The Department of Earth Sciences is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate with an MSc background in Earth Sciences, Civil or Hydraulic Engineering, or other appropriate fields. You will work on the project:
Novel experimental turbidity currents in the TurbiFlume.
Your jobMore than 10,000 submarine canyons connect the continents to the deep ocean. These canyons are the conduits for transport of land-derived materials to the ocean floor in avalanche-like events called turbidity currents. Turbidity currents transport enormous amounts of sediment and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) and bury this in deposits below the ocean floor. They additionally convey abundant nutrients and oxygenated water masses, which together with the POC (as food) support conditions for abundant life at unexpected depths in the absence of light for photosynthesis. Submarine canyons are also called the
‘human connection to the deep sea (Dissanayaka et al., 2023)’. Unfortunately, this connection brings land-derived pollutants (microplastics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) into the very heart of these ecodiverse hotspots, making them vulnerable to far-field human interference. While this general knowledge is established, the processes of transport and burial during turbidity current events remain poorly understood.
Previous experimental research into turbidity currents has been fundamental in generating the basic understanding of how they shape deep marine environments. Real world monitoring of turbidity currents is challenging and risky due to the difficulty of reaching submarine canyons and the sometimes violent nature of turbidity current events. But despite these challenges, a flurry of recent successes in real world monitoring has resulted in various additional insights and hypotheses that have not been tested or reproduced in the laboratory yet. This includes aspects and phenomena such as the role of dense frontal cells and basal layers, substrate erosion, flow ignition, the distinction between high- and low-density flows, and effect of submarine canyon dynamics such as tides, internal waves, nepheloid layers, and up- and downwelling. This body of work suggests that conventional experimental structures are not sufficient to fully understand the dynamics of turbidity current processes in natural environments. The TurbiFlume set-up in the
Earth Simulation Laboratory of Utrecht University has been designed and implemented to overcome some of the limitations that have prevented experimental contributions to these newly emerged themes. This project will utilize the TurbiFlume set-up to establish a new framework for experimental turbidity currents that goes beyond previous studies. The results will form a platform for future research that quantifies the role of submarine canyons as conveyors of sediments, carbon, pollutants, nutrients, oxygen, and heat from the continental shelves to the deep ocean.
TrainingA 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 and/or workshops (some of which are mandatory), as well as training on the job in assisting in the bachelor’s and master’s degrees programmes of the department at Utrecht University.