Stilling:
PhD Research Fellow in Environmental Sciences
Deadline 15.04.2019
About the position
The Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences has a vacancy for a position as PhD Research Fellow in Environmental Sciences commencing from 01.10.2019.
The position is at the Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health (INHM) and reports to the Head of Department. INHM provides an active research setting that covers various aspects of the environmental sciences, including a group working on climatic impacts on ecological systems. This group is part of a strong international network.The place of employment is Bø in Telemark, a small town in the beautiful surroundings within two hours travel from Oslo.
Qualifications
Applicants to the PhD position must have a Master’s degree or equivalent higher education qualifications in Environmental Science, Physical Geography, Earth Sciences or related fields. The applicant must have gained the degree within the application deadline. We expect a strong background in climate system sciences. Required skills include experience in modelling, advanced knowledge in spatial statistics and excellent writing and communication skills.
It is a requirement that the successful applicant is granted admission to the university’s doctoral programme in Ecology. Click here for more information.
Co-operation between staff members is an integrated part of the working atmosphere at the University of South-Eastern Norway. The candidate must be motivated and demonstrate a proven ability to work effectively within a team and in a collegiate manner to formulate and realise common objectives.
Personal suitability for the position will be emphasized.
Information about the position
This PhD position is part of the TerraNova ITN project, funded by the H2020 programme of the European Union. TerraNova aims to improve our understanding of landscape histories and land use strategies in Europe in the Holocene and Anthropocene. Previously identified sociocultural transitions and the effects of natural forcing’s will be critically assessed in a new intellectual interdisciplinary arena created by the Terra Nova project in 15 new PhD positions. Regional and continental syntheses will be used to anchor landscape and climate change models, which include the effects of past human actions and generate scenarios for landscape management and rewilding. Ultimately, this project will contribute to identifying major previous shifts in resource use and energy regimes and provide options for the future transition to a low carbon society.
During the past 12 thousand years, the climate and environment in Europe has changed markedly due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. In the four energy regimes (ERs) that are central within the TerraNova project, the relative contributions of these two types of factors changed drastically. In the early Holocene (1st ER), the human population was relatively small, and natural factors most probably dominated over the human impacts in most places. The anthropogenic factors, however, increased in importance in the mid and late Holocene (2nd ER), and after the industrial revolution (3rd and 4th ER) the human impact became the dominant forcing factor. The extent of this dominance in the future depends on the scenario selected. Although this general trend is clear, considerable variations in time and space can be expected throughout Europe, making the manifestation of changes in climate and environment uncertain at the European scale.
Against this background, the overall aims of this PhD project are to: (1) perform spatial and temporal analyses and modelling of transient changes in climate and vegetation during the four energy regimes at the European scale, (2) identify and understand similarities and differences between and within ERs at the European scale, and (3) provide detailed climate information for the four ERs at the scale of TerraNova’s fieldwork regions. This PhD project is part of Work Package (WP) 3: “Rethinking human-environment interaction”. The main data will be obtained from numerical simulations of past, present and future using the iLOVECLIM earth system model and appropriate natural and anthropogenic forcings. The temporal and spatial variability in the obtained model results will be analyzed thoroughly and statistical downscaling methods will be applied to derive information at the regional scale. The PhD project will create model-based maps and time series of past, present and future climate change that are essential for understanding of the variability at the regional scale. This information is crucial for other parts of the TerraNova project, working at selected fieldwork sites. In particular, this position will collaborate with project colleagues at selected sites in Sweden and Romania. In addition, the scenario-based simulations will provide a link to potential changes in the future.
This PhD project will be jointly supervised by Prof. Hans Renssen (University of South-Eastern Norway), Prof. Marie-José Gaillard (Linnaeus University, Sweden) and Dr. Ionut Cristea (GEOCONCEPT, Romania). Three secondments will take place: to Linnaeus University and Uppsala University to perform climate analysis on the Swedish TerraNova site, and to intersectoral partner GEOCONCEPT to analyse the climate of the Romanian TerraNova site.
Appointment is for a period of three years. The position does not include teaching duties.
For further information concerning the position please contact professor Hans Renssen, hans.renssen@usn.no.
We offer
- A professionally stimulating working environment.
- Good opportunities to develop your career and your academic skills.
- A good social environment.
- Attractive welfare benefits in the State Pension Plan.
- Opportunity for physical activities within working hours.
Salary
PhD Research Fellow (code 1017): NOK 449 400 a year. Further promotion will be based on service in the position. In special cases, employment in code 1378 may be considered. Salary NOK 442 400 – 607 700 a year. A statutory contribution will be made from the employee’s salary to the state pension plan.
Additional mobility and family allowances are available. For further information click here.
Additional information
Appointment to the position will be carried out by The Appointments Board for PhD Research Fellows. An expert assessment of applicants will be carried out. Short-listed candidates will be called in for interviews and must be prepared to present and discuss their projects.
The successful applicant must comply with the laws, regulations and agreements that apply to the position.
As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information act § 25 2 paragraph, information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, even though the applicant has requested non-disclosure. The applicant will be informed if his/her request has been declined.
How to apply
University of South-Eastern Norway uses online applications in the recruitment system Jobbnorge. We therefore ask applicants to register their application and CV online. The application must include the following documents:
1. Certified diplomas and certificates from university college/university
2. Master’s thesis
3. Any scientific publications and a list of these
4. Three references (contact information)
Please note that all documents must be translated into English or a Scandinavian language by an authorized translator. In order to be fully evaluated for the position all applicants must upload their application with relevant attachements in our electronic recruitment system (Jobbnorge) within the application deadline.