PhD student in Earth Science within remote sensing and snow physics

Published: 2024-01-19

PhD student in Earth Sciences Specialization in remote sensing and snow physics

Are you interested in working with remote sensing and snow physics, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD student position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University is Sweden´s largest and most versatile department of its kind with approximately 280 employees. Our activities are interdisciplinary and combine natural science and technology with social science. The PhD student will work within the Air, Water, and Landscape Science programme (Luval), which groups around 100 employees and collaborators, of which more than 30 are PhD students and post-docs. Research within Luval spans the fields of meteorology, physical geography (including glaciology), hydrology, and environmental analysis. Read more here: www.geo.uu.se

The project "Remote sensing of mining impacts in the Arctic" aims to develop new remote sensing methods to characterize and quantify the deposition into snow of airborne dust produced by mining activities in the Arctic and Subarctic, as well as its impact on the albedo of the snow cover. This will be done through data acquisition in the field and laboratory, the analysis of satellite imagery, as well as modelling of snowpack processes.

Duties
The PhD student will participate in winter field research campaigns in northern Sweden and Canada, and should therefore be willing to spend time outdoor for data collection, either alone or together with other project participants. Observations of snow will be carried out with spectroradiometers on the ground and mounted on drones, while other physico-chemical  properties of the snow cover, and of particulate pollutants deposited into it, will be performed with specialized instruments. The information will then be used to develop and validate algorithms for retrieving dust amounts and its properties from snow spectral albedo. Research findings will be integrated into a physical snowpack model driven by meteorological data in order to estimate impacts of the dust on the snow albedo and melt rates. The position is at Uppsala University, but the PhD student will have the opportunity to visit partner institutions in Sweden (Luleå Technical University), Canada (University of Sherbrooke) and Italy (Institute of Polar Sciences, Milan). The project also includes funding support for technical training (e.g., PhD courses).

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in earth sciences, physics, remote sensing, or in a related and relevant discipline with the natural sciences and engineering, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

Other important requirements for the position:

• Fluency and proficiency in English, both spoken and written, in order to disseminate, communicate, and publish internationally.
• Strong problem-solving analytical and numerical skills.
• Experience in programming with languages such as MATLAB and Python.
• Adequate technical knowledge or experience to operate field instruments and sensors.

Additional qualifications

Personal qualities:

• Self-sufficiency, capable of initiative, independence and originality of thought.
• Ability to work alone, but equally well within a collaborative team.
• Strongly motivated in this area of research, and capable of articulating why.
• Capability to adapt easily to new working environments.

Scientific, technical abilities:

• Knowledge of optics, radiative transfer theory.
•  Good visualization skills (using GIS, image processing, graphical software)
• Prior field work experience.
• Should hold a valid driver´s license recognized in the EU.

The PhD position is for four years, extendable to a maximum of five years including departmental duties at a level of at most 20% (typically teaching). The application material should include a letter of motivation for this project, a complete CV with a list of relevant publications (if any) indicating clearly the applicant´s role in these publications, and a list of three referees (with their contact information) who can attest to the applicant´s qualifications and accomplishments that are relevant to the project. The latter is especially important for candidates who acquired some relevant non-academic, professional training (e.g., in industry).

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines .

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 01-04-2024 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Associate Professor Christian Zdanowicz tel. +46(0)18-4713892, e-mail: [email protected].

Please submit your application by 16 of February 2024, UFV-PA 2024/226.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? Find out more about what it´s like to work and live in Sweden .

Uppsala University is a broad research university with a strong international position. The ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a difference in society. Our most important asset is all of our 7,600 employees and 53,000 students who, with curiosity and commitment, make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University
https://uu.se/om-uu/jobba-hos-oss/

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Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.

Placement: Department of Earth Sciences

Type of employment: Full time , Temporary position

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: ST/TCO [email protected]
Seko Universitetsklubben [email protected]
Saco-rådet [email protected]

Number of reference: UFV-PA 2024/226

Last application date: 2024-02-16

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