Giant fossil landslides: hidden hazards in dryland mountains

Director of Studies: Professor Anne Mather  

2nd Supervisor: Dr Martin Stokes  

3rd Supervisor: Dr Sarah Boulton  

Applications are invited for a 3.5 years PhD studentship. The studentship will start on 1 October 2025 

Giant (>several km2) and fossil (difficult-to-recognise pre-historic and ancient) bedrock landslides are understudied in continental settings. Dryland environments provide long-term archives of these ancient landslides due to low erosion rates and minimal vegetation cover. The current expansion of human activities in drylands, driven by economic pressures such as mining, alongside advances in remote sensing and data processing, presents a timely opportunity to expand our knowledge of these landslides. This is essential because 1) they can pose significant hazards if reactivated by activities such as construction or mining, and 2) their preserved landscapes may reveal causes of landslides in specific geologic settings. The project aims to:

The PhD will focus on two arid, mountainous regions: the Central Andean (Peru/Chile) and High Atlas (Morocco) Mountains. Using existing landslide databases, supervisor expertise, satellite imagery, and GIS, the student will map giant fossil landslide distributions. Fieldwork will support this analysis by providing on-ground verification of geomorphological settings and landslide structures in selected sites. This data will help define landscape characteristics that enable automated giant fossil landslide recognition, such as drainage patterns and rock types.

The PhD candidate will become a leading landslide hazard scientist with expertise in remote sensing, geomaterials, geomorphology, and terrain evaluation, skills highly valued by environmental agencies and consultancies. Specialist training in fieldwork, geochronology, and modelling, supported by the University of Plymouth, will be complemented by generic (e.g. health and safety, data management, science communication) research training via the ARIES/Plymouth doctoral training colleges. The student will engage with international landslide science networks (e.g. World Landslide Forum).

Ideal candidates will hold degrees in Geology, Earth Science, Physical Geography, Environmental Science (or similar). Experience with GIS and/or landslide contexts desirable. Willingness to conduct fieldwork in remote, arid regions is an asset. 

Mather AE, Hartley AJ & Griffiths JS 2014 'The giant coastal landslides of Northern Chile: tectonic and climate interactions on a classic convergent plate margin' Earth and Planetary Science Letters 388, 249-256  

Mather, AE., Griffiths, JS., Stokes, M. 2003. Anatomy of a ‘fossil’ landslide from the Pleistocene of SE Spain. Geomorphology 50, 135-149  

Stokes MR, Mather A, Geach M & Boulton S. 2017 'Controls on dryland mountain landscape development along the NW Saharan desert margin: Insights from Quaternary river terrace sequences (Dadès River, south-central High Atlas, Morocco)' Quaternary Science Reviews 166, 363-379  

Zondervan JR, Stokes M, Boulton SJ, Telfer MW & Mather AE 2020 'Rock strength and structural controls on fluvial erodibility: implications for drainage divide mobility in a collisional mountain belt' Earth and Planetary Science Letters b 538, 116221  

Mather, A.E; Stokes, M. 2017.Bedrock structural control on catchment-scale connectivity and alluvial fan processes, High Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Geological Society London Special Publications 440(1):SP440.15 

Candidates with degrees in Geology / Earth Science / Physical Geography / Environmental Science preferred. Also see Person Specification above. 

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent.  

Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded ARIES studentship of fees, maintenance stipend (£19,237 p.a. for 2024/25) and research costs.  

A limited number of ARIES studentships are available to International applicants. Please note however that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK. 

NB: The studentship is supported for 3.5 years of the four-year registration period. The subsequent 6 months of registration is a self-funded ‘writing-up’ period. 

ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion in all areas of its operation. We encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, and transgender status. Projects have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive, and appropriate research and fieldwork environment. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, with equal weighting given to experience and potential. 

For further information, please visit www.aries-dtp.ac.uk.

If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Professor Anne Mather .

Please see our apply for a postgraduate research programme page for a list of supporting documents to upload with your application. 

For more information on the admissions process generally, please visit our Apply for a postgraduate research programme page or contact the Doctoral College .

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview after the deadline. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications.  Applicants who have not received a response within six weeks of the closing date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.