PhD in Environmental Science

Award Summary 100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £20,780 (2025/26 UKRI rate). Additional project costs will also be provided. Overview The North East has a proud coal mining heritage, with hundreds of abandoned and flooded mine seams. Current groundwater levels are the highest ever recorded, and are rising due to the cessation of mine water pumping and climate-driven changes in rainfall. This poses significant flood risk to homes, businesses and infrastructure. For example, during the winter of 2015/2016, mine water flooding at Kibblesworth in Gateshead flooded homes and businesses including Metrocentre Retail Park. Water pollution and groundwater/mine water flooding incidents have been reported across low-lying parts of this borough. Groundwater flood risk is strongly influenced by the area’s complex subsurface geology. The region’s superficial Quaternary sediments were deposited by the last British Ice Sheet, ranging from permeable glaciofluvial material to relatively impermeable lacustrine clays and glacial tills. Flooded mines create unexpected routes to the surface for groundwater, with the nature and structure of the superficial deposits influencing water movement and flood potential. A stronger conceptual understanding of the region’s geology, particularly the heterogeneity and connectivity of Quaternary sediments and the interface between bedrock and superficial deposits, is essential. These datasets will inform hydrogeological models to identify groundwater recharge, routing and discharge, and where contaminants may be concentrated in the subsurface. Working with directly with the British Geological Survey and project partners in industry including Gateshead Council (and Project Groundwater Northumbria) and the Mining Remediation Authority, this PhD aims to quantify how the superficial geology, bedrock aquifers and mine systems of Gateshead and Newcastle influences groundwater flood risk and water contamination.