Lund University

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top universities. The University has around 47 000 students and more than 8 800 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset.

The doctoral student will be enrolled in the PhD program in Computational Science (https://www.science.lu.se/sites/science.lu.se/files/2024-10/ASP_computational-science.pdf) and placed at the Department of Geology at Lund University. At the department, which from 2026 will be part of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, we conduct research over a broad range of disciplines, including prolific research in geoscience and computational science and extensive collaboration with both national and international institutions.

The department hosts and is surrounded by excellent infrastructure and professional staff in several support functions. Lund University is a government agency which means that you, as a doctoral student, get benefits including e.g., generous paid annual leave, and health promotion benefits, see https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/sites/www.lunduniversity.lu.se/files/benefits-lu-employees.pdf.

Homepage: https://www.lu.se/start

The Earth’s magnetic field acts as a shield against harmful cosmic radiation and is a fundamental component for the habitability of our planet. The cosmic rays that do reach Earth’s atmosphere leave a trail of cosmogenic radionuclides that can be used to study past variations in the geomagnetic field as well as changes in the Sun’s activity. In addition, these radiogenic isotopes act as natural tracers that can be used to study past changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns and the carbon cycle.

The announced PhD position is part of the ERC project “Core dynamics on millennial timescales (PALEOCORE)”. The project will use novel statistical methods to jointly model variations in solar activity, geomagnetic field and climate related processes based on a combination of high-resolution cosmogenic radionuclide data from polar ice cores and tree-ring archives and geomagnetic field data. The method will be applied to different time periods, including the Laschamps excursion 41,000 years ago when the geomagnetic field briefly collapsed. The project will provide unique information about the Sun and the carbon cycle during glacial times but will also help reveal fundamental processes in the core responsible for the geomagnetic field collapse.

Work duties

This project will primarily focus on developing new methods to address (i) climate processes that affect the atmospheric mixing and deposition of 10Be and 14C in natural archives and (ii) problems due to chronologic uncertainties. The PhD student will be part of a larger research team here in Lund that includes experts on cosmogenic radionuclides, geomagnetic field and computational and statistical physics. The project will also involve extensive exchanges with an associated research team in Kiel, Germany.

For more information about the position and to apply, please use the following link: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:765470/.