Application deadline: 7 March 2021

Rivers play a crucial role in the transport of land-based plastic waste towards the ocean, where the plastic has a detrimental impact on the marine ecosystem. However, a growing amount of observational evidence suggests that most plastics never make it into the ocean.

The Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group (HWM) works on developing innovative methods to quantify river plastic transport and accumulation. The “PLastic ACcumulation ZOne Identification in river systems” (PLACZOI) project aims to develop a tool to identify plastic accumulation zones in rivers around the world. PLACZOI will explore plastic accumulation across spatial scales, from single rivers to global assessments.

You will work on (1) collecting field data on river plastic transport and accumulation, (2) combining existing datasets to formulate new hypotheses, and (3) exploring the use of remote sensing and GIS to map plastic accumulation. You are expected to present the results in scientific articles and at conferences. The project is an active collaboration with partners inside and outside Europe. During the project you will be spending time with the project partners.

We ask 

• a MSc in hydrology, geosciences, environmental sciences or a related field; 
• willingness to do fieldwork; 
• flexible and opportunistic working attitude; 
• capability to work across spatial scales; 
• experience with working with remote sensing imagery or GIS; 
• good data processing and visualization skills; 
• excellent command of written and spoken English; 
• enthusiasm for writing scientific articles

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