Part funded MSc: From high flows to low flows (Updated)

Below are details of a partly funded Masters by Research project at Durham University with the Eden River’s Trust. The funding will cover the student fees and a £4,000 contribution to living costs. The project will be supervised by Dr. Sim M. Reaney, Prof. Stuart N. Lane and Dr. Richard J. Hardy in the Department of Geography / Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University. Please send informal enquires about the project to Sim Reaney (sim.reaney@dur.ac.uk) or geog.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk.

From high flows to low flows: can flood risk measures simultaneously deliver a more secure water resource environment?

The ALFA project has been exploring the kinds of interventions that might be made in the River Eden, Cumbria, to reduce the magnitude and frequency of high flow events. This work has resulted in the identification of those catchments and sub-catchments that need to be prioritised for measures that ‘slow the flow’, as well as identification through stakeholder involvement and testing of a series of specific flood reducing measures. However, one crucial question has not been answered by this research: what, if anything, is the impact of these measures upon other elements of water resource security? Answering such a question is important as if these interventions deliver multiple small benefits, focusing upon only flood risk reduction benefits might not deliver optimal conclusions regarding the worth of such measures. Considering low flows, as well as high flows, is of particular importance given that climate change predictions for the UK suggest that the distribution of intranannual rainfall may change resulting in an increase in both flood and drought risk. Hence, the aim of this project is to use a suitable hydrological model (CRUM3) to assess the impacts of the ALFA interventions upon low flow conditions in the River Eden. The project will follow directly from the work of PhD student Ian Pattison by assessing the low flow impacts of the specific interventions that he has identified for the Eamont system, but may extend consideration to the broader Eden should time permit.

http://www.alfa-project.eu/en/about/
http://www.dur.ac.uk/ihrr/
http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/
http://trust.edenriverstrust.org.uk/

Application Deadline: Monday 3rd May 2010. Please send a covering letter and CV to geog.pgadmissions@durham.ac.uk