General information
Offer title : Researcher in energy and hydrological balance of high mountain permafrost (M/W)Chercheur en modélisation du bilan d’énergie et hydrologique du permafrost de haute montagne (M/F) (H/F)
Reference : UMR5204-YVEPER0-007
Number of position : 1
Workplace : LE BOURGET DU LAC
Date of publication : 03 June 2025
Type of Contract : Researcher in FTC
Contract Period : 24 months
Expected date of employment : 1 October 2025
Proportion of work : Full Time
Remuneration : Between 2991€ et 4166€ gross salary according to experience
Desired level of education : Doctorate
Experience required : 1 to 4 years
Section(s) CN : 01 – Interactions, particles, nuclei, from laboratory to cosmos
Missions
Researcher position in surface energy and hydrological balance modelling applied to high mountain permafrost in the frame of the action plan on the risks from glacial and periglacial origin lead by the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and Territories Cohesion via the General Direction of Risks Prevention (DGPR). The action plan aims at improving the fundamental knowledge in the ultimate goal to develop operational solution for risk management. The aim of the project is therefore to improve permafrost detection, diagnosis and mapping capabilities for operational purposes. The ultimate goal is to overcome the limitations of statistical models calibrated from rock glacier inventories or surface temperature data to represent the diversity of mountain permafrost terrain.
The action plan implies several research laboratories (IGE, ISTerre, Météo France, INRAE and EDYTEM) that meet twice or three times a year with the DGPR and the Mountain Territories Restauration ervice (RTM that belongs to the National Office for Forests) to state about the main advances of the action plan. The hired person could be punctually solicited for specific applications of their work in the frame of the collaboration with the RTM and will be in charge of ensuring a communication and collaborative work with this service.
The work will be supervised by Florence Magnin (EDYTEM) with the support of Sebastian Westermann (Oslo University, Norway) and Xavier Bodin (EDYTEM). It will be articulated with another project on heat and water flows modelling in steep permafrost slopes.
Activities
The work is divided into several stages and aims to produce a few deliverables. In addition, the successful candidate will be required to publish the results in scientific journals and present them at conferences, and to be available for punctual but occasional requests from the RTM.
The first stage involves testing the ability of the CryoGrid energy and water balance model to reproduce temperature dynamics measured at some 50 sites in the French Alps between 2800 and 3800 m altitude over the period 2010-2024 (but mainly 2020-2024) on permafrost slopes with varying degrees of seasonal snow cover. The aim of this first stage is to provide guidelines for the local stakeholders describing general model parameterization rules for different types of terrain approaches to analyze the results. The person recruited will also need to be able to collect data (between 15 and 20 days in the field, spread throughout the year but mainly in summer and early autumn).
The second step will be to analyze the simulation results for these measurement points in order to understand the evolution of the energy and water balances on the sites concerned, and in particular to better define the role of variables associated with snow cover (period of deposition and melting, thickness, etc.) on the evolution of permafrost at these sites.
The third stage will involve generalizing the model to a digital terrain model, in order to map permafrost distribution at several spatial scales. This stage will lead to the drafting of general rules on the application of spatialized simulations for local stakeholders.
The hired person will be asked for proposing internship topics and supervise Master students to contribute to the project during the entire duration of their contract.
Skills
The person recruited should be familiar with Matlab or similar programming languages in order to use the CryoGrid model and extend it for the needs of the project. A good knowledge of one or more disciplines associated with alpine permafrost research is beneficial (geology, cryospheric sciences, periglacial geomorphology, environmental physics, etc.). Skills in data management, analysis and numerical modeling are also required.
In addition to the technical aspects, the successful candidate will have to be able to work independently and as part of a group, and to communicate results both informally and formally, in the form of articles, reports and speeches. They will have to show the willingness to collaborate with others working on this or similar projects at the EDYTEM laboratory.
The ability to work independently in high mountain terrain will be a major asset. Fluency in French (oral and written) is not mandatory, but is highly appreciated. Fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Recommendation letters from previous supervisors could be welcome.
Work Context
The researches will be conducted in the multidisciplinary (geology, geography, archeology, sociology, sedimentology) EDYTEM laboratory, an “Unité Mixte de Recherche” (Mixed Research Unit) belonging to both the CNRS and University Savoie Mont Blanc, but whose common line is mountain environment. He/she will be related to the Morphodynamics team, which hosts about fifteen permanent researchers and professors or lecturers, an engineer and about 15 PhD candidates and 5 postdocs, mostly in the fields of geology, geophysics and physical geography.
The person recruited will be required to work with other people involved in the project and with other people in the laboratory working on similar topics (knowledge sharing, methodological support, etc.). He/she will be responsible for communicating the results of the project to funders and staff outside the laboratory as soon as necessary. The resources required to implement the work will be discussed when the contract is set up (choice of computer, access to servers and calculators, etc.).
Constraints and risks
The work could involve long days in the high mountains, requiring good physical condition and solid experience. Risks are those associated with high mountains (> 3000 m), that could involve mountaineering technics (rope work)
