PhD Student in Marine Sediment fluxes

PhD candidate/research assistant position in Marine Sediment Fluxes

The Singapore Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) is seeking a high potential PhD Candidate for the marine project ”Self-facilitation of Mangroves, sea grass and coral reefs”.  The post would begin immediately.

Bio-physical conditions are often altered by anthropogenic activity, both in terrestrial as well as in marine ecosystems, reducing the favorable conditions in which an ecosystem occurs. Marine ecosystems are very vulnerable; and the disruption of one component can have serious consequences on surrounding interconnected components. The disruption of specific ecosystem components could result in the lacking of large-scale facilitative interactions between adjacent ecosystems, thereby reducing the resilience of new systems.

The project is aimed at disentangling the impact of tidal cycle and anthropogenic activities on sediment-associated nutrient fluxes between and within mangroves, sea grass and coral reefs. Hydrodynamic data as well as bio-physical data on sediments and associated nutrients will be collected at study sites situated in southern Thailand under various climatic and tidal conditions in presence and absence of mangroves, sea grass and coral.

The successful candidate will be a part of a multi-disciplinary research team measuring hydrodynamic variables (tidal, wave height, wave direction), collecting variables related to water chemistry (carbon, nitrogen, turbidity, salinity), and mapping nutrient enrichment/depletion within ecosystem zones (e.g., via remote sensing imagery analysis).  The following requirements are needed:

• Good knowledge of marine and coastal ecosystems, marine chemistry, coastal sediment transport and hydrodynamics.
• Experienced in Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing.
• Strong analytical skills and knowledge of spatio-temporal statistical analysis.
• Creativity and ability to work with an international team.
• Proficiency in English (both written and spoken); Language ability in Thai is a bonus.
• Dive master.

Please send a motivation letter and CV Prof. Dr. Alan Ziegler (adz@nus.edu.sg), Geography Department National University of Singapore or Dr. Petra Schmitter (petra.schmitter@nus.edu.sg), Research Fellow at Joint Singapore Marine Program (JSMP) – SDWA, National University of Singapore.