Vacancy
PhD position: Modelling pollutant transport across the soil-atmosphere continuum
Your job
Are you a highly motivated and curious researcher who is passionate about soil and air quality? Would you enjoy pursuing a PhD in modelling the transport of soil pollutants in the atmosphere? Are you enthusiastic about combining field work and modelling approaches? Do you thrive in interdisciplinary collaborations? Then you could be the ideal PhD candidate to join our team!
The Soil Physics and Land Management (SLM) group of Wageningen University is coordinating an EU-funded project SOILPROM, which aims at modelling soil pollution processes across the soil-water-atmosphere continuum and quantify the impacts on ecosystem services. Within the SOILPROM project, a PhD position is available joint with the Meteorology and Air Quality group (MAQ), focussing on the soil-atmosphere interface and dealing with field measurements and atmospheric modelling.
In this PhD project, you will specifically focus on the environmental fate of microplastics and pesticides. Your research involves designing field campaigns for measuring soil wind erosion and dust transport and associated pollutants in two Dutch case study sites of the SOILPROM project. Using data collected, you will develop a physically based dust module within the open-source Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) MicroHH model. With this advanced model, the soil-atmosphere interface will be studied in detail to assess the impact of soil wind erosion on emission and atmospheric transport of pollutants. You will first carry out high resolution field scale simulations to compare model results to fine-scale field observations. Once validated, you will use larger spatial domains to investigate the transport of particulate phase pesticides and microplastics to offsite areas. Your work will also involve pesticide and microplastic analysis by conducting chemical experiments in the lab under guidance of qualified staff.
Data on concentration and distribution of soil pollutants, especially emerging pollutants such as microplastics, are scarce. Therefore, this PhD position provides you with a great opportunity to work on an emerging research topic within an interdisciplinary team. Your project is also linked to a recently funded NWO Plastic Aerosol project, and collaboration with another PhD candidate appointed through the sister project is foreseen. The proposed position offers potential connections and collaborations with 12 project partners across Europe as well as with on-going PhD students within the two chairgroups that are working on soil pollution and/or atmospheric modelling, guaranteeing an engaging and dynamic working environment.
Your duties and responsibilities include:
- conducting field measurements for wind-driven transport of soil pollutants including microplastics and pesticides;
- developing and validating a high-resolution atmospheric model for pesticides and microplastics;
- conducting chemical lab experiments for analysing pesticides and microplastics in soil and dust samples;
- publishing research results in peer-reviewed journals;
- disseminating project results to stakeholders and scientific community through workshops.
Your qualities
You are/have:
- completed – or will soon complete – an MSc degree in atmospheric science, soil science, physical science, engineering, environmental science, or a related field;
- hands-on experience or strong affinity with large eddy simulation modelling;
- affinity with field of pollutant transport, microplastic, soil and air quality; and strong affinity with conducting field work;
- experience with programming, preferably with Python and C++ as well as scientific writing;
- proactive, collaborative, and have the ability to work independently as well as in a team;
You will work here
The research is embedded within the two chair groups Soil Physics and Land Managemnet (SLM) (https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/environmental-sciences/soil-physics-and-land-management-group.htm) which is led by Prof. dr. Coen Ritsema (https://www.wur.nl/en/persons/coen-ritsema-1.htm) and Meteorology and Air Quality (MAQ) (https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/environmental-sciences/meteorology-and-air-quality-group.htm) which is led by Prof. dr. Maarten Krol (https://www.wur.nl/en/persons/maarten-krol.htm). Both Prof. dr. Coen Ritsema and Prof. dr. Maarten Krol will be your promoters, and you will be supervised by Dr. Mahrooz Rezaei, and Dr. Bart van Stratum who will provide the guidance and support through the project. Most of the work will be conducted in Wageningen, however, some travelling to the case study sites and to SOILPROM plenary meetings across Europe is expected.
We offer you
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
- Partially paid parental leave;
- working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
- the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
- there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
- a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
- excellent pension scheme.
The gross salary for the first year is € 2.770 - per month rising to € 3.539,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.
There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.
You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.
Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.
Do you want more information?
For more information about this position, please contact Dr. Mahrooz - Rezaei, Associate Professor, +31317488488 or by e-mail mahrooz.rezaei@wur.nl or Prof. dr. Coen - Ritsema, Chair of Soil Physics and Land Management group, by e-mail coen.ritsema@wur.nl.
For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter recruitment.support@wur.nl
.
Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.
This vacancy will be listed up to and including 2 September 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews soon after the closing date in the second week of September (between 9-13 Sep 2024). Preferred starting date is October 2024.
Additional information form
For this position, you must fill in a mandatory form which will allow us to have a comprehensive view of your qualifications and better assess your fit for it. You can access the form using the link below:
https://forms.office.com/e/6UeqaSdPnK
Your prompt response will ensure that your application continues to move forward in the evaluation process. We assure you that the information provided will be kept confidential and used solely for this application process.
Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.
We are
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.
Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.