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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
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Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that
your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed
PI name & contact details:
School:
Dr Mark Healy (NUI Galway)/ Dr Raymond Brennan
(University of Arkansas)
Engineering and Informatics
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Yes
Research Centre / group affiliation:
The Ryan Institute
Research group / centre website:
www.ryaninstitute.ie
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/civileng/Staff/markhealy.html
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here.
The Geo-Environmental Research Group (GERG) at NUI Galway is led by Dr Mark Healy (NUI
Galway), and comprises statisticians, agronomists, and biologists. GERG’s research focus is the study
of the impact of engineering and agricultural activities on the soil, environment and atmosphere.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Use of chemical amendments to reduce nutrient loss from forest harvesting
When forests are harvested, the harvest residues are utilized as ‘brash mats’ to protect the soil against
heavy harvesting machinery. The brash mats are collected together to form ‘windrows’, between which
the trees are planted. Over time, the brash windows release nutrients (primarily nitrogen and
phosphorus). This may result in the transport of nutrients along surface slopes, which may pollute
receiving waters. This problem is even worse in climates which experience high intensity rainfall, where
there is forestry on steep slopes, and where there are no ‘buffer zones’ between the forest and the
receiving waters.
Soil amendment, using chemicals or ‘hydroseeding’, in strategic areas in forests may be a potential
solution to this problem. Chemical amendments have been used by the project proposers to successfully
treat different types of agricultural effluent in the past. Using the experience developed from these
projects, similar techniques may be used in forestry operations to solve this problem.
Tasks involved: Working as part of a research team. Literature search. Collection of soil and brash
samples. Rainfall and runoff experiments. Investigation of the use of different amendments to
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
reduce the nutrient loss in runoff.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
NUI Galway projects should emphasise features that are not typically available in Brazil – specific equipment,
multi-disciplinarity, aspects of structured programme, links with industry, placements, links with other research
groups etc.
This project would allow the successful candidate the opportunity to work as part a multidisciplinary
group within NUI Galway’s environmental engineering facility, which has links in Australia, USA,
Finland, France, the UK, and Brazil. The Civil and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, constructed
in 2011 at NUI Galway, is a state-of-the-art laboratory and is amongst the most pre-eminent
laboratories of its type in Ireland. It is located in the largest engineering building in Ireland. The
laboratory has state-of-the-art environmental water quality measurement, microbiological, and gas
measurement facilities. GERG is also closely affiliated with Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, which is
Ireland’s leading research institute on the rural environment, and which conducts both fundamental
and applied research on a wide range of subjects, e.g. nutrient efficiency, water quality.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Graduates with a background in Civil/Environmental Engineering, or any natural science subject
(geology, chemistry, hydrogeology) should apply. Training will be provided by the project
supervisor.
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
x
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ _Y_
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _Y__
Suitable for either: __Y__