PhD-positie: Unravelling the seasonal cycle in regional sea-level change

The department of Estuarine and Delta Systems (EDS; principal investigator dr. Aimée Slangen) at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) is looking for a highly motivated PhD student with a background in climate physics to investigate seasonal sea-level changes on regional scales using satellite data and model data. This research is funded by the ‘use of space infrastructure for earth observation and planetary research (GO)’ call from NWO and NSO.

ROYAL NIOZ

NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

THE DEPARTMENT
The NIOZ department of Estuarine & Delta Systems (EDS) focuses on understanding the complex interactions between organisms and their physical and chemical environment in estuaries and deltas. Our aim is producing an integrated understanding of the functioning of estuarine and delta systems, in the context of natura land human induced environmental changes, while providing the knowledge needed to utilise these systems more sustainably and to restore them. The sea-level group, in which you will work, focuses on large-scale patterns in sea-level change, which are driving changes in coastal regions around the world.

THE PROJECT

Sea-level changes strongly vary in space and time, driven by various processes ranging from tides and storms to ocean warming and land ice mass loss. In the past decades, the sea-level community has gained a better understanding of regional sea-level variations. Satellite observations revolutionized our view of the global ocean. A step we can now also make is to increase our understanding of the temporal resolution. Initial analyses have shown that there are substantial seasonal variations in sea-level change, with different drivers. Such changes can be relevant to coastal adaptation and protection, as impacts of sea-level rise occur at specific times of the year, for instance during the storm season. Therefore, this projects central question is: how and why does regional sea-level change vary on seasonal time scales?

YOUR ROLE

For your research, you will focus on the satellite altimetry era (since 1993), which provides the most complete information on regional and seasonal scales, both for total sea-level change (altimetry) as well as the contributions to (global and regional) sea-level change. For each of the contributions, you will analyse the observational information available, to assess the magnitude and spatial variability in the seasonal signal. You will combine the contributions in a seasonal sea-level budget analysis to analyse what we know and what is still missing. The outcomes of this project complement ongoing efforts in our research group to understand regional 20th century sea-level changes, which will benefit coastal communities around the world in their challenge to adapt to sea-level rise.

For this PhD project you will be based at NIOZ (Yerseke), working with Dr. Aimée Slangen (daily supervisor and project lead). You will be enrolled in the graduate school of the faculty of geosciences of Utrecht University, and Prof. Dr. Roderik van de Wal will be the promotor of this project.

THE CANDIDATE

We seek an enthusiastic and energetic student who has a keen interest in climate physics and climate change, particularly sea level change.

We are looking for a team player with:

•        An MSc degree in climate physics, physical geography, oceanography or meteorology

•        Experience with analysing and processing of large and complex datasets

•        Experience with Python, or another scientific programming language

•        Experience and affinity with climate change research

•        An open, communicative and collaborative attitude

•        Strong communication skills in English

We want to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence.

THE CONDITIONS

• Employment of this full-time position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I, for a total duration of 4 years.  You start with an appointment for the duration of 1 year, that, after a positive evaluation in the 9th month (Go-No go), will be extended to the full period of 4 years.

• Salary compliant with scales for PhD candidate (OIOs) CAO-WVOI (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes). 

• An appointment at NIOZ as a PhD candidate means working and learning simultaneously conform the NIOZ PhD policy.  

• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.

• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. 

• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%.

• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.

• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about this vacancy, please contact Aimée Slangen. For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl 

The closing date of this vacancy will be the 15th of March.