Assessing the disconnection between chemical and ecological status in river networks in Europe. PhD position within Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network “BEYOND”
This fully funded PhD position is available under the recently launched Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Networks (DN) project “BEYOND” Beyond the current: Improving European flowing waters in an era of global change. BEYOND will train the next generation of water professionals who will deliver scientific and technological innovation across disciplines, institutions and countries needed to solve European water quality problems in an era of global change.
The aim of this PhD position is to assess the impact of multiple stressors from agricultural headwater catchments in Europe on aquatic ecology. The objectives of the project are to:
1) Assess the impact of acute and chronic inputs of multiple pollutants (including P, N and sediment) and flow variability on aquatic bio-indicators.
2) Establish the mechanism by which nitrate can impact aquatic communities.
3) Establish ecological impact thresholds for nitrate and sediment.
The project will consist of an exciting combination, of fieldwork, mesocosm and laboratory studies. It will address the need for better data on the interaction of multiple pollutants/stressors in the context of acute vs chronic inputs and climate change.
The project will be supervised by Dr Daire Ó hUallacháin & Dr Per-Erik Mellander (Teagasc, Ireland); and Prof Mary Kelly Quinn & Dr Marcin Penk (University College Dublin, Ireland). The position duration is three years. The doctoral candidate will be based in Teagasc in the Environment, Soils and Land Use Department (https://www.teagasc.ie/environment/johnstown/), located in Wexford, Ireland.
As part of this PhD position, the doctoral candidate will have an opportunity to take part in short visits and secondments to BEYOND partners, including The James Hutton Institute (UK), Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (Sweden) and WasserCluster Lunz (Austria) for additional training and knowledge exchange.
More information on the BEYOND project and PhD selection process can be found at the following websites: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101169293 and https://www.slu.se/beyond
E-mail
daire.ohuallachain@teagasc.ie
The applicants must fill out the BEYOND application form following the URL below