Researcher: Land use scenarios for modeling future hydrological trajectories in West Africa M/W via EURAXESS

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

Montpellier, France 🇫🇷

Job Information

Organisation/Company: IRD Occitanie

Research Field: Environmental science » Water science

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 21/03/2023 – 00:00 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?: No

Offer Description

Global changes – Future scenarios – Water resources

The structure you will join

HydroSciences Montpellier (HSM) is a joint research unit bringing together scientists from the IRD, the University of Montpellier, the CNRS and the IMT Mines Alès. The UMR, associated with the OSU OREME, is specialized in water sciences, especially hydrology, eco-hydrology and hydrogeology. It is located on the campus of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UM, in the Hydropolis building. HSM’s main objectives are to study and predict the impacts of climate and human activities on the water cycle and their feedbacks on humans and ecosystems. It has a recognized expertise in the deployment of observation systems, in the study of processes involved in the hydrological cycle and the renewal of water resources, and in their modeling. Its privileged study areas are located in West Africa and in the North and South Mediterranean. The HSM laboratory participates in the coordination and management of research observatories such as AMMA-CATCH (West Africa) and KARST (France), associated with the OZCAR research infrastructure.

An attractive mission

The proposed mission is part of the WCCC (CECC in french) project (Water Cycle and Climate Change in Africa), co-financed by IRD and the French Development Agency. This project aims to produce and make available to a wide range of users knowledge on future trajectories of water resources and hydrological hazards in the context of global change (global warming, land use changes, population growth and mobility), in West Africa and more specifically in the Sahel. This mission is conducted in partnership with the TipHyc project (Tipping Points in the West African Hydrological Cycle), funded by the ANR, which seeks to identify tipping points in the hydrological cycle of the region in the recent past and future. For both projects, projections of land use change are needed, which, combined with the effects of climate change on rainfall and temperature, drive the renewal of water resources. You will contribute to the preparation of the modeling of future hydrological trajectories (resources and hazards) in the Sahel (Sub-Saharan Africa), by generating land-use scenarios for 2050 and 2100 specific to this area, based on existing global or regional prospective scenarios, notably from the CMIP6 exercise (LUH2, Hurtt et al, 2020) and the Agrimonde prospective (INRAe, CIRAD), Mora et al, 2020).

Your activities will include:

  • Handling of the LUH2 and Agrimonde baseline scenarios (assumptions, methodology)
  • Critical analysis of these scenarios, their consistency with current trends in land cover and land use in the region
  • Definition and implementation of a methodology to spatially disaggregate this information
  • Operationalization through the generation of “gridded products” (typical resolution of 10 km) directly usable for hydrological modeling
  • Publication of the method and results

You will also participate in the scientific animations organized in the framework of the 2 projects CECC and TipHyc

Your future team

You will be hosted in the HEC team of the UMR HSM (28 agents), specialized in critical zone science. Under the supervision of C. Peugeot, hydrologist, IRD researcher at HSM, you will work in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary consortium of the CECC and TipHyc projects. This consortium gathers about twenty researchers, teacher-researchers and engineers, attached to different laboratories in France (HSM, IGE in Grenoble, Espace-Dev and G-EAU in Montpellier, LPED in Marseille, GET in Toulouse, IEES and DEPE/INRAe in Paris) and abroad (University of Utrecht-Netherlands, University of Niamey-Niger, University of Bamako-Mali, University of Abomey-Calavi-Benin) The specialties of this consortium cover hydrology, hydrogeology, pedology, climatology, ecology, agronomy, sociology, forecasting, and modeling.

Requirements

Research Field: Environmental science » Ecology

Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The profile we are looking for

You are sensitive to the challenges of global changes and their impacts on water resources and hydrological risks, and you wish to put your skills at the service of a better estimation of future hydrological trajectories.

You have developed the following skills:

  • Theoretical knowledge in at least one of the following fields: hydrology, hydrogeology, climatology, agronomy, ecology, geography
  • Knowledge of the mechanisms and challenges of land use changes and their dynamics, in relation to global changes, particularly in tropical areas
  • Ability to handle large data sets (e.g. netcdf format)
  • Minimum knowledge of a programming language (R, python…) and of the technical bases of GIS (QGIS)
  • Field experience (observation, surveys) would be an asset.
  • Fluency in English (written and oral)

You have the following human qualities:

  • Scientific curiosity,
  • Autonomy and rigor
  • Critical spirit
  • Aptitude for dialogue and collaborative work
  • Taste for sharing and disseminating knowledge

Degree level: PhD

Specific Requirements

Fields: environmental sciences (agronomy, geosciences, hydrosciences, ecology, geography). An opening towards human sciences would be appreciated.

Experience: up to 2 years after the thesis

Languages: ENGLISH; Level Excellent

Languages: FRENCH; Level: Excellent

Research Field: Environmental science » Water science

Years of Research Experience: 1 – 4

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

Country: France

Where to apply

E-mail: recrutement.dr-occitanie@ird.fr

Contact

State/Province: Occitanie

City: Montpellier

Street: 911 Avenue Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier

Postal Code: 34000

E-Mail: recrutement.dr-occitanie@ird.fr


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

LANGUAGE REQUIRED

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