Introduction

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Presentation

The Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST) of the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment of the University of Lausanne opens an SNSF position in Measuring Greenland Ice Sheet hydrology and ice dynamics,

Job information

Expected start date in position : 01.09.2024 (with flexibility)

Contract length : 1 year, renewable to a maximum of 3 years

Activity rate : 80 - 100%

Workplace : Lausanne Mouline (Géopolis building)

Your responsibilities

A post-doc position on Measuring Greenland Ice Sheet hydrology and ice dynamics is funded for three years as part of the Swiss National Science Foundation project ‘FlowState: Melting, hydrology and ice flow at high elevations of the Greenland Ice Sheet’.

The overarching objective of the project is to quantify the impact of high-elevation surface melting upon the ice sheet’s dynamic stability through the 21st century and beyond. The project will measure and then model basal hydrology and ice flow in areas where surface meltwater drains through kilometre-plus thick ice.

This position focuses on field data acquisition and analysis including GNSS, surface melt/hydrology and GPR (ApRES), to gain a process understanding of thick ice flow. Field campaigns will take place each spring before melting begins and will be around one month long, consisting mainly of temporary field camps on the ice sheet surface.

The primary responsibility of this position is to investigate surface-to-bed hydrological coupling, particularly by imaging englacial and basal water content. The candidate will play a major role in preparing and executing the field campaigns and will also participate in team-level publications.

The holder of the position will collaborate with Andrew Tedstone (PI of the FlowState project), and a PhD student. They will be involved in supervising the PhD student.

Your qualifications

We seek a dedicated individual with research interests in glaciology and/or geophysics. The qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience outlined below summarise what is needed for this role and describe the criteria that we will use to choose the candidate. In your application, please show how you meet these criteria.

Essential criteria:

• A PhD within the domain of geosciences, physical geography or geophysics (or expected to be awarded shortly).


• Publication in peer-reviewed journals.


• An ability to undertake independent research.


• Experience in analysing geophysical data such as ground-penetrating radar returns and in programming for scientific analysis, preferably including Python.


• Previous field experience, ideally glaciological.


• A good level of physical fitness to conduct fieldwork and ability to travel to Greenland for fieldwork.


• Ability to work as part of a team or independently. and to work to project deadlines.


• Excellent skills in written and oral English are required.

 

Desirable criteria:

• Experience in acquiring data by GNSS and geophysical (radar) methods is a significant advantage.


• Experience in developing automated processing chains for data processing.


• Experience of optical remote sensing.


• Ability to communicate scientific methods in a wide range of contexts, for example to the general public and to policy makers.


• Knowledge of French language would be an advantage.

What the position offers you

We offer a nice working place in a multicultural, diverse and dynamic academic environment. Opportunities for professional training, a lot of activities and other benefits to discover.

A stimulating working environment and the opportunity to shape the research strategy in collaboration with the PI.

Involvement in field research on the Greenland ice sheet.

Opportunities to gain experience in supervision of PhD and MSc students.

You will be exposed to strong expertise across IDYST and FGSE in several key domains, including glacial geophysics, numerical modelling of glaciers, glaciated catchment processes, and geostatistical algorithms and image analysis.

Contact for further information

Prof. Andrew Tedstone

andres.tedstone@unil.ch

Your application

Deadline : 22.04.2024

Please, send your full application with all the following in Word or PDF :

• Motivation letter


• Curriculum Vitae


• Copy of university certificates and transcripts of marks awarded


• details of two people who can provide references


• an electronic version of a research output (MSc diploma thesis, scientific publication)

Only applications through this website will be taken into account.

We thank you for your understanding.

Additional information

UNIL is committed to equal opportunities and diversity.
www.unil.ch/egalite

UNIL supports early career researchers.
www.unil.ch/graduatecampus