PhD on impacts of changes in the cryosphere of High Mountain Asia on flood damage to agriculture downstream

Are you interested in the impact of climate change and the melting of snowpacks and glaciers in High Mountain Asia on flood risks and crop damage downstream? And do you like working with numerical models?

A rapid melting of glaciers and snowpacks in the mountains can lead to an increased risk of flooding downstream, especially when it coincides with extreme precipitation events. These floods can damage crops that are in the field at that moment and even destroy them completely. Will the risks of flooding increase in the future due to climate change and other socioeconomic changes? How will that impact agriculture and when and where can we expect the biggest impacts? What kind of adaptation measures can decrease the risk of floods for agricultural production?

Would you like to answer these questions? We are looking for a PhD researcher who is interested in the High Mountains of Asia and their link to the food production in the river basins that are downstream of those mountains. This position is part of the ERC project 3POLE2SEA. The overall goal of the 3POLE2SEA project is to increase the understanding of the links between the water stored and released in the High Mountains of Asia, and the water- and food security of the 1.9 billion people living in the areas downstream of those mountains, now and in the future. This understanding is then used to support adaptation design. Together with another PhD student, 2 Postdocs, a scientific software engineer, and the PI, you will work on the design of adaptation strategies to make agriculture in one of the largest food producing areas in the world more resilient to future changes in the mountains and downstream.
As a PhD student you will apply a cryosphere-hydrology-crop model in the entire study region, consisting of High Mountain Asia and 12 big river basins originating from it. You might also need to develop some new features in the model, especially related to simulating flood duration, depth and extent and assessing the impact of flooding on crop yields. You will analyse the (combination of) main drivers of current and future flood events, estimate potential agricultural losses related to flooding, and assess the consequences for future food security.

Subsequently, you will use this knowledge to evaluate different adaptation strategies aiming at reducing the risk or the impact of flooding on agriculture.

You will publish your research findings in high ranking scientific journals and conferences.
You will also be asked to contribute occasionally to education, by helping in the supervision of MSc students that work on their thesis projects, and supporting in courses.

Applications can only be submitted via our institutional website (follow link) and should include (no more than) a cover letter and CV, both uploaded as a pdf.

Requirements:

You are / You have:

• enthusiasm for the research topic;
• a MSc degree in the field of Hydrology, Crop Science, Earth System Science, Environmental Science, Climate Science, or a related field;
• a MSc thesis or research internship related to hydrological modelling, climate impact assessments, flood risk modelling or crop modelling;
• demonstrated enthusiasm and ability to work with large datasets and large-scale numerical modelling in context of global change;
• experience with scripting and programming, eg in R, Python or Matlab and the willingness to learn a new programming language (C);
• creativity in communication and visualisation of model results in maps and figures;
• some experience with numerical modelling on High Performance Computing Platforms is a pre;
• willingness to work in multidisciplinary and international teams;
• a high level of English, both oral and writing.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Earth Systems and Global Change. You will be co-supervised by Prof.Dr. Hester Biemans, Dr. Wouter Smolenaars and Dr. Manoj Khaniya.

Salary Benefits:

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.901,- per month rising to € 3.707,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

40 hours per week

Droevendaalsesteeg