PhD CHANCE: Climate cHange impActs on extreme sea levels iN Coastal watErs - Driving Mechanism of Extreme Sea Level Variability at the Regional Scale

Job description

Coastal flooding is caused by extreme sea levels that are driven by the combination of tides, storm surges and waves. In the next decades, sea-level rise and changes in extreme weather will increase the frequency of flooding and amplify the risks for the millions of people living in flood-prone regions. Coastal flooding can have enormous societal impacts and cause billion-dollar disasters. Low-lying and densely populated deltas, such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh, as well as small island states, such as the Maldives, are faced with the enormous challenge to adapt to the rising sea levels. Without large investments to reduce these risks, hundreds of millions of people may be forced to migrate. Not only humans, but other species such as sea turtles will be challenged by increased coastal flooding.

Accurate projections of how extreme sea levels may change in future climate conditions are essential to support effort on climate mitigation and adaptation. However, projecting how extremes may change in future climates is challenging and while methods have rapidly evolved, global projections are still associated with large uncertainties. This PhD research aims to tackle this challenge by developing an innovative hybrid framework that combines high-resolution global climate and hydrodynamic models with tailored statistical and machine learning approaches. The framework will be used to enhance the understanding of extreme sea level variability at the regional scale.

The research is part of the CHANCE (Climate cHange impActs on extreme sea levels iN Coastal watErs) project, funded by the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO). The project aims to improve the scientific understanding of sea level variability across spatiotemporal scales. CHANCE consists of two PhD projects, one based at VU Amsterdam focused on improving the understanding of ESL variability using global projections, and one based at TU Delft focused on understanding how global ESL variability translates to regional scales. There will be a close collaboration between the two projects, as well as with (inter)national partners. 

Your duties:

• Generate new regional projections of extreme sea level downscaled from global projections using numerical models and statistical methods.
• Identify generators and enhancers of ESL using caudal discovery theory.
• Investigate spatio-temporal co-variability of ESL using complex network theory.
• Develop surrogate models for scenario analysis using deep learning.
• Assess how extreme sea levels will evolve under future climate change.
• Present your work at international conferences and publish your results in peer-reviewed journals.

Requirements

• MSc degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering, Geology, Geography, Earth Sciences, Climate sciences, Computer Sciences, or related discipline with training in nearshore coastal processes.
• Excellent ability to think conceptually and quantitatively.
• Experience with global data processing, statistical analysis, machine learning, numerical modelling and visualisation.
• Programming skills, for example in Python, Matlab or R.
• Excellent ability to communicate in English, both orally and in writing.
• Interest to carry out fundamental science in a real-world, multi-disciplinary team.
• Good organisational skills and ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary team of researchers.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the .

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2541 per month in the first year to € 3247 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the to assist you with your relocation.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core and we actively to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Civil Engineering & Geosciences

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource depletion, urbanisation and the availability of clean water, conducted  in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced that Open Science helps to achieve our goals and supports its scientists in integrating Open Science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Click to go to the website of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences.