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PhD Research Fellowship in aquatic biology focusing to land - freshwater - marine couplings

Deadline: 11.11.2019

Job description

Universitetet i Oslo

The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest rated institution of research and education with 28 000 students and 7000 employees. Its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally esteemed research communities make UiO an important contributor to society.


Department of Biosciences (IBV) is one of nine departments at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Research in the department is organised in five sections covering topics within biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, cell biology, genetics,

aquatic biology, toxicology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Education across these topics is offered for around 380 bachelor, 170 master, and 75 PhD students. With 52 permanent professors/associate professors, post-docs, researchers, technical, and administrative personnel, the Department has a total staff of 340 from more than 30 different countries. The Department aims to maintain high international standards within both research and teaching. The new bachelor program in bioscience is the first of its kind to include programming and computational modelling as core elements.

Flere stillinger fra Universitetet i Oslo

A position as PhD Research Fellow in aquatic biology focusing to land-freshwater-marine couplings is available at the Department of Biosciences and affiliated with the Centre for Biogeochemistry of the Anthropocene (CBA).

The fellowship will be for a period of 3 years with an expected starting date early January 2020.

The fellowship is part of the project “A green-blue link made browner: how terrestrial climate change affects marine ecology (GreenBlue)” funded by the Research Council of Norway and coordinated by the University of Bergen. The successful candidate will be affiliated with the CBA which has a strong team of researchers and a number of postdocs and PhD fellows working on climate drivers, atmospheric, terrestrial, freshwater and coastal systems, both studying the linkage between these systems, system responses, and feedbacks. The PhD fellow will thus be part of a motivated research team with a high number of early career scientists working together in a highly interdisciplinary environment.

The project has the following main objectives; 1) to investigate how land use change and climate warming may have increased runoff of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to lakes and rivers (UiO), and 2) how this will influence light conditions and thereby also the ecology in coastal waters. One of the main hypothesis underpinning the project is an expectation that increased DOM concentration will cause darker coastal waters, and thus delay the spring phytoplankton bloom, which in turn will have consequences for other parts of the coastal ecosystem, including zooplankton and fish.

The candidate is expected to work specifically on addressing time-series on fluxes from freshwater to sea, including Norwegian rivers and rivers entering the Baltic Sea (together with Swedish colleagues), which ultimately affect optical properties in Norwegian, coastal water. For long term estimated on shift in carbon fluxes, analysis of marine sediment cores and stable isotope analysis will be assessed. A recently published article from the project can be found at https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14810 .

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition of being a leading research faculty. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

  • A Master’s degree or equivalent in biology relevant to this PhD project (e.g. aquatic biology, biological oceanography) or a master in natural sciences demonstrating skills in remote sensing or ocean optics, is required
  • Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) must correspond to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

The following qualifications (some or all) are desired:

  • Experience with remote sensing (NDVI) and optical properties of water are relevant
  • Statistical knowledge in Python, R or equivalents
  • Knowledge of large data analysis and visualization tools
  • Ability and willingness to participate in interdisciplinary research

Creativity and innovation are valued, as is a demonstrated high working capacity, passion for research, and self-motivation. The candidate should expect to work in a highly collaborative team-oriented environment and participate in a wide array of activities related to land-atmosphere processes with an emphasis on land surface processes in cold environments. The candidate is also expected to take part in sampling of marine sediments.

Grade requirements

The norm is as follows:

  • the average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • the Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educational system
  • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/application/application.html

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

The fellowship requires admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The application to the PhD programme must be submitted to the department no later than two months after taking up the position. For more information see:

http://www.uio.no/english/research/phd/

http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

We offer

  • salary NOK 479 600 – 523 200 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow (position code 1017)
  • attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

How to apply

The application must include

  • Cover letter
  • CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
  • A brief account (one page, as a separate file) of the applicant’s interests and motivation for applying for the position
  • Copies of the original Master’s degree diploma, transcripts of records and letters of recommendation
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • List of up to 3 publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
  • Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

Applicants may be called in for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships at the University of Oslo.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

Contact information

For further information please contact:

For questions regarding the recruitment system please contact: HR-officer Nina Holtan, nina.holtan@mn.uio.no.

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