PhD PROGRAMMES OF RESEARCH SUPERVISED BY GAU

Environmental geochemistry

• The use of foraminifera as indicators of marine pollution
• Evolution of the Jiangfenling granite complex, China
• Migration of elements in saltmarshes; diagenesis and pollution
• High resolution geochemical studies of eastern Mediterranean sapropels
• Influence of rising sea level on ecosystem dynamics of salt marshes
• Analytical enhancement and validation of the high-resolution ItraX µXRF core scanner

Environmental radioactivity

• Radionuclide and geochemical studies of recent sediments from the Solent estuarine system
• Pure beta emitters in the estuarine environment
• Accumulation & migration of radionuclides in the Ravenglass salt marsh
• Biodegradation of liquid scintillation cocktails
• Mechanisms for accumulation and migration of ⁹⁹Tc in estuarine systems
• Source apportionment of U and Pu contamination in the environment using multi-collector mass spectrometry
• Neptunium distribution, mobility and bioavailability in soils and sediments
• Spatial and temporal distribution of plutonium radioisotopes in Bristol Channel sediment
• Attachment and remediation of radionuclides in drinking water biofilms
• Mechanisms of accumulation of organically-bound tritium in the estuarine environment
• Understanding the contribution of naturally occurring radionuclides to the measured radioactivity in environmental samples

Radioanalytical chemistry and decommissioning

• Fundamental studies of methods for tritium analysis in environmental and construction materials
• Production of high capacity iron sulphides to decontaminate radioactive or chemical pollutants
• Development of novel methods for tritium determination in decommissioning samples