Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Earth Sciences

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With a population of 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the Faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Physical Geography, Sustainable Development, and Human Geography & Spatial Planning.

The Department of Earth Sciences conducts teaching and research across the full range of the solid Earth and environmental Earth sciences, with activities in almost all areas of geology, geochemistry, geophysics, biogeology and hydrogeology. Our key research themes are Earth & Planetary Processes, Sustainable Use of the Subsurface, Planetary Health & Environment, and Climate & Life.The department hosts a highly international tenured staff of over 50 scientists and more than 110 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. We house or have access to a wide variety of world-class laboratories, among which are UU’s Electron Microscopy Centre, the Geolab, and the Earth Simulation Lab. We also have excellent High- Performance Computing facilities.

About Utrecht
Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of nearly 360,000 and forms a hub in the middle of the country. Its historical city centre and its modern central station can easily be reached from our campus in Utrecht Science Park by public transport or by a 15-minute bicycle ride. Utrecht boasts beautiful canals with extraordinary wharf cellars housing cafés and terraces by the water, as well as a broad variety of shops and boutiques.

Homepage: https://www.uu.nl/geo/aw

The Department of Earth Sciences is looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate with an MSc background in Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Climate Sciences or other appropriate fields. You will work on the project Ocean Alkalinity Dynamics.

Ocean alkalinity plays a major role in ocean’s carbon uptake, in buffering, and in calcium carbonate production and dissolution, and it impacts and is affected by various biogeochemical processes. The processes governing ocean alkalinity act over multiple timescales (from instantaneous chemical equilibration to hundred thousand of years) and involve physical, chemical and biological processes. Alkalinity dynamics is poorly understood and represented in present-day generation of earth system models.

In this four-year study under guidance of Profs. Jack Middelburg and Henk Dijkstra, you will elucidate ocean alkalinity dynamics and develop new and improve existing models for ocean carbon cycling. The initial focus is on the alkalinity generation and consumption processes at the annual to decadal timescale and their importance for future ocean carbon update, but we invite you to share your ideas and suggestions for this innovative project in your motivation letter.

This project is part of the 10-year EMBRACER research programme funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). At EMBRACER, we work at the very frontiers of knowledge on climate change, Earth’s climate system and climate feedbacks. The programme brings together a wide range of world-leading climate experts with the aim to address existing uncertainties about climate feedbacks at the boundaries between oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere. Our interdisciplinary approach and state-of-the-art infrastructure will bring us forward in our understanding of the impact of climate feedbacks emerging over the next decades to centuries.

A personalised training programme will be set up, reflecting your training needs and career objectives. About 20% of your time will be dedicated to this training component, which includes following workshops and/or courses, as well as training on the job in assisting in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes of the department at Utrecht University.

Qualifications
You are an independent, highly motivated team player, having experience in numerical modelling, and have completed your MSc degree in Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Climate Sciences or a related discipline by the time the position starts. Furthermore, you have:

• strong and demonstrable skills in transport-reaction, ocean circulation or Earth System model(s) (shown by a relevant master research project experience or course study);
• a theoretical background and an interest in ocean biogeochemistry;
• strong analytical skills;
• excitement to explore a new research area;
• motivation to cooperate in a diverse and multidisciplinary research team;
• excellent communication skills.

Good command of Python or a similar programming language is essential. Due to the international character of our research, proficiency in spoken and written English is also essential. We highly encourage applicants from all members of our community and of diverse backgrounds to join us.

Terms of employment
You will be offered a full-time PhD position, initially for one year with extension to four years in total upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The gross monthly salary starts with € 2,901 in the first year and increases to € 3,707 in the fourth year of employment with a full-time appointment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. A pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities.

In addition to the collective employment conditions, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes, and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

For informal questions (not for application), contact Prof. Dr Jack Middelburg at j.b.m.middelburg@uu.nl.

To apply, please follow the link tot the corresponding advertisement on our own website and follow the guidelines mentioned there. The application deadline is August 30th, 2025. The preferred starting date is late autumn 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Note that international candidates that need a visa/work permit for the Netherlands require at least four months processing time after selection and acceptance. This will be arranged with help of the International Service Desk of our university. Finding appropriate housing in or near Utrecht is your own responsibility and, unfortunately, we must warn that it is a tight market at the moment. In case of general questions about working and living in The Netherlands, please consult the Dutch Mobility Portal.

Online screening may be part of the selection. Commercial response to this ad is not appreciated.