phd studentship; Durham, UK

Ben Horton b.p.horton at durham.ac.uk
Tue Mar 19 14:03:14 EST 2002


NERC Industrial Case Fellowship 2002: Sea-level change and coastal
evolution: impacts on Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia.

This Project has been awarded a NERC Industrial Case Studentship. For more
information on how to apply, please contact Dr Ben Horton, Department of
Geography, University of Durham, UK. Tel (+44 191) 374 2486;
B.P.Horton at Durham.ac.uk;
http://www.geography.dur.ac.uk/postgrad_info/index.html

Deadline for applications: 9th April 2002

Supervisors: Dr Benjamin P. Horton, Professor Ian Shennan (University of
Durham); Dr Charlotte Bryant (NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory); and Dr Tim Coles
(Operation Wallacea Ltd).

Detrimental changes to the marine environment, whether related to factors
such as altered anthropogenic practices or climate variations, are a major
concern to all those involved in research into, or the preservation of,
modern reefs and their associated biota. Natural influences, such as
tectonics and relative sea- level (RSL) change, have had a major effect on
the marine environment and reef development through time. It is only through
knowledge of past environmental change and influencing factors that we can
hope to understand and quantify modern changes and human impact on the
environment. Any changes to the marine environment of Wakatobi Marine
National Park would affect the conservation value of the area, damage
ecosystems and concern the dive and research tourism, and back-packer market
of Operation Wallacea Ltd.

The fieldwork will consist of 2 summer seasons within Wakotobi National
Park, Indonesia, with subsequent analysis based at the University of Durham.
The aims of this work are to:
(1) To develop a quantitative palaeoenvironmental reconstruction technique
that can be used to provide accurate reconstructions of Holocene sea-level
history from a variety of sedimentary environments;
(2) To generate a high-resolution age model that can be combined with
precise reconstruction of former sea levels to examine decadal to century
scale fluctuations of sea-level change;
(3) To evaluate controlling factors, such as sea-level rise, influencing
modern marine environments, thereby allowing evaluation of processes
affecting local and regional carbonate and reef development of Wakatobi
Marine National Park, SE Sulawesi.



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