Two funded PhD positions on Fiber-Optics (DAS) for Subsurface Imaging and Monitoring in Urban Areas
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
GFZ is Germany’s national centre for solid Earth research. We advance the understanding of dynamic processes to address global challenges, from mitigating the impacts of natural hazards and sustaining our habitat amid global change to responsibly managing georesources. We are part of the Helmholtz Association, the largest German scientific organisation. With around 1,200 employees as well as ca. 500 guest researchers, we contribute to the Helmholtz Research Field Earth and Environment, aligning cutting-edge research with societal relevance and international collaboration. Our work integrates multidisciplinary studies across Earth’s system components, leveraging advanced technologies and infrastructure to research solutions and to transfer our knowledge to society. We are doing this according to our vision: “Taking the pulse of our Earth to safeguard a habitable planet”.
Homepage: https://www.gfz.de/en/
Natural Hazards (NH)
Seismology (SM)
The project InDySE: Investigating the Dynamic Shallow Earth aims at developing and validating the next generation of subsurface imaging and monitoring platforms for urban areas. The focus of the project is to leverage fiber-optic sensing technologies (and in particular Distributed Acoustic Sensing, DAS) deployed on existing telecommunication cables, and ambient noise interferometry to generate high-resolution models of near-surface structure, material properties and dynamic processes relevant to geohazard assessment and mitigation, and sustainable urban development. The project combines computational tool development, field experiments, modeling and data integration, to provide a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the properties and behavior of the Earth beneath our feet.
Within the framework of InDySE, we are offering two separate, funded PhD positions:
PhD Project 1: High-Resolution Seismic imaging of the Urban Subsurface
This project will focus on using existing fiber optic cables and ambient seismic noise interferometry approaches to create high-resolution velocity models of the urban subsurface, with the aim to identify hidden faults, characterize ground properties, and improve seismic hazard assessment.
PhD Project 2: Seismic Monitoring of Urban Subsurface Processes
This project focuses on the temporal dimension, and will leverage dark fiber DAS ambient noise recordings to track how seismic properties change over time in response to natural and anthropogenic forces (e.g., earthquakes, hydrological changes), with the aim to better understand fundamental processes related to urban geohazards.
Candidate requirements:
- A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Geophysics (preferred), Physics, Computer Science or in a related discipline
- Background in Seismology; experience in the field of seismic noise preferred but not required
- Familiarity and prior experience working with DAS data are advantageous but not required
- Strong computational and scientific programming skills (Python, Matlab, C, C++, etc)
- Good communication skills and a good command of written and spoken English
- Willingness to participate in field experiments
The project will be conducted within the Geophysical Imaging Section (Geophysics Department) of GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences.
The expected start date is September 2025.
Find more details and apply here:
Project 1: PhD Project 1: High-Resolution Seismic imaging of the Urban Subsurface
Project 2: PhD Project 2: Seismic Monitoring of Urban Subsurface Processes
If you have any questions about the projects, please contact Dr. Verónica Rodríguez Tribaldos (verort@gfz.de)