PhD Scholarship within Phosphorus Turnover in Lakes and Wetlands

A three-year PhD position is available at the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. The start date is 1 February 2021. Application deadline: 24 December 2020.

Project background

Freshwater lakes throughout the world are in poor condition, mainly due to decades of heavy nutrient pollution. The main cause of poor water quality is excess phosphorus (P), which is an essential nutrient for all living organisms and causes excessive growth of phytoplankton, leading to poor water quality and loss of biodiversity in our lakes.

On land, there is a very different challenge. Here P is a valuable fertilizer for global food production and at the same time a limited resource being mined from P rich rocks located in very few countries. Hence, there has been an increasing focus on reusing P from e.g. sewage sludge and other waste products, and in general, promoting a more P sustainable attitude in society. This way of circular thinking will now permeate to lake management, where we will co-think lake restoration and P recycling by removing P from the lakes and bring it back on the fields where it is needed. However, there might be challenges in addition to other added values associated with a circular P approach for lakes. Hence, e.g. too high concentrations of heavy metals in sediment might hinder the application of lake sediments to the fields, whereas a reduced emission of greenhouse gases after a sediment removal might provide added value to lake restoration.

Qualifications
We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious candidate with an MSc degree in biology. The candidate will be in charge of a two-year monitoring campaign in the Danish Lake Ormstrup. The overall aim is to correlate sonar mapping to general sediment characteristics, obtained by detailed high-resolution sediment core sampling to “ground truth” the sonar data. The selected candidate will be responsible for monitoring seasonal changes in nutrients, metals, and gases in the lake sediment, by various methods (e.g. modified sequential extraction protocols, 31P NMR analysis, diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT´s), and sediment GHG analyses). In addition, the establishment of macrophytes depends on different sediment conditions such as density, organic content, lability, and oxygen availability, and the selected candidate will use the sonar data to track the distribution and development of macrophytes and correlate the sonar data with sediment conditions optimal for macrophyte growth.

The PhD scholarship covers the area of aquatic ecology, biogeochemistry, and chemistry and will be aligned with ongoing research at the Freshwater Ecology group at the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark. The candidate will be part of a group working with P and carbon turnover and greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands, streams, and lakes, which will ensure a fruitful research environment.

Experience with freshwater ecology and good English language skills will be required. The main criterion for selection will be the research potential of the applicant; i.e. publications will be a strong asset. A driver’s license is needed so please include documentation in the application.

The selected PhD candidate will be appointed to the Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark with the main supervisor Kasper Reitzel ([email protected]), and co-supervisor Theis Kragh (University of Southern Denmark).

For further information please contact Associate Professor Kasper Reitzel, tel.: +45 6550 2774, e-mail: [email protected].

Application, salary etc.
Appointment as a PhD Research Fellow is for three years. Employment stops automatically at the end of the period. The holder of the scholarship is not allowed to have other paid employment during the three-year period.

The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement on salaried PhD scholars between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations). Please check links for more information on salary and taxation.

The successful candidate will be enrolled at this university in accordance with faculty regulations and the Danish Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities (PhD order).

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

Application must be made in the form of a Declaration of Interest including the following:
• A research proposal/description of your approach to the above project (max one page excluding references)
• A letter stating your specific interest, motivation and qualifications for the project in question (max. two pages) (please attach this under box "Application form")
• Detailed CV, including personal contact information
• Copies of diplomas, Bachelor as well as Master’s degree, including transcript of notes/grades
• At least two signed reference letters. Should your referees wish to send their letters directly to us, please have them use e-mail: [email protected] mentioning your name and the title of the position in the subject line. And please note that these also need to reach us before deadline.

Shortlisting may be used in the assessment process.

Further information about the PhD-study can be found at the homepage of the University.

Applications must be submitted electronically using the link "Apply online". Attached files must be in Adobe PDF or Word format. Each box can only contain a single file of max. 10 Mb. We strongly recommend that you read How to apply before you apply.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. This also applies to reference letters.

Further information for international applicants about entering and working in Denmark.