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Earth and Environmental Studies

Doctoral (Ph.D.) Programme

The Department offers Ph.D. opportunities across diverse areas of Earth and Environmental Studies, promoting interdisciplinary research, scientific innovation, and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges. Research activities span environmental science, geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, mineral exploration, and geospatial technologies.

1. Environmental Research Focus Areas

  • Groundwater Quality, Contamination, and Remediation
  • Subsurface Transport of Contaminants
  • Modelling of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport
  • Modelling of Vadose Zone Contamination
  • Water and Wastewater Treatment
  • Air Quality Monitoring, Modelling, and Control
  • Climate-Resilient Air Quality Management
  • Pollution Monitoring and Mitigation in Urban and Industrial Systems
  • Environmental Management and Sustainable Development
  • Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy
  • Material Recycling, Recovery, and Sustainable Resource Management
  • Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Monitoring and Modelling
  • Google Earth Engine Applications in Environmental Assessment

2. Geological Research Focus Areas

  • Critical Minerals and REE Mineralisation: Mineral exploration, critical element resource characterisation, and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation
  • Economic Geology and Ore Deposits: Uranium, thorium, and sulphide deposits; REE-bearing carbonatite–phoscorite systems; hydrothermal alteration; element mobilisation; and ore genesis
  • Igneous Petrology and Magmatism: Mafic dyke magmatism, igneous petrology, and ophiolites
  • Geochemistry and Geochronology: Mineral and crustal geochemistry, zircon geochronology, chemical dating using monazite, xenotime, and uraninite, and hydrothermal processes and fluid–rock interactions
  • Himalayan Geology: Himalayan tectonics and metasomatism
  • Hydrogeology: Groundwater systems, groundwater quality, contamination, subsurface contaminant transport, remediation techniques, and groundwater flow and transport modelling
  • Mineral Exploration and Geological Mapping: Lithological mapping, hydrothermal alteration mapping, and geospatial approaches to mineral perspectivity.
  • Remote Sensing and GIS for Geoscience: Multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, Google Earth Engine applications, and artificial intelligence (AI) integration with remote sensing for geoscience applications
  • Critical Mineral and REE Exploration: Geochemical and geospatial approaches to identifying and characterising critical mineral and REE resources
Details of Syllabus/Programmes in PhD