PhD Scholarship in Environmental Effects of Maritime Activities

A PhD position on Data Science is available at the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua) from January 2022.  The position is part of two EU H2020 projects: MISSION ATLANTIC - Towards the Sustainable Development of the Atlantic Ocean https:\\www.missionatlantic.eu and BRRIDGE-BS - Towards a productive, healthy, resilient, sustainable and highly-valued Black Sea https://www.h2020-bridge.eu/ . The PhD must therefore actively contribute to the large international research network established in this project. The project work is primarily carried out in the Section for Oceans and Arctic at DTU Aqua in Lyngby. 

Project description

Marine ecosystems are complex adaptive systems consisting of large networks regulated by the adaptive dynamics of their constituents. Interactions in the networks occur across different levels of ecological organizations (from individual, to population and communities), and are both directly and indirectly modified by environmental pressures. Spatial and temporal dynamics on all levels of ecological organization are emergent properties of these interactions and regulated by local environment conditions. These complex dynamics and structures are central to life on Earth, and are generally investigated using both direct observations and mechanistic modelling of selected biological and physical quantities. However, it remains of critical importance to identify and characterise the relevant scales of ecosystem interactions, the responses of those to pressures and provide indicators of ecosystem state including them in a coherent framework for risk assessment in support of resource management. 

In the current PhD project, we plan to develop statistical frameworks based on machine learning approaches (e.g. deep-learning, Bayesian non-parametric models, reinforcement learning) to combine observations and data from general ocean models to: 

• Develop adaptive statistical models of marine ecosystems able to combine deterministic and stochastic temporal representations;
• Identify and predict the spatio-temporal dependencies across specific ocean regions;
• Assess the role of resilience for ecosystem dynamics;
• Detect anomalies in very large spatio-temporal datasets of ecosystem state;
• Determine the importance of uncertainties in data input and prediction of ecosystem dynamics;
• Advance decision support tools for risk and vulnerability management in marine ecosystems. 

Candidates for the PhD position should have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree. 

We are looking for candidates with:

• An excellent background knowledge and experience in handling and analysing large data (e.g. satellite and in-situ observations)
• Proven skills on advanced statistical modeling
• Ability to develop the project across disciplines (e.g. Data Science, Marine Ecology, Oceanography, Mathematics, etc.)
• Flexibility concerning research stays abroad
• Good communication skills in English, both written and orally
• Ability to conduct research independently and problem solving skills
• Strong interest in participating in an inter-disciplinary and international research environment
• Willingness to contribute to a positive and inspirational work atmosphere 

Application

Please submit your online application no later than 15 November 2023 (23:59 Danish time). 

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