PhD Greenhouse gas balance of fen meadow landscapes

Do you want to influence climate policy and promote sustainable land use? Do you want to contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands? f yes, we may have the perfect opportunity for you!

Drained organic soils are an important source of greenhouse gases worldwide. Also in the low lying areas of the Netherlands drainage of its organic soils, with the aim to enable more intensive usage of the land, leads to oxidation of organic material, significant carbon dioxide release and subsequent land subsidence. As part of climate mitigation policies the Dutch government seeks to reduce these emissions by at least 1 Mton in 2030. In support of these policies, several research research projects funded at (sub-)national level (such as the National Research programme on Greenhouse gas emissions from Fen meadow areas (in Dutch NOBV: https://www.nobveenweiden.nl/) aim to investigate the effects of various mitigation measures on total greenhouse gas balance of the targeted areas.

As a PhD candidate, you will work on the following research topics (relative weight to be determined based on your interest and qualifications):

• contribute to (mobile) greenhouse gas monitoring strategies and their operations, at field to regional scale;
• contribute to further optimising near real time processing of obtained high frequency eddy covariance data to greenhouse gas fluxes at diurnal to inter annual time scales;
• analyse and scale data from multiple locations and transects in relation to explanatory variables from vegetation and soil characteristics, land and water management and climate, not only for carbon dioxide but especially also for methane;
• develop data driven models of regional greenhouse gas balances for the fen meadow areas of the Netherlands under (emission reduction) management;
• develop data-assimilation strategies, i.e. feeding models with near real time observations to continuously constrain model parameters, creating a digital twin of Dutch fen meadow areas;
• analyse the impacts of climate anomalies and climate change on regional greenhouse gas emissions.

Your work will consist of literature studies, analysis of in-situ greenhouse gas exchange data, as well as spatially distributed (satellite) data on vegetation, soil land and water qualities. You will be member of a larger team of scientists based at the partner universities, and technical support staff, within and outside Wageningen UR working on this topic, and have interaction with various partners (water boards, land managers, policy makers, etc.) associated with land based greenhouse gas emissions. Your project results will be disseminated through papers in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, but using popular media is also encouraged.

The ideal candidate has:

• A university degree (MSc) in earth or environmental sciences with a strong background in eco-hydrology, micrometeorology, vegetation or soil science
• Experience/affinity with monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions/uptake in the field and from small aircraft,
• Experience/affinity with remote sensing of terrestrial and/or aquatic processes,
• Experience with programming, statistics, machine learning and big data approaches in the context of soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in English and strong ambition to publish future work, proficiency in Dutch is considered a pro.
• Standout colleague, who can work independently and who also communicates well with colleagues, and has the potential to (co-)supervise (under)graduate students in their research
• Affinity with stakeholder interaction and cooperation with other scientific subject areas.

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;
• 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.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.901,- per month rising to € 3.707,- 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.

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.

The Earth Systems and Global Change group (ESC) has built up a considerable track record in studying interactions between greenhouse gas exchange, hydrology, land use, and climate (change). ESC contributes to this peatland research with (mobile) tower based eddy covariance measurements of greenhouse gas exchange at field scale and with airborne measurements using the same technique at regional scale. Over the past 5 years we have built a strong measurement programme that include 20+ operational sites with the longest records already spanning 5 years, and over 700 flying hours. These complement measurements at plot scale by other consortium members using a variety of techniques, enabling quantitative description and understanding of processes responsible for the production of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. One of the challenges for ESC is to link te various measurement scales to come up with distributed, wall-to-wall landscape budgets of these greenhouse gases. We are a team of eight people, including (field)technicians, PhD, PostDoc and senior staff.

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.

For more information about this position, please contact Dr Ronald W.A. Hutjes, ronald.hutjes@wur.nl , +31 (0)317-48 64 62 or Dr Bart Kruijt, bart.kruijt@wur.nl, +31 (0)317-48 64 40

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, noorien.abbas@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 30 January 2025. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on 7 February 2025.

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/atxWYEWcYa

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.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

For more information about this position, please contact Dr Ronald W.A. Hutjes, ronald.hutjes@wur.nl , +31 (0)317-48 64 62 or Dr Bart Kruijt, bart.kruijt@wur.nl, +31 (0)317-48 64 40

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, noorien.abbas@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 30 January 2025. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on 7 February 2025.

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/atxWYEWcYa

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.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.