Two PhD positions in landscape response to retreating glaciers

Mountain ranges are the primary source of global sediment and hotspots of geohazards. In their high-altitude, alpine regions, climate change is accelerating erosion and landslide activity due to rapid post-glacial landscape adjustment and permafrost degradation. While most current observations of these processes span just a few years or decades, there is an urgent need to understand how these dynamics unfold over much longer timescales (102-104 years) to quantify the impact of present, past and future glacial-interglacial climate changes. This NWO-funded project (Dutch Research Council) aims to tackle this research gap by examining the interactions among erosion, topography, and sediment fluxes over millennial timescales in the Western Southern Alps of New Zealand, and how they are influenced by tectonics. Gaining such insights is crucial for predicting the magnitude and location of future climate-induced geohazards in alpine regions. This project will consist of two tightly integrated PhD positions:

• PhD A: Quantifying Post-Glacial Erosion and Sediment Dynamics (main supervisor Duna Roda-Boluda, co-supervisor Benjamin Campforts).
  This project will employ a combination of well-established and innovative geochronological techniques, such as 10Be-derived erosion rates, tracer thermochronology, and novel in-situ 14C/10Be ratios as a proxy for landsliding. Samples will be collected on the Southern Alps of New Zealand across a gradient of tectonic and climatic conditions.
• PhD B: Developing a Next-Generation Landscape Evolution Model (main supervisor Benjamin Campforts, co-supervisor Duna Roda-Boluda).
  In this project, you will develop the POLISHED model—POst gLacIal Surface and geocHronological Evolution Dynamics—designed to simulate hillslope processes and fluvial dynamics during deglaciation, and to explicitly simulate the accumulation and transport of geochronological tracers and track sediment provenance. This project also includes a data collection field campaign in the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

Models and data will eventually be used to predict the impact of deglaciation on current mountain risk associated to climate change.

Support for the project includes a guaranteed monthly salary of 2.872 € before taxes (see “What we offer?” below for a full list of benefits), tuition fees, and funding for field work, analytical expenses, conferences, and travel. You would be joining a new research group in the Netherlands that integrates numerical and analytical techniques to study how environmental changes drive landscape evolution.

Requirements:

We are looking for someone who is highly motivated to advance science on how retreating glaciers shape Earth’s surface. This comes with a willingness to learn how to conduct lab work and/or how to use and implement open-source computational models. Moreover, you should be willing to conduct fieldwork for several weeks in the Southern Alps mountains.

Besides, you:

• hold a MSc degree (or equivalent) in Earth Sciences or related field (you can apply provided your MSc diploma will be obtained before the start of the position).
• are comfortable and enjoy working in a team and in close collaboration with other PhD students
• are eager to learn how to write journal articles in English, culminating in a dissertation, and publishing these in leading scientific journals
• are interested in contributing to teaching and supervising bachelor and master students
• are motivated to attend and present at international conferences

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for everyone, realizing that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our education, research and services. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community, so that we can use diversity as added value.

We recognize that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. We would like to invite everyone who recognizes themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements. We particularly encourage people from under-represented groups to apply.

Salary Benefits:

An exciting position in a socially engaged organization. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. In return we offer you:

• At the VU, a salary of € 2.872 (gross) per month during the first year that increases to a maximum of € 3.670 (gross) per month in the fourth year, for full-time employment.
• an employment contract of initially 1 year, which will be extended to a total of 4 years based on good performance. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package
• discounts on collective insurances (healthcare- and car insurance)

De Boelelaan 1085