PhD position on reconstructing early to middle Eocene climate variability

The Department of Earth Sciences is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate with an MSc background in Earth, Environmental or another relevant field. You will work on the project ‘Reconstructing early to middle Eocene climate variability’.

Your job
Changes in regional temperature and hydrology are among the greatest threats associated with modern global warming. Temperature is an important control on hydrology. The latter will determine water supply, food security and sanitation to human communities. The paradigm is that wet regions become wetter and dry regions become drier with global warming. However, particularly in the vulnerable subtropical and mid-latitude regions, the state-of-the-art climate models produce simulations that differ not only in the magnitude, but even in the sign of change. Moreover, some hydrological reconstructions from past warm climates suggest that dry regions may have been wetter and there are plausible physical explanations for these observations. Moreover, these past warm time intervals have wet mid-to high latitude belts that extend to much higher latitudes than most climate models suggest. Important questions also remain regarding the seasonality of that precipitation.

Past warm climates such as the Eocene provide natural experiments to test model performance in projecting non-analogue future global and regional hydrology and dependence on global and regional temperature. However, so far, such model-data comparisons chronically suffer from a lack of field data describing regional and seasonal hydrological regimes under past warm climates. Time series of hydrological change on orbital time scales, which includes long-term variability in the geographical range of monsoons – a crucial component of hydrology in the subtropics – and extreme events are notoriously missing. Particularly for very warm climates such those of the Eocene, we urgently need such records to unlock the promise of paleoclimate as a useful analogue of future hydrology.

To address this important issue, this project aims to generate orbital-scale resolution (~4 kyr) temperature, oceanographic and hydrological reconstructions for specific time intervals across the early and middle Eocene (~51 – 47 Ma). This time interval covers the transition from the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum to the presumably somewhat cooler early Middle Eocene. One aspect of the research is to assess the timing and global nature of this cooling. Subsequently, we look to constrain:

1. hydrology and its potential monsoon and extreme event forcing during the early and middle Eocene at both subtropical and higher latitudes;
2. the dependency of hydrological regime on regional and global average temperature change in warm climates;
3. the dependency of hydrological regime on the meridional temperature gradient that determines atmospheric water transport to extra-tropical regions.

To this end, you will generate proxy data to assess temperature, hydrology and carbon cycle information. Methods might include palynology and organic biomarker and biogenic calcite geochemistry at several sediment sequences. You will collaborate with fellow PhD candidates or postdocs carrying out climate model experiments that complement your work.

A personalised training programme will be set up, reflecting your training needs and career objectives. About 20% of your time will be dedicated to this training component, which includes following courses/workshops as well as training on the job in assisting in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes of the department at Utrecht University.

The project leader and daily supervisor will be Professor Appy Sluijs, and close collaboration in this project will be with Dr. Peter Bijl. Multiple others will be involved for specific aspects of the project, including several scientists involved in the national programme EMBRACER, such as Dr Francien Peterse (biomarker geochemistry), Dr Martin Ziegler (biogenic carbonate biogeochemist), Dr Anna von der Heydt, Dr Michiel Baatsen and Dr Marlow Cramwinckel (climate modelling), and international partners.

You are a motivated team player with a strong interest in paleoclimate and have completed your MSc degree in Earth Sciences, or another relevant field. Furthermore, you have:

• a true passion for research;
• experience in generating proxy records with affinity for micropaleontology and geochemistry;
• experience with working in a (wet chemistry) laboratory;
• statistical skills for proper data treatment ;
• experience with programming (R or Python) for data handling and visualisation;
• strong analytical skills;
• excellent communication skills;
• good command of spoken and written English;
• motivation to cooperate in a diverse and multidisciplinary research team;
• a basic theoretical background of climate, notably greenhouse forcing and hydrology.

We highly encourage applicants from all members of our community and of diverse backgrounds to join us.

• A position for one year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,901 and €3,707 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The Department of Earth Sciences conducts teaching and research across the full range of the solid Earth and environmental Earth sciences, with activities in almost all areas of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, biogeology and hydrogeology. Our key research themes are Earth & Planetary Processes, Sustainable Use of the Subsurface, Planetary Health & Environment, and Climate & Life. The department hosts a highly international tenured staff of over 50 scientists and more than 110 PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. We house or have access to a wide variety of world-class laboratories, among which are Utrecht University’s Electron Microscopy Centre, the Geolab, and the Earth Simulation Laboratory. Moreover, the department has excellent High-Performance Computing facilities.

The department is located at the Utrecht Science Park. Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of nearly 360,000 and forms a hub in the middle of the country. Its historical city centre and its modern central station can easily be reached from the Science Park by public transport or by a 15-minute bicycle ride. Utrecht boasts beautiful canals with extraordinary wharf cellars housing cafés and terraces by the water, as well as a broad variety of shops and boutiques.

This project is part of EMBRACER research programme funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). At EMBRACER, we work at the very frontiers of knowledge on climate change, Earth’s climate system and climate feedbacks. Within its 10-year programme (2025-2035), EMBRACER brings together a wide range of world-leading climate experts with the aim to address existing uncertainties about climate feedbacks at the boundaries between oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere. Our interdisciplinary approach and state-of-the-art infrastructure will bring us forward in our understanding of the impact of climate feedbacks emerging over the next decades to centuries.

For informal information (not for application) about this position, please contact Professor Appy Sluijs at a.sluijs@uu.nl. Please do not send your application to this email address.

Note that international candidates that need a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance. This will be arranged with help of the International Service Desk (ISD) of our university. Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility, but the ISD may be able to advise you therewith. Unfortunately, we must warn that it is a tight market at the moment. In case of general questions about working and living in The Netherlands, please consult the Dutch Mobility Portal.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University. Commercial response to this ad is not appreciated.