PhD: The link between mountains, downstream agriculture and ecosystems globally

Description

Offer Description: Are you interested in the role of mountains in the global hydrological cycle? And in what happens to downstream water supply when mountains change? Do you like working with numerical models? Then this PhD might be your next step! A large part of the freshwater that sustains human societies is generated in the mountains. The seasonal melting of snow and ice supports agriculture, industries, households and the environment downstream. However, mountainous regions are changing rapidly, as they are hit hard by climate change. The impact of these changes on downstream water users is poorly understood. Global hydrological models rarely account for complex mountain processes. However, understanding how mountain processes influence global water availability is important to address sustainable water use. We are looking for a PhD student who is interested in the link between changing mountain processes and increasing water use downstream. This position is part of the project ‘MountAInWater’ in which a consortium of international, interdisciplinary researchers collectively aims to answer the question How is the water supply from the world’s mountain ranges changing and which non-linear feedbacks may cause unprecedented societal impacts? As a PhD student at Wageningen University you will apply a large scale hydrology-crop model in river basins that are originating from snow and ice covered mountains. Your duties and responsibilities include: Analyse how missing complex mountain processes in global precipitation products and hydrological models affect water availability estimates. Quantify the importance of mountainwater for agriculture and ecosystems globally, by analyzing how meltwater flows interact with crop growing seasons and environmental flow requirements in basins with large irrigation demand and high meltwater flows. Run the hydrology-crop model in combination with mountain streamflow (from high resolution mountain hydrology models) for selected basins to analyse mountain water contributions to downstream river flow, agricultural water use, and sustaining ecosystems for hotspot areas. Using a global mountain reanalysis dataset to evaluate for all mountain areas globally their contribution to downstream river flows, agriculture and ecosystems. You will publish your research findings in high ranking scientific journals and present it at conferences. You will also be asked to contribute occasionally to education, by helping in the supervision of MSc students that work on their thesis projects, and supporting in courses. You will work here The research is embedded within the chair Water Systems and Global Change. You will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Hester Biemans, Dr. Manoj Khaniya and a third supervisor tbd. Requirements: Specific Requirements You are / You have: enthusiasm for the research topic; a MSc degree in the field of Hydrology, Crop Science, Earth System Science, Environmental Science, Climate Science, or a related field; a MSc thesis related to quantitative assessment of water- and/or food security; demonstrated experience in working with large datasets and large-scale numerical modelling in context of global change; experience with scripting and programming, eg in R, Python or Matlab and the willingness to learn a new programming language (C); creativity in communication and visualisation of model results in maps and figures; some experience with numerical modelling on High Performance Computing Platforms is a pre; willingness to work in multidisciplinary and internationally teams; a high level of English, both oral and written. For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level . Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here . Additional Information: Benefits Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment . A few highlights from our Collect Bando dell'ente: For candidates For employers For members For employers For members Sign in Sign up EN English (EN) Nederlands (NL) Back Apply for this job This application process is managed by the employer (Wageningen University & Research). Please contact the employer for questions regarding your application. Is the job opening already closed or not available (anymore) on the employer's website? Read what you could do in the frequently asked questions. Thank you for applying Please contact the employer for questions regarding your application. Tip: save this job as favorite in your AcademicTransfer account. This gives you an immediate overview and makes it easy to find the job later on. No account yet? Create it now and take advantage of other useful functionalities too! Application procedure For more information about the position, please contact Hester Biemans, via [email protected] Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Jessa Rozema, Corporate Recruiter, via [email protected]. Ready to apply? You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered. To apply, please send the following documents ( max. 3 pages in total for both documents ): Complete and up-to-date curriculum vitae; Motivation letter. The maximum length of the documents must not exceed 3 pages. If it exceeds, applications will not be considered. Additional files such as grades and transcripts are not required during this stage and will not be considered. You can apply up to and including 2 November 2026. Additional information form For this position, you must fill in a mandatory form which will allow us to have a comprehensive view of your qualifications and better assess your fit for it. You can access the form using the link below: PhD: The link between mountains, downstream agriculture and ecosystems glob

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Source: euraxess.ec.europa.eu