The Department of Physical Geography has a vacant fully funded PhD position. This project is focused on the global morphological classification of rivers and the causal analysis of global patterns using remote sensing. It allows you to have significant autonomy in shaping and executing your research.
While the controls on river morphology and patterns have been extensively studied, the global distribution of river morphologies remains unmapped. Recent advancements in automated mapping and quantitative analysis of satellite data now enable us to pursue this research goal. The main objectives of this project are to characterise river patterns, investigate potential causal factors, and quantify these findings on a global scale. The research questions are:
- What is the global distribution of river patterns, such as meandering, anastomosing, and braided?
- What factors influence the morphological patterns of rivers?
- To what extent do river patterns correlate with variables like gradient and structural controls (e.g., vegetation cover, hinterland lithology, and proximity to the ocean)?
- What are the anthropogenic impacts on fluvial landscapes?
The proposed study covers a wide range of river research, combining remote sensing with spatial data analysis. Furthermore, it integrates the expertise of our department in physical modeling, remote sensing, and numerical simulation.
Your research journey will be based at Utrecht University, providing you with a stimulating academic environment and access to cutting-edge resources. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with experts both locally and internationally, and you will present your findings at various scientific meetings. Additionally, you will have access to a wealth of experience and knowledge from experts in river research across our department.
To support academic and personal development, PhD candidates follow courses and assist in teaching Earth Sciences at Bachelor's and Master's level. Together these activities amount to 20% of the contracted time.