PhD student position in climate sciences, fully-funded for 4 years 100%
Universität Bern
Bern
Key information
- Publication date:01 October 2025
- Workload:100%
- Place of work:Bern
Are you passionate about using cutting-edge technology to explore the secrets of Earth's past climate and environment? Do you thrive on interdisciplinary challenges and big data? Join our team at the University of Bern for an exciting PhD position exploring the ancient world of lake sediments through the lens of modern imaging methodologies and data science. As the saying goes, "the past is the key to the future."
Lake sediments are natural archives of Earth's history, but traditional analysis methods often fall short of capturing their full story. This project, titled Pixel2Paleo, represents a pioneering effort to use a "deductive approach" to reveal the complex interplay of environmental variables. We will use a powerful combination of high-resolution imaging techniques-µXRF elemental mapping, Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI), and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI)-to explore the biogeochemical fingerprints of past environments. This includes elemental composition, mineralogy, as well as organic compounds such as alkenones, and bacterial and algal pigments
A key part of the project involves connecting these sedimentary signals to real-world, modern data. We will analyze the most recent sediment layers (from the last ~200 years) from a network of Swiss lakes that are actively monitored. By correlating the high-resolution data from the selection of Swiss lake sediments with existing observational and monitoring data on factors like water temperature, nutrient levels, and lake productivity, we will build a foundation for our fingerprint database. This will allow us to evaluate the reliability of our proxies and apply this knowledge to reconstruct older, pre-anthropogenic climate conditions.
The ultimate goal of the project is to build a publicly accessible database that correlates biogeochemical sediment composition with specific climate and environmental conditions, setting a new standard for paleoclimate research. This is part of a larger effort to establish a PaleoIMAGING community and ensure all data and code are open and adhere to FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
Tasks
As a key member of a team of researchers, your primary role will be to conduct fundamental research, data acquisition, and data analysis. using these advanced imaging techniques. We offer flexibility in how you achieve the project's goals, allowing you to tailor your focus based on your skills and interests. You will have the opportunity to be responsible for obtaining high-resolution data from sediment cores, running laboratory incubation experiments to understand the stability of sedimentary signals, and participating in fieldwork. You can also focus on the application of advanced data science approaches, including supervised and unsupervised pixel clustering and neural networks, to discover unique "fingerprints" of past cold and warm climates. The project is structured into three main work packages that will guide you from initial data acquisition to final fingerprinting. A research assistant will support you with the imaging methods and/or data science.
Requirements
We are seeking a highly motivated and curious candidate with a Master's degree in Earth Sciences or a related field. We strongly encourage applications from a diverse range of academic backgrounds, including those with experience in biogeochemistry, limnology, sedimentology, environmental research, ecology, hydrology, data science, and image processing. While data science experience is a plus, a passion for hands-on analytical work, fieldwork, and a willingness to learn advanced data science techniques is most important. We value strong analytical skills and a collaborative spirit. The project is designed to provide comprehensive training in advanced analytical methods and data science, ensuring you have all the tools you need to succeed.
Your profile:
You are an independent, curious, creative, and ambitious team player who enjoys interdisciplinary science, learning, and mastering new things/skills.
You possess:
- Interest or experience in advanced imaging techniques
- Interest or experience in data science
- Good ability to work independently, to formulate and tackle research problems and work in a team
- Good written and oral communication skills in English
We are committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in geology and especially encourage applications from underrepresented groups.
We offer
- An exciting, interdisciplinary project with a unique focus on bridging paleoclimatology and cutting-edge data science, hosted at the Institute of Geological Sciences and the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern.
- A stimulating and supportive research environment that actively acknowledges multi-dimensional diversity.
- Access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at the University of Bern (XRF,μXRF,HSI and our collaborators at MARUM, University of Bremen MSI
- Opportunities for international collaborations, conferences and workshop participation.
- Professional and personal development through specialized training in data science.
- A supportive framework designed for a PhD student's success, including a research assistant to help with methods, and independent, complementary projects that will help confirm reproducibility and generalize datasets.
- Integration into the Sedimentary Geochemistry unit of the Institute of Geological Sciences. For more information about the group, please visit: https://www.geo.unibe.ch/research/sedimentary_geochemistry/research/index_eng.html
- Enrollment in the renowned OCCR climate sciences graduate school. A competitive SNSF-funded PhD student salary starting at about 50'000 CHF gross annually for up to 4 years.
Applications must be submitted to E-Mail schreiben and should include a motivation letter describing your interests, experience, and relevance for this position (max 2 pages), a CV which includes the following sections: 1) Education and training, 2) Previous and current employment, 3) Major achievements/scientific activities, 4) ORCID iD number (if available). Further, attach the MSc certificate or transcriptions when available at the time of application, a summary of the MSc thesis, and the names and contact details for two referees (name, surname, institutional addresses, email, and phone number).
Please send your application via email with all sections combined in a single PDF named "surname.firstname", indicating "Pixel2Paleo PhD" in the email subject.
Please contact Petra Zahajská (E-Mail schreiben) with any scientific questions.
The application deadline is December 15th, 2025. Interviews online are foreseen during the second half of January 2026.
