PhD position in cold regions hydrology

Project

More than two-thirds of the world's renewable electricity comes from hydropower. However, like all energy sources, hydropower has a hydroclimatic impact that needs to be quantified. While at low latitudes the creation of a reservoir causes a positive radiative forcing on average due to the very low albedo of water, at high latitudes the effect is nuanced by the presence of ice and snow cover for several months of the year. The net radiative forcing resulting from this sequence of low (open water) and high (ice and snow) albedos over the course of a year is misunderstood in the context of a changing climate, in part due to a lack of local observations.

The main objective of this PhD project is to estimate the net radiative forcing resulting from the albedo change associated with the impoundment of a reservoir in a cold region in the face of a changing cryosphere. The study site is the Romaine River hydroelectric complex (~50°N), in eastern Canada. The project will include an experimental component with albedo measurements on the reservoir and surrounding terrestrial environments, a modeling component where the student will become familiar with the Canadian Small Lake Model, and a remote sensing component where pre- and post-impoundment conditions will be contrasted.

Funding of 26,000 CAD/year available for 4 years. Possible start date: September 2024 or January 2025. The student will be supervised by Professor Daniel Nadeau (Université Laval) and co-supervised by Professor François Anctil (Université Laval).

Institution

Université Laval (UL) is the oldest French-speaking university in North America. It is home to some 48,000 students in 17 faculties, 60 departments and schools, and nearly 400 undergraduate and graduate programs in all fields of knowledge. Université Laval offers strong graduate programs in northern research.

Required Qualifications and Skills

- MSc degree in engineering, physics, environmental sciences or geography

- Desirable: experience in data analysis and field work

- Motivation, teamwork and communication skills

- Programming experience (Python, R, Matlab or equivalent)

- Driver's license

Application

Please email Prof. Daniel Nadeau ([email protected]) and Prof. François Anctil ([email protected]) with your CV, a short cover letter, examples of previous research (M.Sc. thesis or published articles), and the names of two references.