Aurora

Employment & Opportunities

Fully funded PhD position available in Coastal Physical Oceanography - Virginia Institute of Marine Science

PhD opportunity in coastal physical oceanography is available to work with Dr. Piero Mazzini at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) - William & Mary. The PhD student will participate in the multi-institutional research project: “River Plume-Cape Interaction - Plume Separation from The Coastal Wall, Vorticity Generation And Fresh Water Retention" funded by National Science Foundation (NSF).

The student will join the School of Marine Sciences at VIMS, and must meet eligibility requirements for the school (the application deadline for the VIMS graduate program is January 6, 2021). More information can be found here.

The position will ideally begin in Fall 2021.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master of Science (M.S.) or equivalent degree in physical oceanography, atmospheric or climate sciences or a related field;
• A broad knowledge of physical oceanography and/or fluid dynamics is required;
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong quantitative and programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB;
• Experience in oceanographic data analysis;
• Experience conducting field work and using oceanographic equipment;
• Experience with ocean numerical modeling.

To Apply:

• Interested candidates should contact Dr. Piero Mazzini at pmazzini@vims.edu with the subject heading “VIMS PhD position inquiry”. Send a one page letter of motivation, current CV and transcripts, no later than November, 1st, 2020.

Research Associate - UBC Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability

IRES seeks to hire a Research Associate with strong quantitative skills to help build a new cross disciplinary Conservation Science Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC) within the Biodiversity Research Centre located on the Vancouver campus.

Qualifications:

• PhD in relevant field including but not limited to: Wildlife Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Science, Conservation Science, Geography, Statistics, Computer Science, etc.
• > 2 years professional work experience (pre or post-PhD) in academia + > 1 year of professional work experience in conservation NGOs desirable
• Experience in movement modeling and connectivity science, with a relevant background in mammal ecology, applied ecology, conservation or environmental science.
• Strong quantitative background, including significant experience coding in R and Julia and in using Linux systems.
• Demonstrated skills using Bayesian statistical models, geospatial modeling using ArcGIS and connectivity modeling using continuous time models and circuit theory.
• Familiarity with multiple approaches to data curation, information management and data science.
• Demonstrated experience managing, cleaning and analyzing large-scale heterogeneous datasets including GPS collar data and remotely sensed data.
• Demonstrated experience using computing clusters and virtual machines within Google, Microsoft or other platforms.
• Experience in teaching and mentoring in data science and/or conservation science.
• Excellent written and visual / graphic communication skills.
• Works well in a collaborative, inter-disciplinary environment

Please submit a detailed cover letter to Professor Claire Kremen at ires.applications@ires.ubc.ca describing your interest in and fit to the position, along with a detailed CV by October 14th, 2020. Your cover letter should clearly demonstrate your experience in the above areas using examples. Describe how you have contributed to/supported research and/or conservation efforts through data collection, curation, management, and/or through map development, statistical analysis, data visualization, web-based geo-spatial applications, and/or writing/publishing. Please detail specific software that you use, statistical or other modeling techniques, et cetera. The anticipated start date is December 1, 2020.

Group Leader Position in Geochemistry of Surface Waters (Tenure Track)  - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is seeking an excellent scientist with a strong track record and a clear vision in geochemistry of surface waters, who will independently lead a research group. The position is associated to the Inorganic Environmental Geochemistry (IEG) group led by Prof. Lenny Winkel (Eawag, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water (W+T) & ETH Zurich).

Required qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, geochemistry or environmental chemistry
• Excellent publication record in aquatic (geo)chemistry or related fields (environmental chemistry, organic chemistry)
• Interest and experience in working in a multidisciplinary team
• Demonstrated or potential ability for effective teaching in environmental science undergraduate and graduate-level courses and to acquire funding
• Excellent communication skills in English, knowledge of, or willingness to learn German

The workplace is Kastanienbaum (Lucerne) with occasional presence in Dübendorf (Zurich) to facilitate collaboration. Furthermore, it is expected that the group leader in Geochemistry of Surface Waters supports teaching activities at ETH Zurich.

Applications must be submitted by 15 November 2020 and should include an application letter, a research statement (2-5 pages) describing your interests and their relevance to this position, a CV and list of publications, and the names and contact information of three references. Apply through this link. For further information, please contact Prof. Carsten Schubert or Prof. Lenny Winkel.

News and Events

EOAS Colloquium Series - Dr. Julie Fosdick

Title: To see the world in a grain of sand: Sedimentary signals of young faulting along an old strand of the San Andreas Fault

Date & Time: Thursday, September 24th at 11:00am

Location: Zoom!

Abstract:

Continental-scale transform faults along active tectonic plate boundaries create some of Earth’s most dynamic mountainous geography and large variations in microclimates and biodiversity. In the Transverse Ranges of southern California, the San Andreas Fault system accommodates tectonic motion between the Pacific and North American plates and generates large-magnitude earthquakes, posing extreme seismic risk to the >22 million people in the densely populated Greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas. A central goal among geoscientists today is to achieve higher precision of deformation rates across faults at both short (e.g., decadal to millennial) and long-term (e.g., million-year) timescales to fully understand earthquake cycles, tectonic histories on crustal-scale faults, and seismic hazards.
 
This study presents new data from along the Mission Creek fault strand – a major geologic structure within the San Andreas Fault system with ~90 km of fault displacement – that is currently mapped as inactive. We collected modal clast analysis, sandstone petrography, and detrital zircon geochronology data from ~100,000- to 500,000-year-old sedimentary rocks in the foothills of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Previous workers interpreted these strata to have been deposited across the fault – after the fault became inactive. However, new sedimentary provenance results presented here suggest that they were deposited prior to recent fault motion based on sedimentological evidence pointing to sediment sources from catchments situated further east than present-day upland areas in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Estimated maximum fault slip rates along the Mission Creek strand of up to ~20–30 mm yr−1 are comparable to the present-day geodetic slip rate for the southern San Andreas Fault (~23 mm yr−1) and suggest that the Mission Creek strand remained an active fault during the past 100,000 to 500,000 years, and possibly younger. This knowledge provides important long-term context for understanding present rates of continental deformation, uplift history of the Transverse Ranges, and seismic risk in southern California. In other words, the Mission Creek fault strand might be active!