The Department of Ecology and Environmental Science at Umeå University, Sweden, invites applicants for a PhD position in physical geography, with a focus on fluvial geomorphology and ice dynamics. Start date will be September 1, 2024, or according to agreement. Application deadline is May 23rd, 2024.

Project description
In the project “Flood Seasons: Impact of seasonality shifts of flooding and ice on river dynamics” we aim to assess how current and future changes in the flooding and ice regime in Nordic rivers impact streambank erosion and sediment transport. In high-latitude and high-altitude rivers, winter ice cover and its break-up can have a large impact on bank erosion and sediment transport. Climate change will affect the ice regime by decreasing the duration of ice cover, altering the number of 0° C-crossings and thus ice break-up events, and change the timing of ice break-up/cover in relation to high flows. In order to understand how climate change will affect ice-related bank erosion and sediment transport, this project will combine various methods, including environmental seismology, river-ice modelling, evaluating historical ice cover data, and field work to examine ice- versus flood-induced bank erosion.

Work tasks
We invite applicants for a PhD student-position within the above project. The holder of this position will combine direct field measurements of channel morphologic change, ice-covered and open-channel sediment transport, and ice dynamics, with analysis of historical data and future scenarios through modelling. The work tasks will include analyzing historical ice freeze-up and break-up compared to changes in hydrological regimes, modelling future ice regimes, and examining the impact of channel morphology on ice build-up. Some of the specific work packages can be tailored to the student’s specific interests, and there is potential to work with environmental seismology data. Potential field sites will be located close to Umeå and in Abisko, Sweden. The position also includes an outreach component to society and several stakeholders involved in river management and restoration.

The position is funded by Formas (Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development) and EMG. The supervisor will be Dr. Lina Polvi Sjöberg with co-supervisor Dr. Eliisa Lotsari (Aalto University, Finland).

Qualifications
To be admitted for studies at third-cycle level the applicant is required to have completed a second cycle level degree, or completed course requirements of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are at second-cycle level, or have an equivalent education from abroad, or equivalent qualifications.

To fulfil the specific entry requirements to be admitted for studies at third-cycle level within the subject of physical geography, the applicant is required to have completed courses within a first-cycle subject relevant to physical geography comprising at least 120 credits. At least one course at second-cycle level in a subject that is central to the doctoral student's planned specialization shall have been completed, as well an independent piece of work (degree project) with relevant specialization of at least 15 credits. The recruitment procedure for the position is in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance (Högskoleförordningen Chapter 5 and 7). The requirements should be met at the time of acceptance to doctoral studies.

We are looking for a person with an interest in examining the bi-directional effects of ice dynamics on fluvial geomorphic processes. The ideal candidate should have experience with field work in cold conditions and experience with any of the following is a strong merit: hydraulic modelling, hydrological analyses, and environmental seismology. The candidate should also have an academic background in geomorphology, physical geography or similar field. The successful applicant should further have a good ability to write and speak English, strong quantitative skills, creativity, power of initiative, independence, good interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate.

Strong merits are knowledge and experience in one or more of the topic areas (fluvial geomorphology, river ice, hydraulic modelling, analysis of hydrological time series and environmental seismology), experience with GIS and statistics, and a driving license for cars.

Evaluations will be based on the application, references, and interviews.

Terms of employment
The employment is expected to result in a doctoral degree and the main assignment for the doctoral student is thus to be part of the research education, which includes participation in the described research project but also to take relevant courses. Teaching and other departmental work (up to a maximum of 20%) can be included. The employment is limited to four years at full time or up to five years if teaching and other departmental work is performed. The salary is fixed according to the established salary level for doctoral students.

How to apply
You apply through our recruitment system on May 23rd, 2024 at the latest. The application, written in English or Swedish, should include:

A short (max 2 pages) description of why you are interested in and suitable for the position
CV
Certified copies of degrees and certificates from higher education
List of completed university courses and the grades
Copy of masters thesis and possibly other scientific publications
Names and contact information of three reference persons

The documents should be in PDF-format.

Contact
If you have questions regarding the position, please contact Lina Polvi Sjöberg, lina.polvi@umu.se

The Department of Ecology and Environmental Science (EMG) is both a research and teaching department situated within the Umeå University campus. The department has approximately 150 staff members, of which 30 are PhD students. For more information, visit

Umeå University strives to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current employment.

We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising help.