Job The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) - PhD position “Development of foraminiferal tracers of modern and past Agulhas Current dynamics”

GATEWAYS: Multi-level assessment of ocean-climate dynamics: a gateway to interdisciplinary training and analysis.

GATEWAYS carries out research into an ocean current system that influences the climate of southern Africa and the strength of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean: The Agulhas Current around South Africa and the water flow from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. This research is designed to understand the connection between ocean currents, regional climate and the strength of the so-called overturning circulation of the Atlantic. The GATEWAYS project combines three disciplines: ocean observations and processes, ocean and climate reconstructions, and climate modeling. The project tests the sensitivity of the Agulhas Current to changing climates of the past; the Current’s influence on southern Africa climates, including weather systems and rain fall patterns; transfer of water from the subtropical South Indian Ocean to the Atlantic by Agulhas “leakage” around southern Africa; and the impact of this water transfer on the Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation.

In this project we will develop foraminiferal tracers using ocean moorings deployed in the upstream Agulhas Current for reconstructing past dynamics in Indian-Atlantic exchange. We will use the specific shell fluxes, isotope- and chemical composition of planktonic foraminifera, to determine their seasonality, the effect of passing eddies and the interannual variability (IOD/ENSO-scale). We will use time-series sediment traps coupled to remote sensing and in-situ oceanographic measurements from ocean moorings (northern, central and southern Mozambique Channel) and collected by ship-board observations. These will be coupled to the sediment record from core-tops, including benthic foraminifera, to develop calibration curves for Agulhas "source" waters at the ocean surface and in the deep return current during ocean-climate change.

We are looking for enthusiastic and creative persons with a MSc degree in Biogeosciences or environmental science. Experience with (bio) geochemistry and fluency in English are prerequisites. We expect that the candidates will successfully complete a PhD thesis.

The PhD positionis for 4 years andwill be hosted by the Department of Marine Geology. You will be working in a team with several other PhDs and PostDocs at NIOZ, both GATEWAYS and otherwise, as well as from the University of Amsterdam. You will also be working with GATEWAYS colleagues in a. o. Spain, Germany and the UK, and may be asked to join research cruises in the Mozambique Channel.

The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) is the leading research institute in the Netherlands for the basic marine sciences. Five departments (Physical Oceanography, Marine Geology, Marine Organic Biogeochemistry, Biological Oceanography and Marine Ecology) carry out the multidisciplinary research of the institute. Approximately 250 persons are currently appointed at the NIOZ. NIOZ has a large variety of instrumentation and is operating modernly equipped research vessels for coastal and ocean studies. The institute is located on the Wadden Island of Texel, close to the mainland.

Further information on the project can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Geert-Jan Brummer (tel. +31-222-369442, email: Geert-Jan.Brummer@nioz.nl.

Following EU recruitment and mobility regulations candidates applying for the Ph.D. positions may not have resided or carried out their main activity in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their appointment.