The department of Ocean Systems (OCS) at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ), in collaboration with the Technical University Delft is looking for a highly motivated PhD student to join our research on suspended matter, light and nutrients in the North Sea. We aim to understand and quantify the dynamics of nutrients and suspended matter and consequent light attenuation as base of the North Sea food web. In this PhD project, you will join research cruises on the North Sea, carry out experiments in the lab, analyze large data sets and do numerical simulations. Based at NIOZ on Texel, you work together with your supervisory team (Henko de Stigter, Bram van Prooijen and Claire Chassagne), as well as with a team of 6 other PhDs.
THE PROJECT
The North Sea is extensively used for fisheries, wind turbines, sand mining, and other human activities. At the same time, the North Sea is a valuable ecosystem, hosting a variety of marine life. Policy making requires balancing these often conflicting functions. A solid understanding of the various components and interactions in the foodweb in the North Sea is essential, but at the moment not sufficiently present. To bridge this knowledge gap, a large-scale research program was started, coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat: MONS (Monitoring Onderzoek Natuurversterking Soortbescherming (~ Monitoring, Research, Strengthening Nature and Species Protection).
This PhD project is part of MONS and investigates the base of the foodweb: how much light and inorganic nutrients are available for primary production? Fine sediments and organic matter have the tendency to aggregate, substantially influencing the sediment dynamics and light attenuation. Understanding the underlying mechanisms over various timescales (storms, tides, seasons) will be one of the key challenges. Our aims are to (i) determine how suspended particulate matter concentration, composition and aggregation state modulate the light regime in the water column, (ii) investigate variability in suspended particulate matter (and hence light regime) and inorganic nutrients in relation to physical and biological processes, and (iii) elucidate the role of suspended particulate matter and seafloor sediment as sources of inorganic nutrients. The results will be used as input for the other MONS PhD projects working on the foodweb dynamics.
YOUR ROLE
The approach to tackle the research questions is based on three components: field work, lab work, and data analysis. Joining field work at sea is an essential component. You will participate in regular North Sea monitoring surveys coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat and collect the specific data and water and sediment samples required for addressing your research questions. These will be intensive, but rewarding cruises. Your focus will be on quantifying and characterizing the suspended particulate matter in the water column by means of in-situ optical and acoustic sensors and by laboratory analysis of collected samples. The field research will be complemented by laboratory experiments under controlled conditions to gain better understanding of the functioning of different types of sensors used in the field. Apart from the field and lab work, you will be expected to find your way around large datasets and use existing information to guide the efforts at sea and in the lab. The regular MWTL surveys conducted for more than a decade by Rijkswaterstaat provide a wealth of data on North Sea ecological and geochemical parameters, and within NIOZ and TU Delft relevant published and unpublished datasets are available. Furthermore, as part of a team of PhDs you are expected to actively exchange ideas and results within the MONS community and specifically the pillar that focuses on the basis of the food web. You will present the data from the field and lab experiments within the department, at project meetings and (inter)national conferences and you will prepare scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
NIOZ DEPARTMENT OF OCEAN SYSTEMS
You will be employed by NIOZ, as a member of the Ocean Systems department, based on the island of Texel. NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. The department of Ocean Systems (OCS) studies the role of the ocean in a changing climate, from equator to pole, from the continental shelf to the deep ocean and from the past to the present. The OCS department investigates ocean functioning by means of sea-going expeditions, during which data and samples are collected from the water column and the seafloor. The samples are analyzed in on-board and on-shore laboratories. Data and samples collected over past decades and archived in our repositories are a valuable source of information for our ocean research. The OCS technical and scientific staff is international, diverse, and has approximately 50 members, including PhD students, postdocs and master students.
TU DELFT
Some parts of your research will be done at TU Delft, while you will also take part in the TU Delft Graduate School. Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences is in the top 5 best faculties for civil engineering (3rd on QS ranking 2024). The department of Hydraulic Engineering focuses on understanding and intervening in rivers, coasts and seas.
