25 Dec
University of Calgary
Calgary
Description
Area: Groundwater Quality and Land Use
Duration: 1 year
Start date: April 1, 2025 (or earlier if possible)
Salary: From $60,000 CAD per annum, plus University of Calgary Plan C health benefits
The Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary is accepting applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar in Groundwater Quality and Land Use.
Job Description:
At the University of Calgary, the Applied Geochemistry Group has an opening for a postdoctoral scholar. This is a full-time position with the option to work in-person, or hybrid (or a combination of both) for up to 1 year (with potential for extension) with a preferred start date in early 2025.
The ideal candidate combines experience in groundwater quality assessments with expertise in geospatial analyses and statistics.
The project investigates the causes of decadal-scale changes in groundwater quality in Alberta. The successful candidate will use approaches including statistical and geospatial analyses of provincial-scale groundwater quality and land use datasets from the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) to identify land use impacts on the quality of shallow groundwater. The investigations will focus on areas where increasing trends in nitrate and chloride have been found in shallow groundwater (<150 m). In combination with isotopic and geochemical data, the research team led by the post-doc will assess where anthropogenic impacts on shallow groundwater have occurred and which land use changes have facilitated change.
The science is enabled by a provincial-scale historical groundwater quality dataset with over >6M results and the ABMI Human Footprint Inventory with >5M polygons delineated for >100 feature types from SPOT6 satellite imagery.
Human footprint occupies 31% of Alberta, with agriculture covering 21%. Most of the human footprint in central and southern Alberta is a result of the province's farming legacy since the late 1800s. Previous studies in Alberta have shown the effects of agricultural land use on shallow groundwater contaminants including local changes in nitrate and chloride concentrations where confined animal feeding operations impacted groundwater quality from manure application at the land surface. While a province-wide picture of groundwater quality variations is emerging very recently, there has not yet been an analysis of how temporal trends relate to land use changes throughout the last decades.
The postdoc will join the Applied Geochemistry Group (AGG) at the University of Calgary (https://live-ucalgary.ucalgary.ca/applied-geochemistry-group).
AGG researchers collaborate with the Geospatial Centre at the ABMI at the University of Alberta (https://abmi.ca/abmi-home/what-we-do/land-cover-and-land-use-mapping.html) led by Dr. Cynthia McClain, the Alberta Geological Survey (Dr. Jessica Liggett) and other collaborating agencies.
Qualifications:
The ideal candidate combines experience in groundwater quality assessments with expertise in geospatial analyses and statistics. We are looking for a candidate with 0 to 4 years of experience after completing their PhD. Minimum qualifications include a PhD degree in Science or a related field, significant experience in water quality assessments, and demonstrated experience in working with geospatial analyses and statistics related to land use information. Education and experience equivalencies may be considered.
Application details:
Interested applicants should send a CV and cover letter no later than February 15, 2025, to Prof. Bernhard Mayer: ******@ucalgary.ca
The terms and conditions of employment are covered under the UCalgary and PDAC Collective Agreement. To find out more about the postdoctoral scholar program at the University of Calgary, visit our Postdocs website.
About the University of Calgary
UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.
About Calgary, Alberta
Calgary is one of the world's cleanest cities and has been named one of the world's most livable cities for years. Calgary is a city of leaders in business, community, philanthropy and volunteerism. Calgarians benefit from the strongest economy in the nation and enjoy more days of sunshine per year than any other major Canadian city. Calgary is less than an hour's drive from the Rocky Mountains and boasts the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America.
The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, and is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.
As an equitable and inclusive employer,
the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities.
Questions regarding diversity EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion(******@ucalgary.ca) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources (******@ucalgary.ca).
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