PhD Research Fellow in Geophysics and Distributed-Acoustic-Sensing for monitoring of hydrological hazards along railway infrastructure

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PhD Research Fellow in Geophysics and Distributed-Acoustic-Sensing for monitoring of hydrological hazards along railway infrastructure.

There is a vacancy for a PhD Research Fellow in Geophysics and Distributed-Acoustic-Sensing (DAS) at the Department of Earth Science. The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years with the possibility of a 4th year with compulsory other work (e.g., teaching duties at the Department). The position is funded by the Research Council of Norway (3 years; S-TRANET project) and the University of Bergen (4th year, if considered). The starting date is as soon as possible in 2024 and no later than April 15th.

About the project/work tasks:

A major challenge within railway maintenance is hydrology management. Well-designed drainage systems comprising of a combination of culverts, ditches, embankments and drainage pipes are crucial for safe operation of the railway network. Poor design, or a lack of maintenance of drainage, can cause flooding and trackbed instability from erosion. In turn this leads to temporary speed restrictions or closures of railway lines to ensure safe operation. Hazard events associated with hydrological problems include landslides/rockslides and derailments.

The S-TRANET project led by NORCE aims to develop, validate and apply a technological framework to monitor hydrological risks and hazardous events occurring across the Norwegian rail transport infrastructure. S-TRANET will especially exploit existing fibre optic communication networks to derive geophysical measurements related to subsurface water below the trackbed. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the Norwegian Railway Directorate, Bane NOR and Politecnico di Torino are project partners, along with NORCE and the University of Bergen.

The DAS data collected for the purpose of determining variations in the subsurface water content will mainly involve the passive detection of elastic waves generated by regular train traffic or other nearby sources. The main sources of “ground truth” for the DAS technique will be measurement stations capable of monitoring the groundwater table and soil moisture. In addition, geophysical surveys such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), will be carried out at some test site locations during periods of different expected subsurface water conditions. This will provide high-fidelity reference measurements which will be useful in developing processing algorithms for the DAS data.

The appointed PhD candidate will:

• Assess and develop signal-processing methods extracting the required geophysical information from the DAS data, especially targeting multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) and ambient-noise interferometry.
• Test the feasibility of using DAS for efficient monitoring of trackbed conditions along selected Norwegian railway sites subject to hydrological hazards, including machine learning models that may detect and classify subtle risk signatures.
• Participate in the acquisition of DAS data.
• Participate in geophysical investigations of the selected sites for calibration of the DAS-derived ground information.
• Collaborate with the multi-disciplinary group of S-TRANET partners.

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent education in geophysics (solid-Earth physics) or similar, or must have submitted their master’s thesis for assessment prior to the application deadline. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded.
• Clearly documented experience with seismic/seismological signal processing is a requirement.
• Clearly documented experience with programming (e.g., Python) is a requirement.
• Experience with multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW), alternatively ambient-noise interferometry, is an advantage.
• Experience with DAS processing is an advantage.
• Experience with near-surface geophysical investigations (e.g., seismic, GPR, ERT) is an advantage.
• Experience with machine learning approaches is an advantage.
• Experience with hydrology/hydrogeology is an advantage.
• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and demonstrate good collaborative skills.
• Applicants must be proficient in both written and oral English.
• A good command of the Norwegian language is an advantage.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Special requirements for the position

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. If your application is considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter legislation and if it is considered that you will not be able to start in the position within the date stated above, your application will be rejected without further assessment.

About the PhD position (applies to university PhD positions):

About the PhD Research Fellow

The fellowship will be for a period of 3 years, with the possibility for a 4th year, consisting of 25% compulsory work (e.g., teaching responsibilities at the department) distributed over the employment period. The 4th year is contingent on the qualifications of the candidate and the teaching needs of the department and will be decided by the head of department upon appointment.

The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a qualifying post (e.g., research fellow, research assistant).

About the research training

As a PhD Research Fellow, you must participate in an approved educational programme for a PhD degree within a period of 3 years. The deadline for applying for admission to the PhD programme at The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences is 2 months after you start your position or after the start of the research project that will lead to the PhD degree. It is a condition that you satisfy the enrolment requirements for the PhD programme at the University of Bergen.

We can offer:

• A good and professionally stimulating working environment
• Salary as PhD research fellow (code 1017) in the state salary scale. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 532 200 (equivalent to pay grade 54). Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• Good welfare benefits

Your application must include:

• A brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position, clearly stating the applicant’s relevance with respect to the listed requirements and advantages in relation to the project.
• The names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis.
• CV
• Transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming that the master’s thesis has been submitted.
• Relevant certificates/references 
• Approved documentation of proficiency in English (if required, cf. English language requirements for PhD admission)
• A list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list)
• Any publications in your name, including the master’s thesis.

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.

General information:

For further details about the position, please contact Prof. Isabelle Lecomte, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, e-mail: isabelle.lecomte@uib.no, phone: +47 55 58 34 17.

For HR related questions contact Vivian Stegen Jacobsen e-mail: vivian.jacobsen@uib.no.

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.

The University of Bergen applies the principle of public access to information when recruiting staff for academic positions.

Information about applicants may be made public even if the applicant has asked not to be named on the list of persons who have applied. The applicant must be notified if the request to be omitted is not met.

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at all times.

For further information about the recruitment process, click here.

About UiB

The University of Bergen is a renowned educational and research institution, organised into seven faculties and approximately 54 institutes and academic centres. Campus is located in the centre of Bergen with university areas at Nygårdshøyden, Haukeland, Marineholmen, Møllendalsveien and Årstad. 

There are seven departments and several centres at Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Read more about the faculty and departments. 

Questions about the position

Isabelle Lecomte

Professor

isabelle.lecomte@uib.no