PhD on process-based and data-driven modeling of rapid permafrost thaw

Are you enthusiastic about climate research in the Arctic and keen to find out how the rapidly changing permafrost landscapes have developed since the last ice age and how they will respond to ongoing global warming? Then apply for this PhD project.

We invite applications for a PhD position in the 5-year PeTCaT research project funded by the Schmidt Sciences foundation. The PeTCaT project “Rapid Permafrost Thaw Carbon Trajectories” aims to quantify the effects of permafrost thawing on the global carbon cycle. Permafrost thaw processes and associated climate feedbacks are not adequately represented in the Earth system models used for future climate projections. A key shortcoming of current models is that they do not account for the so-called rapid thaw processes that frequently occur in the ice-rich permafrost regions of the Arctic.

The goal of this exciting PhD project is to advance the modeling of rapid thawing processes. This includes the development and application of the process-based land surface model CryoGridLite to investigate the dynamics of ground ice and rapid thawing processes (such as thermokarst, thermo-erosion, thaw slumps, or ice-wedge degradation). The aim is to integrate process-based modeling with data-driven approaches (e.g., machine learning, simulation-based inference) using a wide range of geospatial data. The modeling framework will be applied to retrace the evolution of pan-Arctic permafrost and ground ice over the last millennia and to improve projections of future thaw trajectories relevant to permafrost carbon emissions and climate feedbacks.

The work will be conducted in close cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, and further international project partners in Germany, Sweden, Canada, and the USA. As part of the PhD project, it will be possible to join field work campaigns in the permafrost regions of Canada and/or Alaska.

Your duties

As a PhD student, your tasks will include the following:

• Design and execute your own research plans
• Present your research at scientific conferences and publish your results in scientific journals
• Advance and apply the CryoGridLite land surface model
• Contribute to teaching and supervising bachelor and master students
• Collaborate with project partners from similar and different fields

Your profile

We seek a highly motivated student to pursue research on Arctic permafrost thaw dynamics with the following profile:

• A MSc degree in physical geography, (geo)physics, hydrology, earth science, (geo)data science, geoecology, environmental science or equivalent
• Affinity to and preferably experience in numerical modelling and/or geodata analyses
• Experience with programming languages such as Python, Julia, or MATLAB
• Able to work independently, but also within the interdisciplinary project team
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills in English

What do we offer?

• A challenging position in a socially engaged organization. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world.
• A salary of minimum € 3.059,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (PhD) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile PhD candidate. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• A position for at least 0.8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. Afterwards, the intention is to extend the position for another 3 years enveloping the full PhD. 4 years of funding is secured.
• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• Contribution to commuting expenses
• Hybrid working enables a good work-life balance

About us

About the department
Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, offers a stimulating international research environment with world-class academic reputation, and excellent state-of-the-art facilities. Research in the department covers a wide range of fundamental and applied research topics, including climate and environmental dynamics, surface processes and landscape dynamics, earth and planetary dynamics, and sustainability, resources, and society. Our strength lies in the ability to deliver fundamental knowledge on the functioning of our planet and are key to finding sustainable solutions to many problems related to natural resources, natural hazards, energy, and the environment that societies are facing.

Faculty of Science
Researchers and students at VU Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science tackle fundamental and complex scientific problems to help pave the way for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, and from molecules to the moon: we cover the full spectrum of the natural sciences. Our teaching and research have a strong experimentally technical, computational and interdisciplinary nature.

We work on new solutions guided by value-driven, interdisciplinary methodologies. We are committed to research, valorisation and training socially engaged citizens of the world who will make valuable contributions to a sustainable, healthy future.

Are you interested in joining the Faculty of Science? You will join undergraduate students, PhD candidates and researchers at the biggest sciences faculty in the Netherlands. You will combine a professional focus with a broad view of the world. We are proud of our collegial working climate, characterised by committed staff, a pragmatic attitude and engagement in the larger whole. The faculty is home to over 11,000 students enrolled in 40 study programmes. It employs over 1,600 professionals spread across 10 academic departments.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

For more information about the vacancy you can contact Moritz Langer (m.langer@vu.nl) and/or Jan Nitzbon (jan.nitzbon@awi.de).

Interviews will take place in February. The position will start in April or as early as possible thereafter.