PhD-position: Suspended Matter, Light and Nutrients in the North Sea

The department of Ocean Systems (OCS) at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ), in collaboration with the Technical University Delft is looking for a highly motivated PhD student to join our research on suspended matter, light and nutrients in the North Sea. We aim to understand and quantify the dynamics of nutrients and suspended matter and consequent light attenuation as base of the North Sea food web. In this PhD project, you will join research cruises on the North Sea, carry out experiments in the lab, analyze large data sets and do numerical simulations. Based at NIOZ on Texel, you work together with your supervisory team (Henko de Stigter, Bram van Prooijen and Claire Chassagne), as well as with a team of 6 other PhDs.

THE PROJECT

The North Sea is extensively used for fisheries, wind turbines, sand mining, and other human activities. At the same time, the North Sea is a valuable ecosystem, hosting a variety of marine life. Policy making requires balancing these often conflicting functions. A solid understanding of the various components and interactions in the foodweb in the North Sea is essential, but at the moment not sufficiently present. To bridge this knowledge gap, a large-scale research program was started, coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat: MONS (Monitoring Onderzoek Natuurversterking Soortbescherming (~ Monitoring, Research, Strengthening Nature and Species Protection).

This PhD project is part of MONS and investigates the base of the foodweb: how much light and inorganic nutrients are available for primary production? Fine sediments and organic matter have the tendency to aggregate, substantially influencing the sediment dynamics and light attenuation. Understanding the underlying mechanisms over various timescales (storms, tides, seasons) will be one of the key challenges. Our aims are to (i) determine how suspended particulate matter concentration, composition and aggregation state modulate the light regime in the water column, (ii) investigate variability in suspended particulate matter (and hence light regime) and inorganic nutrients in relation to physical and biological processes, and (iii) elucidate the role of suspended particulate matter and seafloor sediment as sources of inorganic nutrients. The results will be used as input for the other MONS PhD projects working on the foodweb dynamics.

YOUR ROLE

The approach to tackle the research questions is based on three components: field work, lab work, and data analysis. Joining field work at sea is an essential component. You will participate in regular North Sea monitoring surveys coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat and collect the specific data and water and sediment samples required for addressing your research questions. These will be intensive, but rewarding cruises. Your focus will be on quantifying and characterizing the suspended particulate matter in the water column by means of in-situ optical and acoustic sensors and by laboratory analysis of collected samples. The field research will be complemented by laboratory experiments under controlled conditions to gain better understanding of the functioning of different types of sensors used in the field. Apart from the field and lab work, you will be expected to find your way around large datasets and use existing information to guide the efforts at sea and in the lab. The regular MWTL surveys conducted for more than a decade by Rijkswaterstaat provide a wealth of data on North Sea ecological and geochemical parameters, and within NIOZ and TU Delft relevant published and unpublished datasets are available. Furthermore, as part of a team of PhDs you are expected to actively exchange ideas and results within the MONS community and specifically the pillar that focuses on the basis of the food web. You will present the data from the field and lab experiments within the department, at project meetings and (inter)national conferences and you will prepare scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

NIOZ DEPARTMENT OF OCEAN SYSTEMS

You will be employed by NIOZ, as a member of the Ocean Systems department, based on the island of Texel. NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. The department of Ocean Systems (OCS) studies the role of the ocean in a changing climate, from equator to pole, from the continental shelf to the deep ocean and from the past to the present. The OCS department investigates ocean functioning by means of sea-going expeditions, during which data and samples are collected from the water column and the seafloor. The samples are analyzed in on-board and on-shore laboratories. Data and samples collected over past decades and archived in our repositories are a valuable source of information for our ocean research. The OCS technical and scientific staff is international, diverse, and has approximately 50 members, including PhD students, postdocs and master students.

TU DELFT

Some parts of your research will be done at TU Delft, while you will also take part in the TU Delft Graduate School. Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences is in the top 5 best faculties for civil engineering (3^rd on QS ranking 2024). The department of Hydraulic Engineering focuses on understanding and intervening in rivers, coasts and seas.

THE CANDIDATE

Need-to-have:

• A MSc degree in oceanography, hydraulic engineering, earth sciences, or a related field
• Capable of joining field sea-going research cruises
• Doing a PhD at NIOZ and promoting at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with sea-going research (in case you had the opportunity)
• Good writing skills (demonstrated by MSc report or publication(s))
• Experience in laboratory work
• Experience with programming (Python, Matlab, R, or similar) to digest large data sets
• Project management skills (to finish your PhD in 4 years)
• A collaborative attitude

NIOZ wants to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence. Within the OCS department, you share your knowledge and expertise with your colleagues in an open, safe and inclusive environment.

CONDITIONS

• Employment of this full-time position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I, for a total duration of 4 years. You start with an appointment for the duration of 1 year, that, after a positive evaluation in the 9^th month (Go-No go), will be extended to the full period of 4 years.
• Salary compliant with scales for PhD candidate (OIOs) CAO-WVOI (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes).
• An appointment at NIOZ as a PhD candidate means working and learning simultaneously conform the NIOZ PhD policy.
• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.
• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%.
• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%.
• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.
• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

• As a PhD who will be promoted by TU-Delft, participation in courses of the TU-Delft graduate school are compulsory. Expenses that reasonably must be made for participation will be refunded.
  

MORE INFORMATION

If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit:

• a cover letter (max 2 pages). Use the cover letter to convince us that you are the enthusiastic, creative, skilled candidate that we are looking for in this position.
• a CV with education, working experience and other relevant information
• a list of courses and grades of your master
• names and contact information of 2 references.

For additional information about this vacancy, please contact project leader Henko de Stigter (Senior scientist at OCS). For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 25 November 2024. The first job interviews are expected to take place in the first week of December. We aim to start this 4-year PhD position somewhere in the beginning of 2025.