Organisation
University of Eastern Finland
Description
Water management is a crucial part of sustainability in modern sustainability both in Finland and throughout the world. In Finland water management issues are mostly linked to the mining industry, pulp and paper industry as well as agriculture. With stricter requirements especially from the EU level, there is a clear need to be able to simulate the water quality and its effects on aquatic ecosystems for decades ahead to enable science-based environmental assessment. Aquatic models have been developed since the 1970s e.g. by USEPA for several purposes ranging from stream modelling to ecological modelling. However, many of these quite advanced models are not able to account properly for boreal conditions including ice cover and stratification, for example, and in the minimum, they require extensive calibration for our circumstances. Especially the construction of ecological models needs more investigation to account for different lake types in Finland. All in all, we need to develop integrated and hybrid solutions for the water management challenges using modelling tools as their core building block.
PhD project description:
The focus of the PhD thesis work is on enhancing the construction of aquatic models, especially handling the ecology of lakes. This is achieved by utilizing computational methods like Machine Learning to estimate the missing parameters and initial values of ecological models like Aquatox by the US EPA. The starting point in practical work is thus utilizing existing data in national databases as well as other datasets collected by different researchers in Finland. The student will work as a member of a group of scientists developing integrated solutions for enhanced water management. We are also co-operating with local companies working in this area.
Specific requirements:
We are looking for a candidate that has a strong background in biology or aquatic sciences as well as some experience with aquatic modelling. Additionally, previous skills in computational methods like Machine Learning are needed.
Dept./Faculty to which the thesis belongs
Department of environmental and biological sciences
Principal supervisor
Professor Mikko Kolehmainen
2nd supervisor
Professor Jussi Kukkonen
3rd supervisor
–
Secondment host
–
More information & application
TBA
