Skip to main content

This job has expired

Early Stage Researcher (ESR)

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
Spain
Closing date
Jul 31, 2017

Job Details

In the framework of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN-ETN) TRuStEE: Training on Remote Sensing for Ecosystem modElling.
We are now recruiting one ESR for 34 months at CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Madrid, Spain), who will be part of a network of 12 ESR  enrolled in a European network of academic and private institutions.


The candidate will be employed for 34 months at the Spanish National Research Council and enrolled in the PhD program on Geographic Information Technologies (Department of Geology, Geography and Environment) at the University of Alcalá under the supervision of Drs. Pilar Martín and David Riaño (CSIC) and Hector Nieto (IRTA).
Project Topic: Monitoring seasonal changes in Plant Traits from the combination of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 time series analysis: exploring the relationship between vegetation water status and water fluxes.
 
Project description
Foliar water content and associated water potential is a primary factor limiting plant transpiration and carbon uptake, therefore it forms a crucial link between the carbon, water and energy cycles. This study aims to investigate how vegetation canopy water content (CWC) is related to evapotranspiration through integration of available satellite data series (Landsat-5, Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2/3, MODIS) in combination with airborne and field information. The pilot study site for this project is located in Extremadura (Central-Western Spain). It is a well-established observational facility for ecosystem process studies with important infrastructure for continuous monitoring of ecosystem fluxes and vegetation status.
The research workplan will focus on:

  • Use of Radiative Transfer Models (RTM) to design vegetation indexes (VI) that are more sensitive to CWC;
  • Use hyperspectral data acquired at canopy level with field and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) mounted field spectroradiometers + airborne images to improve separation of physiological and biogeochemical properties of the ecosystem components;
  • Develop a method to un-mix/disaggregate the optical and thermal responses from trees and grasses in satellite images and generate time series of reflectance factors/temperature of trees and grasses by inversion of RTM using the previously unmixed signals;
  • Calibrate and validate the algorithms using a variety of past and on purpose field campaigns;
  • Apply and validate existing thermal-based evapotranspiration models (TSEB, METRIC, Triangle method, etc.) with both satellite and airborne imagery;
  • Evaluate spatio-temporal trends between transpiration rates and leaf/canopy water content;

 

In addition, the ESR activities will include:

  • to participate in measurement field campaigns;
  • to publish of a minimum of three scientific papers and a PhD dissertation;
  • to participate in project meetings and trainings, and to present results at conferences.

 
Secondments
This ESR position involves two secondments:
1.A 3 months stay at Max Planck Institute (Germany) under the supervision of Dr. Mirco Migliavacca to learn about plant functional traits in tree-grass ecosystems.
2.A 3 month stay at UNIMIB (Italy) under the supervision of Drs. Roberto Colombo and Micol Rossini to learn about optical proximal sensing for vegetation monitoring

Salary and benefits

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme offers highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions. Exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment. It consists of:

  • a living allowance (= 3110 euro/month [the Marie Skłodowska-Curie rules apply a correction factor to this amount to allow for the cost of living in different countries: 1.067 to Italy, 0.988 to Germany, 1.043 to Netherlands, 0.976 to Spain, 1.000 to Belgium and 1.203 to United Kingdom])
  • a monthly mobility and family allowance (= 600 and 500 euro/month depending on the family situation).


It must be noted that the living allowance is a gross EU contribution to the salary costs of the researcher. Consequently, the net salary results from deducting all compulsory (employer/employee) social security contributions as well as direct taxes (e.g. income tax) from the gross amounts. The rate indicated here is for researchers devoting themselves to their project on a full-time basis. The mobility and family allowance is a fixed amount, regardless of the country of recruitment, and may be taxable depending on the country in question. More details in Sections 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of the guide for applicants to H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016.


Who can apply

Applicants should meet the following eligibility criteria:

have the background and expertise required for the position;

  • be at the time of recruitment in the first four years of research career (full-time equivalent research experience*) calculated from the date on which the Master degree was obtained;
  • not have been awarded a Doctoral Degree;
  • not have resided or carried out his/her main activity in the country of the host institute for more than 12 months in the last three years immediately prior to the reference recruitment date;
  • be proficient in both written and spoken English.


 

* ‘Full-time equivalent research experience’ is measured from the date when the researcher obtained the degree entitling him/her to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited or seconded) – even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged.

How to apply

To apply for the position, please email the following documents to trustee@unimib.it and to mpilar.martin@cchs.csic.es by the deadline: 31st of July 2017:

i) A curriculum vitae, including contact details, education (at University level and other), work experience, prizes/awards, language skills, etc… (max. 2 pages). The CV should reflect a representative array of achievements and qualifications appropriate to the post for which application is being made.

ii) Official academic record of undertaken courses & grades for Bachelor (and Master if required in specific criteria) degree.

iii) A motivational letter in which the applicant describes his or her motivation to pursue postgraduate studies and to conduct the research project applied for. The applicant is asked to mention the ESR project number on the motivational letter and on the subject of the email. In case of application to multiple projects, the applicant is asked to indicate the order of preference if any, and to motivate the interest in the projects selected.

iv) Contact details of three referees willing to write confidential letters of recommendation.

After this first round each institute will contact successful candidates. You may be required to attend an interview.

Applications received shortly after the deadline are likely to be considered. Priority will be given to applications received before 31st of July 2017.

Company

Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

"The globalisation of higher education continues apace, driving in turn the ongoing development of the global knowledge economy, striving for solutions to the world’s problems and educating a next generation of leaders and contributors."

Company info
Website

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert