PhD Student Position: Quantifying Climate and Land Use Effects on Water and Carbon Cycles

A PhD graduate student assistantship is available in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Riverside starting Summer or Fall 2022. We are looking for an independent and highly-motivated graduate student to join a Research Council of Norway-funded collaborative project studying how climate change (e.g., drought frequency, rainfall patterns, freeze-thaw cycles) and land use (e.g., woodland, grassland, or row-crop cultivation) generate feedbacks through plants, microbes, and soil organic carbon (SOC) to affect soil hydraulic properties. A major goal in this project is determining the influence of each of these factors and providing mechanistic evidence to identify the contribution of SOC to soil hydraulic properties. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of multiple international soil datasets (e.g., USA, UK, and Norway), gain experience working with and analyzing several existing large soil databases (e.g. NEON, SWIG, EU-HYDI), and conduct field work, laboratory work, and modeling. The candidate will also gain experience with new digital soil morphometrics and proximal-sensing tools such as multistripe laser triangulation scanning and VisNIR hyperspectral imaging for the fine-scale, quantitative-characterization of soil morphology.

Ideal candidates will have a bachelors and masters degree in soil science, geology, hydrology, environmental science, ecology, or closely-related discipline, experience describing and classifying soils, and a strong interest in pedology, soil physics, hydrology, and field, lab, and modeling work. Because this project utilizes data analyses, statistical modeling, and numerical methods, a demonstrated aptitude for quantitative analysis and programming skills in languages such as R, Python, or MATLAB are considered essential. Experience with soil judging is a plus. Exceptional candidates without a masters degree will also be considered.

If you are interested in applying for this graduate student position please email a resume/CV, unofficial transcripts from your bachelors and masters institutions (if applicable), and a brief summary of your research interests and long-term goals to Dr. Daniel Hirmas (daniel.hirmas@ucr.edu) with the phrase NRC GSR in the subject line. For international students, please provide either TOEFL (iBT or iBT Special at Home version), IELTS, or IELTS Indicator exam scores.

If you are attending the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans and are interested in this position, please email Daniel Hirmas to set up a a time to meet in person.