PhD Position: Understanding Hydrological Impacts of Mountain Greening

The department of Physical Geography is searching for a PhD candidate who will investigate the impact of mountain greening on hydrology from an ecological perspective.

Your job
The "GRAIT2" project aims to understand the impacts of mountain vegetation change on hydrology from a plant traits and ecological perspective. It combines knowledge and approaches from mountain hydrology and (palaeo)ecology.

You will employ a trait-based ecohydrological approach to quantify the impacts of different mountain species and traits, seasonal/annual greening variations, and greening mechanisms on the mountain water balance. To achieve this, you will conduct field and remote sensing studies in a small mountain catchment in the Swiss Alps and assess the hydrological effects of plant traits by conducting experiments in the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens. To evaluate the effects of different mountain plants and greening processes on hydrological processes, you will integrate your findings with a physically-based ecohydrological model at both plot and catchment scales.

You will collaborate closely with your supervisors, other researchers from the department, and international collaborators.

In support of academic and personal development, PhD candidates will participate in courses and assist in teaching Earth Sciences at both Bachelor's and Master's levels. Collectively, these activities will comprise twenty percent of the contracted time.

Requirements:

We look forward to your application if you have the following qualifications:

• an MSc degree in physical geography or a related field;
• passion for mountains, climate, water and plants;
• experience in plant (trait) measurements, field experiments, numerical modelling, and (UAV) remote sensing is highly preferable;
• ability to perform mountain fieldwork in challenging conditions;
• excitement and curiosity to think and work across disciplinary boundaries;
• excellent English oral and writing skills, and willingness to learn Dutch.

Salary Benefits:

We offer:

• a position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

36 - 40 hours per week

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