Vacancies

Postdoctoral Researcher

Synthetic Aperture Radar for peatlands restoration monitoring and flood detection

Engineering/College of Science and Engineering/Irish Centre for High-End Computing

Ref. No. University of Galway 322-23

(Posted: 6.12.23)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full-time, fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Researcher, with Civil Engineering and Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) at the University of Galway, Ireland.

This position is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bord na Móna and is available from early 2024 for a 22-month duration.

Bord na Móna has recently transformed into a sustainable, green business, which now emphasises the use of its land assets for renewable energy and resource recovery in support of government policy and national decarbonisation commitments. As part of this transformation, the Peatlands Climate Action Scheme (PCAS) will, over the coming years, establish engineering and ecology works on 33,000 ha of bogs to accelerate natural restoration processes. These actions will increase carbon storage and reduce carbon emissions, improve water quality and water attenuation, and will enhance biodiversity while mitigating the risk of wildfires. The WET-PEAT project (‘Re-wetting of peatlands for enhanced restoration’), will support the work of Bord na Móna in their restoration of over 33,000 hectares of peatlands. The project comprises researchers from the University of Galway, ICHEC, and Trinity College Dublin. WET-PEAT will apply state-of-the-art modelling techniques to a representative selection of Ireland’s peatlands to provide additional insight into how restoration measures may be enhanced. In order to do this, the WET-PEAT project partners will use a mixture of on-site measurements of water quality and flow, and remote sensing, to monitor bogs before and after restoration work.

The Earth Observation Datacube for Ireland (EODC4I) project is another EPA-funded project, and approximately 4 months of the post-doc’s time in year 2 will be dedicated to work related to this project. A datacube of analysis-ready SAR data will be developed during the EODC4I project, enabling easy access to data for large-scale and long-term analytics. The researcher will use this data infrastructure to detect flooded pixels across Ireland and develop statistics on probability of flooding at pixel level over the duration of the dataset.

Job Description:

The successful candidate will use:

sentinel satellite data to examine relationship between water table (soil moisture), restoration, and sphagnum growth over time

SAR/InSAR satellite data to examine changes across sites over time. This will ideally include: changes in backscatter due to changes in vegetation (growth or removal), surface water area changes, soil moisture changes, subsidence and uplift
SAR satellite data to detect flooding at pixel level

Duties:

Use SAR/InSAR satellite data to examine changes across sites over time. This will ideally include: changes in backscatter due to changes in vegetation (growth or removal), surface water area changes, soil moisture changes, subsidence and uplift

Use sentinel satellite data to examine relationship between water table (soil moisture), restoration, and sphagnum growth over time
Preparation of scientific and popular press publications
Provide guidance to the postgraduate researchers working on the projects in relation to interpretation and application of findings
Disseminate research findings to a variety of audiences
Complete administrative work to support the programme of research
Engage in training and professional development opportunities as required by the Prinicipal Investigator
Contribute to interim and final report writing, and grant writing
Any other duties assigned commensurate to this level of post

Use SAR satellite data to detect flooding per pixel and develop statistics to demonstrate the probability of flooding at any particular location in Ireland

Qualifications/Skills required:

Essential Requirements:

PhD with a specific focus on remote sensing techniques and analysis
Strong programming and data analytics skills, particularly in Python and satellite data processing and analysis toolkits and libraries (for example SNAP, QGIS, GDAL, geopandas)
Excellent organisation skills, report writing and data analysis
Experience in management and supervision of postgraduate students

An understanding of the principles of radar remote sensing

Desirable Requirements:

Proven record of scientific communications
Aptitude for multidisciplinary approaches and ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team
International experience of research using Synthetic Aperture Radar data
Postdoctoral experience related to peatlands monitoring or flood detection

Salary: Postdoctoral Researcher salary scale €42,782 - €54,965 per annum, (subject to the project’s funding limitations), and pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts.

The default position for all new public sector appointments is the 1st point of the salary scale. This may be reviewed, and consideration afforded to appointment at a higher point on the payscale (subject to the project’s funding limitations), where evidence of prior years’ equivalent experience is accepted in determining placement on the scale above point 1, subject to the maximum of the scale.

(Research Salary Scales - University of Galway)

Start date: Position is available from early 2024.

Continuing Professional Development/Training:

Researchers at University of Galway are encouraged to avail of a range of training and development opportunities designed to support their personal career development plans. University of Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia. Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment - see HERE for further information.

Further information on research and working at University of Galway is available on Research at University of Galway

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

Further information about the project and ICHEC is available at https://sites.google.com/view/wet-peat/home and https://www.ichec.ie.

Informal enquiries concerning the post may be made to Professor Mark Healy, mark.healy@universityofgalway.ie

To Apply:

Applications to include a covering letter, CV, and the contact details of three referees should be sent, via e-mail (in word or PDF only) to Professor Mark Healy: mark.healy@universityofgalway.ie

Please put reference number University of Galway 322-23 in subject line of e-mail application.

Closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00 pm (Irish Time) on January 5^th, 2024

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this post.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency based recruitment

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Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine PhD Opportunity

“Assuring the chemical and microbial safety of organic waste spread on land in Ireland – metal(oid)s and nutrients”

Posted 12.8.22

Background

This project (SAFEWASTE) will help support the use of animal waste, wastewater treatment sludge and other relevant wastes as organic fertilisers in agriculture by ensuring they are free of chemical and biological hazards, thereby protecting food safety and public health. The overall project is highly multidisciplinary and involves researchers from Teagasc, NUI Galway, TU-Dublin and UCD. It will (1) deliver new data on the types, prevalence and concentrations of chemical and biological hazards in wastes intended for land spreading in Ireland (2) provide a novel risk-ranking approach to identify the waste-hazard combinations that should be prioritised to achieve maximum food safety/public health protection and validated methods to control these hazards (3) identify risk pathways, differences in policy and practice for controlling chemical hazards in wastewater treatment sludge, the effect of food processing on each hazard, the most appropriate land application method(s) to minimise the risk of food contamination and the impact of waste spreading on soil microbiota.

The PhD student recruited in this project will focus on metal(oid) and nutrient content of various waste types to be spread on agricultural land. The student will be registered and based at NUI Galway.

Working closely with other PhD students within the SAFEWASTE project, the candidate will: (1) conduct a survey of chemical hazards in various agricultural wastes intended for land spreading in Ireland (2) investigate the effectiveness of strategies to reduce or eliminate chemical hazards in waste materials intended for land spreading (3) develop a decision support tool to identify an optimal means in which organic waste materials may be applied safely to land and within the regulatory limits (3) investigate the difference between regulatory requirements and current practice in controlling metal(oids), disinfectants, general biocides and other relevant chemical hazards in agricultural wastewater treatment sludge and other relevant wastes.

Requirements

Applicants should have a good primary degree (First or Second Class Honours) or M.Sc. in an appropriate discipline (Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Soil Science, Civil/Environmental Engineering, etc.) The successful candidates should be highly self-motivated and be prepared for laboratory work and extended periods of field work with modern analytical equipment.

Award

The student will work under the supervision of Dr Liam Morrison and Prof Mark Healy (NUI Galway), and Dr Martin Danaher and Prof Owen Fenton (Teagasc). The Fellowship will start as soon as possible after the most suitable candidate is selected.

The fellowship provides a yearly stipend of €24,000. University fees are paid by the student from the stipend which is tenable for 4 years.

Application Procedure

Submit an electronic copy of Curriculum Vitae and a letter of interest to: Dr Liam Morrison (liam.morrison@nuigalway.ie)

Closing time and date

17:00 on September 2, 2022