driven ecosystem change. Yet existing observations often fail to capture fine-scale spatial and temporal variability of nearshore environments where people live and recreate. This study will investigate whether recreational watercraft can become distributed observing platforms, providing observations at scales poorly captured by conventional monitoring. It will address: (1) What spatial and temporal variability in nearshore environments is revealed by distributed observations from recreational watercraft? (2) Can low-cost sensing resolve biologically important variability, including phytoplankton dynamics and indicators of eutrophication? (3) Which combination of sensing technologies provides useful observations for understanding and managing aquatic environmental change?

You will develop, calibrate and evaluate a modular sensing package for surfboards, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Initial work will explore optical measurements, using low-cost technologies or solutions that can be efficiently scaled. Laboratory experiments, field deployments and data analysis will quantify sensor performance and uncertainty. Training will include low-cost sensor development, environmental and bio-optical measurements, field techniques, experimental design, programming, data science, statistics, machine learning and scientific communication, alongside GW4+ training. You can explore interests including signal processing using artificial intelligence, sensor miniaturisation, citizen science / public engagement, bio-optical modelling or uncertainty propagation.

The study is enabled by complementary expertise. Drs Brewin and Bresnahan contribute expertise in low-cost sensing and ocean observation, building on their work using recreational water users as observers. Professor Simis (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) provides expertise in phytoplankton ecology, bio-optics, in situ sensing and Earth observation, while Dr Panici (Exeter CREWW) contributes sensing and data-driven expertise and Dr Frensley on citizen science. The study will link to the PEDAL (Prediction and Early Detection of Algal Blooms in lakes and reservoirs) project, connecting sensing with Exeter–PML research on algal-bloom detection and prediction. Together, the partnership will translate sensing technologies into observations and solutions.

Useful recruitment links:  

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via: r.brewin@exeter.ac.uk

Eligibility

NERC GW4+ DTP studentships are open to UK and Irish nationals who, if successful in their applications, will receive a full studentship including payment of university tuition fees at the home fees rate.

A limited number of full studentships are also available to international students which are defined as EU (excluding Irish nationals), EEA, Swiss and all other non-UK nationals.  For further details please see the NERC GW4+ website.

Those not meeting the nationality and residency requirements to be treated as a ‘home’ student may apply for a limited number of full studentships for international students. Although international students are usually charged a higher tuition fee rate than ‘home’ students, those international students offered a NERC GW4+ Doctoral Training Partnership full studentship starting in 2027 will only be charged the ‘home’ tuition fee rate (which will be covered by the studentship). 

International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD. More information on this is available from the universities you are applying to (contact details are provided in the project description that you are interested in.

The conditions for eligibility of home fees status are complex and you will need to seek advice if you have moved to or from the UK (or Republic of Ireland) within the past 3 years or have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Exeter is committed to promoting and supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion within our working environments and is at the heart of all our activities.  With over 27,000 students and 6,400 staff from 180 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. 

We actively encourage applicants with varied experiences and backgrounds and from all sections of the community regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or disability status.  We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our postgraduate research student community.  Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workspaces.
 

Entry requirements

Applicants should have obtained, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK.   Applicants with a Lower Second Class degree will be considered if they also have Master’s degree.  Applicants with a minimum of Upper Second Class degree and significant relevant non-academic experience are encouraged to apply.

All applicants would need to meet our English language requirements by the start of the  project http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/english/.

How to apply

Apply now

In the application process you will be asked to upload several documents.  Please note our preferred format is PDF, each file named with your surname and the name of the document, eg. “Smith – CV.pdf”, “Smith – Cover Letter.pdf”, “Smith – Transcript.pdf”.

Note;  Applicants can only apply for one PhD project across the GW4+ DLTP Partnership.  Any additional applications received will be deemed unsuccessful.  

• CV
• DLTP Personal Statement (Please use the template in the link provided).  If the personal statement is not included your application will not be considered.  
• Transcript(s) giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained.  This should be an interim transcript if you are still studying.
• If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your current proficiency in English, please see the entry requirements for details.
• Two references

You are also required to complete a DLTP Survey Applicants for PhDs 2027 for EDI data collection, which can be completed via the following link :  DLTP Survey Applicants for PhDs 2027 - Online Surveys | Online surveys.  This information will not be seen by the supervisory team.  

You may also opt to complete an additional statement, although this is not requirement of the application process.  The additional statement can be completed via the following link https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/nercdtp/gw4-dltp-optional-additional-statement-2027

Reference information
You will be asked to submit two references as part of the application process.  If you are not able to upload  your reference documents with your application please ensure you provide details of your referees.  If you provide contact details of referees only, we will not expect receipt of references until after the shortlisting stage. Your referees should not be from the prospective supervisory team.

If you are shortlisted for interview, please ensure that your two academic referees email their references to the pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk, 7 days prior to the interview dates. Please note that we will not be contacting referees to request references, you must arrange for them to be submitted to us by the deadline.

References should be submitted by your referees to us directly in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications must also be provided.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 7 January 2027 at 2359 GMT. Shortlisting will be completed between 9th January  - 14th February 2027.  Applicants invited to interview will be notified w/c 15 February 2027, with interviews scheduled for 1 to 5 March 2027.   

For more information about the NERC GW4+ DPT please visit https://gw4plusdltp.ac.uk/

If you have any general enquiries about the application process please email pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk.  Project-specific queries should be directed to the lead supervisor.

Data Sharing
During the application process, the University may need to make certain disclosures of your personal data to third parties to be able to administer your application, carry out interviews and select candidates.  These are not limited to, but may include disclosures to:

• the selection panel and/or management board or equivalent of the relevant programme, which is likely to include staff from one or more other HEIs;
• administrative staff at one or more other HEIs participating in the relevant programme.

Such disclosures will always be kept to the minimum amount of personal data required for the specific purpose. Your sensitive personal data (relating to disability and race/ethnicity) will not be disclosed without your explicit consent.

Summary