PhD in Earth magnetism
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography
National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography (NIGGG) conducts basic and applied research in the fields of geophysics, seismology, earthquake engineering, geodesy and geography providing expertise in support of the sustainable development of Bulgaria.
Palаeomagnetic Laboratory at NIGGG is unique for Bulgaria and possesses specialized scientific instrumentation for magnetic and palаeomagnetic studies. The main research directions evolved from classical palaeomagnetic and archaeomagnetic studies at the beginning and continuing now days to incorporation of recently developed magnetic studies on sediments, soils, vegetation, anthropogenic and synthetic materials.
Homepage: http://www.niggg.bas.bg/en/
Earth Magnetism & Rock Physics (EMRP)
Soil System Sciences (SSS)
REQUIREMENTS:
- Master degree in Physics, Geophysics, or related disciplines e.g.: Physical Geography, Geology, or similar subjects.
- Good Experience in experimental laboratory (ideally magnetic and/or paleomagnetic) methods
- Skills in Data analysis, Multivariate statistics and time series analyses are advantageous
- Willingness to travel for field work, research visits and conferences.
- Very good English speaking and writing skills
- Good communication skills and willingness to work in a multidisciplinary team
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
- The position is financed under the Multilateral Academic Projects Programme (MAPS) of the Second Swiss contribution. Project title: ”Shedding light on Lower Danube Black Sea region paleoclimate since the Mid-Brunhes Event (MBE) by novel loess-paleosol records – LOEs-CLIMBE”. The position is financed for 48 months.
Consortium Partners:
- Universität Zürich, Switzerland – PD Dr. Guido L.B. Wiesenberg
- National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, BG – Prof. Dr. Diana Jordanova
- Romanian Academy Cluj – Napoca Branch, Romania – Dr. Daniel Veres
In WP2, we plan to incorporate a wide array of magnetic techniques and test the sensitivity of various parameters to different driving factors of pedogenesis. To gain important complementary information on the amount of weakly magnetic hematite and goethite in the LPSs, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analyses are planned to be an important part of the experimental methods.
During the project, the following research questions (Rs) will be addressed, and the associated hypotheses (Hs) tested:
R1 What is the role of re-distribution of the mobile soil compounds (CaCO3; clays, OM, redox – sensitive oxides [Fe, Al, Mn]) in establishment of the magnetic record along the LPS?
H1 Entering the pedogenic cycle, iron oxides may undergo depth re-distribution due to leaching, illuviation and can be transformed as a result of microbial activity to substances containing Fe II (Weber et al., 2006), leaving soil – specific magnetic signatures.
R2 Are the magnetic properties of the LPS sensitive to millennial-scale climate fluctuations?
H2 Iron oxides are very good pedogenic indicators due to their high sensitivity to environmental conditions (temperature and moisture), influencing their mineralogy, crystallinity and isomorphous substitutions and thus magnetic properties will closely correlate with other paleoclimate proxies (Cornell and Schwertmann, 2003).
R3 What are the relationships between the relative abundance of different pedogenic Fe oxides (ferrihydrite, goethite, hematite, magnetite, maghemite) in the LPS and the OC stock and quality?
H3 Characteristics, properties and biogeochemical cycling of Fe oxides in soils strongly affect SOM sequestration (Song et al., 2022) and the two biogeochemical cycles (Fe and OC) will be intimately linked.
R4 How different sources and rates of dust addition affect the formation of the LPS’ magnetic signature?
H4 During pedogenesis, strongly magnetic Fe oxides (maghemite, magnetite) formed in-situ exert gradual increase in their grain size, leading to change in their magnetic domain states from superparamagnetic to single-domain and pseudosingle domain (Long et al., 2015).
TASKS DESCRIPTION:
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join our multidisciplinary project research team. The PhD will be part of an international collaboration and contribute to advancing state-of-the-art in assessing past Quaternary climate change across a N – S transect of terrestrial LPS records in Bulgaria and Romania spanning several glacial-interglacial cycles.
Subject of the PhD thesis: Magnetic fingerprints of pedogenesis and past climate conditions in loess palaeosol sequences from Lower Danube Black sea region
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Diana Jordanova; National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria; diana_jordanova77@abv.bg
TASKS DESCRIPTION:
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join our multidisciplinary project research team. The PhD will be part of an international collaboration and contribute to advancing state-of-the-art in assessing past Quaternary climate change across a N – S transect of terrestrial LPS records in Bulgaria and Romania spanning several glacial-interglacial cycles.
Application deadline and selection procedure
Application documents: motivation letter, CV, MSc degree diploma (copy), recommendation letter, other relevant documents
Selection procedure (according to the national legislation rules): Two-stage interview – written questionnaire and oral discussion.