PhD Student in Greenland Ice Sheet dynamics

Introduction

UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

Presentation

A PhD position on the long-term stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s kilometre-thick ice is funded for four years as part of the Swiss National Science Foundation project ‘FlowState: Melting, hydrology and ice flow at high elevations of the Greenland Ice Sheet’.

The overarching objective of the project is to quantify the impact of high-elevation surface melting upon the ice sheet’s dynamic stability through the 21st century and beyond. The project will measure and then model basal hydrology and ice flow in areas where surface meltwater drains to reach the ice sheet bed through ice which is around a kilometre thick.

This position focuses on using field data to (1) understand the meltwater-forced dynamics in the field area and then (2) upscale that knowledge to other areas of the ice sheet and over longer time periods using remotely-sensed observations of hydrology and ice flow. As part of the first objective, the candidate will be embedded in field campaigns on the ice sheet surface each spring and will be around one month long.

Job information

Expected start date in position : 01.09.2024 / to be agreed

Contract length : 1 year, renewable to a maximum of 4 years

Activity rate : 100%

Workplace : Lausanne Mouline (Géopolis)

Your responsibilities

Most of the PhD student’s time will be dedicated to research, but contributing to some teaching activities is expected and there is the additional possibility of supervising master students. A maximum of 10% of the workload will consist of teaching

support for Bachelor and Master-level courses, and with technical and administrative tasks related to the activities of the Institute.

The employment conditions are available HERE .

Your qualifications

We seek an enthusiastic individual who is motivated to work on topics concerning the future stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience outlined below summarise the what is needed for this role. They also describe the criteria that we will use to choose the candidate. In your application, please show how you meet these criteria.

Essential criteria:

• A suitable Bachelors and/or Masters degree, either (a) in a domain such as Geography or Geosciences, or (b) in a domain such as Computer Science, Physics or Mathematics with a demonstrated interest in applying these skills to a geoscientific, glaciological context.


• Experience in programming for scientific data analysis, preferably including Python.


• A good level of physical fitness to conduct fieldwork.


• Ability to travel to Greenland for fieldwork.


• Ability to work as part of a team or independently.


• Ability to work to project deadlines.


• Very good verbal and written communication skills in English.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience in working with (geographical) time series data.


• Experience in working with remotely-sensed data products, for instance within a Geographical Information Systems environment.


• Competence in general and spatial statistics.


• Experience in collecting field data in glaciated environments.


• Knowledge of French language would be an advantage.

What the position offers you

• A professionally stimulating working environment and the opportunity to shape the research strategy in collaboration with the project team.


• Comprehensive training, comprising both specialist scientific training (including active involvement in Greenland Ice Sheet fieldwork) and generic transferable and professional skills in conjunction with the Water-Earth doctoral school.

Contact for further information

Prof. Andrew Tedstone

andrew.tedstone@unil.ch

Your application

Deadline :20.05.2024

Please, send your full application with all the following in Word or PDF:

• Motivation Letter


• Curriculum Vitae


• Copy of university certificates and transcripts of marks awarded


• Details of two people who can provide references


• An electronic version of a research output (BSc/MSC diploma thesis)

Only applications through this website will be taken into account.

We thank you for your understanding.

Additional information

UNIL is committed to equal opportunities and diversity.
www.unil.ch/egalite

UNIL supports early career researchers.
www.unil.ch/graduatecampus