PhD Position in Paleoclimatology

The Utrecht Department of Earth Sciences, group ‘Stratigraphy and Paleontology’, is looking for a highly motivated and versatile PhD candidate with a MSc background in Earth Sciences, Environmental sciences, Biology, Climate physics, Oceanography or other appropriate fields.

Your job
You will work on the project called “Eemian sea level”. In this 4-year fully funded position, you will combine 2 toolsets: generating proxy data reflecting surface ocean changes, and simulations of sea level changes using comprehensive ice sheet models.

The sea level in the Eemian was much higher than today, 3 to 6 m or even higher. The high sea levels during the Eemian cannot be explained by a complete melting of the Greenland ice sheet, as large parts of it survived the Eemian stage. This implies that the Antarctic ice sheet was also very vulnerable to melting during this period, but little model studies are done on the Antarctic contribution. The aim of this research project is to further investigate the timing of major sea level changes, and thus the contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets during the Eemian by generating high-resolution proxy records from the Dutch subsurface, including the type locality of the Eemian near the city of Amersfoort. Special emphasis will be on the varying background conditions between the Saalian to Eemian transition (i.e., termination II), when large ice sheets formed the Dutch coastline and the adjacent North Sea, and that of the LGM-Holocene transition (i.e., termination I), when large ice caps lay further north. The comparison between these new datasets and experiments with ice sheet models could lead to a better long-term projection of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets in our warming world.

The project is highly multidisciplinary and collaborative. Proxy data will amongst others infer the stable isotope composition of foraminifera and mollusc shells, since not much is known about the changes in temperature and isotopic composition of the waters flooding the Netherlands and other parts of Northwest Europe during past interglacial periods, such as the Eemian. The study is expected to shed new light upon (1) the timing and possible cause of rapid sea level changes during the Eemian, and (2) the complex interactions between global warming, sea level changes, glacial rebound and sediment transport on a more regional scale.

The position is part of the Earth System Feedback Research Centre (EMBRACER), which focuses on the carbon and water cycle feedbacks within the climate system. EMBRACER includes 23 principal scientists from a wide variety of disciplines, from physics, environmental, earth and social sciences in the Netherlands. The EMBRACER community of students and staff will have regular cross-disciplinary meetings, events and lots of opportunities to get in contact with the wide spectrum of climate science. The project will also have close links with Past to Future (P2F), a 4-year Horizon Europe research project which was launched in March 2025, consisting of 24 partners from a wide-range of disciplines in future climate model development, paleo-climate data collection, and applied mathematics.

The project requires the development of both numerical skills and development of proxy data. You must have completed your MSc degree in Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Biology, Climate Physics or Oceanography or a related discipline. Non-Dutch diploma’s may be subjected to specific approval by the Board for Conferral of Doctoral Degrees, before the candidate can be accepted to the PhD programme.

The project will require:

• Experience or strong interest in paleoclimate/paleoceanography
• Skills in micropaleontology or affinity with microscope work
• Experience in working in a laboratory
• Affinity to coding and programming or willingness to learn
• Versatility and flexibility, to learn new techniques and skillsets
• Capability to independently plan and organize your work, with interest in taking a leading role in its direction
• Adequate social/verbal/communication skills

Due to the international character of our research, good command of spoken and written English is essential. We highly encourage applicants from all members of our community and of diverse backgrounds to apply.

We offer:

• a full-time (1.0. FTE) position, initially for one year with an extension to four years in total 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 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.059 and €3.881 in the case of full-time employment (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 also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development, various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities. You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

A personalised training programme will be set up, mutually agreed on upon recruitment, which will reflect both your training needs to perform the research, development goals and career objectives. As part of this training, up to 10% of your time will be dedicated to assisting in the BSc and MSc teaching programmes of the Earth Sciences department.

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. The department hosts a highly international tenured staff of over 50 scientists and more than 110 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Our research programme spans four intertwined themes: Climate & Life, Sustainable use of the subsurface, Earth & Planetary processes, and Planetary health & (the) environment. We house or have access to a wide variety of world-class laboratories.

The Stratigraphy & Paleontology group is engaged in multidisciplinary research on the interaction between climate, the oceans, the lithosphere and biosphere. Using chemical and biological proxies, we reconstruct paleoclimates, ecosystem dynamics and evolutionary processes, and refine the geologic time scale by applying an integrated stratigraphic approach. We are particularly interested in constraining the causes of abrupt and cyclic, (sub)orbital-scale, climate change in the past and its relation to life on earth.

About Utrecht
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 ancient city centre and its modern central station can easily be reached from the Utrecht 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, music concert halls, and lots of opportunities to broaden horizons outside academia.

For additional information (not for application) about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Dr Lucas J. Lourens at L.J.Lourens@uu.nl

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.