Postdoc in Numerical Modelling of Marine Plastic Pollution and its Sources
(1.0 FTE)
Job description
The ocean's biodiversity supports the livelihoods of over three billion
people, providing vital services, including food and nutrient cycling. The new
NECCTON project involves 20 partners from across Europe and will enable the
European Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) to deliver novel products that
inform marine biodiversity conservation and food resources management. This is
achieved by fusing new data into innovative ecosystem models that integrate
biological and abiotic components, habitats, and stressors of marine
ecosystems.
developing numerical simulations of plastic pollution transport and
distribution based on the oceanparcels.org framework;
analysing and validating these simulations in the Northwest European Shelf
and Arctic regions;
interacting with partner organisations who will develop code for other
pollutants such as oil, trace metals, and persistent organic pollutants;
supporting the integration of the pollutants code into the CMEMS platform;
collaborating with stakeholders to map the sources of pollutants
transported towards Mediterranean aquaculture farm areas;
working within a large, interdisciplinary project spanning many European
partners.
At the end of the project, you will have:
expertise in the simulation and visualisation of plastic transport by
ocean currents;
a deep understanding of the processes to implement state-of-the-art
research codes into a widely-used online data platform;
developed skills to manage deliverables within European consortia;
had the opportunity to set your own research questions and goals;
further advanced your skills in numerical modelling and data analysis in
python;
enhanced your skills to communicate your scientific results to a wide
audience including peers, media, and the general public.
Qualifications
Our ideal candidate has a driven and collaborative spirit and has multiple of
the following:
a PhD in physics, computer science, applied mathematics, computational
biology, or similar field;
strong skills in python programming;
motivation to cooperate within a dynamic, multidisciplinary and
international research team;
an excellent level of written and spoken English;
preferably you also have a proven affinity with physical oceanography and
experience with software development practices such as version control and
unit-testing. In addition, you bring along strong skills in advanced data
science.
Offer
A position for 2.5 years;
a full-time gross salary ranging from € 2960,- to € 4670,- in scale 10;
8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment
conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities;
embedding in and learning from a great team of multi-disciplinary
oceanographers.
In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities,
Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include
agreements on professional development, leave arrangements and sports. We also
give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the
Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow.
About the organization
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
societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open
Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.
Additional information
For more information about this position, please contact Prof dr Erik van
Sebille via [email protected]
Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. We welcome employees with
a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
your letter of motivation;
your Curriculum Vitae;
the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of at least two
references.
If this specific opportunity isn't for you, but you know someone else who may
be interested, please forward this vacancy to them.
Some connections are fundamental – Be one of them
The application deadline is
25/02/2023
