Watershed hydrology graduate position at University of California, Santa Cruz

The Zimmer Watershed Hydrology Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring a graduate student at the MS or PhD level to conduct critical zone hydrology research to understand how critical zone structure influences the fate of water in an oak savanna landscape at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve located in central coastal California.

Current projects in the Zimmer lab span from headwaters to the aquatic-terrestrial interface in coastal landscapes to better understand how water is routed and the ecological and biogeochemical implications of these pathways. We combine field, lab, and quantitative analyses to quantify rainfall-runoff relationships and surface water–groundwater interactions across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. We seek a scientist with knowledge, experience, or interest in one or more of the following technical areas: Development and operation of field infrastructure to measure plant water use dynamics, development and operation of field infrastructure to monitor hillslope hydrologic flowpaths, ability to characterize and interpret subsurface weathering dynamics, and ability to work with programming languages such as R, Python, or MATLAB, or numerical modeling of hillslope to watershed scale hydrologic processes. The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative team setting.

The Zimmer lab is motivated to maintain a productive, diverse, and inclusive lab environment and we encourage applicants from under-represented groups to consider this program. In addition, UC Santa Cruz has several initiatives to help foster a welcoming environment for all (e.g. FirstGen Initiative, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion).

The UC Santa Cruz Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is regularly ranked in the top 15-20 Earth Sciences department in the country. The campus is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, overlooking Monterey Bay, a national marine sanctuary.

Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Dr. Margaret Zimmer at margaret.zimmer ‘at’ ucsc.edu with information on research experiences and interests, motivations to pursue this position, and career aspirations. Ideal start date is summer or fall 2023, but this is negotiable, so please provide information on preferred start date. Please include a current CV. More information about the Zimmer lab can be found on the Zimmer lab website (mzimmer.weebly.com).