The position

UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Science and Technology, has a PhD position vacant in Reconstructions of bottom current activity and general paleoceanography of the Nordic sea on orbital and millennial timescales at the Department of Geosciences. The appointment is for a period of 4 years.

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT – Developing the High North

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world. Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.

Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

The position’s affiliation

The Faculty of Science and Technology is comprised of the following departments: Department of Physics and Technology, Department of Geology, Department of Computer Science, Department of Chemistry, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Department of Engineering and Safety. The Department of Geology currently has 12 permanent scientific staff positions, 15 post-doctoral fellows and researchers, 15 PhD-students and 12 technical/administrative positions.

The position is affiliated with two major scientific programs, CAGE “Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate”, where WP6 studies the general paleoceanography of the Nordic seas in relation to variations in greenhouse gases and climate and to some extent also with the research project The Nansen Legacy. The Nansen Legacy is the Norwegian Arctic research community’s joint effort to establish a holistic understanding of a changing marine Arctic climate and ecosystem. Through the Department of Geosciences Research School and the National Research School ‘CHESS’ dedicated interdisciplinary summer schools, intensive courses and teaching cruises are organized to strengthen national and international cooperation and integration of early career researchers. Furthermore, the position offers the possibility of mobility to ensure national and international exchange. The person appointed will collaborate with scientists from the department, UNIS (the University Centre in Svalbard) and international collaborators.

The focus of this task is to improve our understanding of changes in the marine currents systems, current strength, water mass properties, meltwater from ice sheets and icebergs in relation to climate change on orbital (glacial-interglacial time scale forced by insolation) and the enigmatic abrupt climatic and oceanographic changes on millennial and centennial timescales termed Dansgaard-Oeschger events, that occurred during the Weichselian ice age and during the deglaciations representing global warming phases.

The position’s field of research

The research field is sedimentology and paleoceanography (emphasis on sortable silt grain-size fraction, micropaleontology and geochemistry (planktic and benthic foraminifera, stable isotopes, Mg/Ca ratios in benthic foraminifera).

The project aims at reconstructing the oceanography of inflowing and outflowing bottom and surface water to the Nordic seas based on a series of marine sediment cores spanning 400 m to 3 km water depth. These together cover the time interval mid-late Saale to today (covering the Eemian and Holocene interglacials and Weichselian glaciation and three deglaciation phases). The multidisciplinary study will combine sortable silt analyses for bottom current strength with ‘traditional’ paleoceanographic tools – foraminiferal fauna quantifications for transfer functions, stable isotopes for stratigraphy, water mass properties and meltwater signals, and benthic magnesium/calcium ratios for bottom water temperature quantification.

A number of records with already published or unpublished paleoceanographic data will be available for the study. The records cover the East Greenland Current and the Denmark Strait, the Fram Strait, the Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard. The Atlantic zone is represented by the western Svalbard - Barents Sea margin, the Norwegian margin and the Faroe-Shetland channel. Surface samples from these areas will also be investigated for sortable silt to form a baseline to near-modern oceanography to compare with past changes and to calibrate Mg/Ca values in benthic foraminifera.

The PhD fellow will cooperate with several on-going projects among working groups in CAGE and The Nansen Legacy project and involving the fields of oceanography, biochemistry, geochemistry, biology, geology, and Arctic and global climate change.

Contacts

Further information about the position is available by contacting:

• Prof. Dr. Tine L. Rasmussen, phone : +4777644408, e-mail : tine.rasmussen@uit.no
• Dr. Juho Junttila, phone : +4777644460, e-mail: juho.junttila@uit.no

Qualifications

The position requires a Master’s degree in marine geology or relevant field. Experience with research through sedimentology and/or geochemistry, and microfossils (preferably foraminifera) are required. The successful applicant must document knowledge in sedimentology and/or micropaleontology, and/or paleoceanography of the Atlantic/Arctic Ocean at master’s level and have experience with benthic and/or planktic foraminifera. Experience with oceanography is an advantage, but not a requirement.

The applicant must provide a short description (max one page) comprising ideas for how the competence described above can be used to address the research questions outlined in the job/project description.

The position requires admission to the PhD programme. Admission requires that the candidate has at least 5 years of higher education, comparable to 300 ECTS. The applicant must have a master thesis evaluated equivalent to 30 ECTS or more. The applicant must have grade C or better on the masters degree, and an average of C or better.

Candidates with a foreign education will be evaluated on whether the educational background is equivalent to Norwegian higher education. The faculty uses national guidelines according to NOKUTs country database and the GSU-list. Applicants from some countries will have to document additional higher education in order to be admitted.

Documented fluency in English is required. More information about requirements and the PhD programme is available here: https://uit.no/nt/phd

Application

Your application must include:

• Application letter
• CV - summarizing education, positions and academic work
• Description of competence to address the research questions
• Diplomas and transcripts for Bachelor’s and Master’s degree (diploma supplement)
• Master thesis, and any other academic works
• Documentation on English proficiency
• Three professional references with contact details

Documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. We only accept applications through Jobbnorge, within the deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. During this assessment process, emphasis will be attached to the applicant’s potential for research as shown by the documentation included in the application.

In addition, consideration may be given to work experience or other activities of significance for the implementation of the PhD studies, and to any teaching qualifications. This includes teaching education, teaching experience, and experience from popularization and experience/education from other types of dissemination. Information and material to be considered during the assessment must be submitted by the stipulated deadline.

The applicants who are assessed as the best qualified will called to an interview. The interview shall among other things aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position.

Working conditions

The appointment is for a period of 4 years, and the nominal length of the PhD program is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % of each year, and will consist of teaching or other duties for the university. The position will especially be assigned teaching duties in micropaleontology, paleoclimate, geochemistry and marine geology.

Remuneration of PhD positions are in state salary code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2% to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

The PhD position is for a fixed term, with the objective of completion of research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to a PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD Candidate shall participate in the faculty’s organized research training, and the PhD project shall be completed during the period of employment.

More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: http://uit.no/mobility

General

We make the appointment in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. UiT will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability

According to the Norwegian Freedom and 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.

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