The extreme droughts of 2018-2020 in the Netherlands caused great social distress and huge economic damages. The drought-related damage in 2018 was estimated between 900 and 1,650 million Euro. Scientific knowledge can help to mitigate such adverse effects, if we integrate advanced drought knowledge and data, including satellite data, field observations and modelling, to study the water/carbon/nutrient use and the response of agriculture and nature systems to drought events.
You are expected to address the abovementioned challenges and develop improved formulations, thereby making extensive use of field observations and remote sensing data. You will focus on understanding how the water-soil-plant dynamics vary with environmental and climate stress, by coupling the vegetation photosynthetic activities to soil water and heat dynamics considering dynamic root growth and synergized with satellite data. You will be encouraged to use our state-of-the-art modelling systems (STEMMUS-SCOPE). The existing modelling system will be extended with modules for plant growths and response of vegetation to drought conditions, and validated against field measurements and remote sensing observations (e.g., existing data products from VanderSat). Furthermore, you are expected to develop two emulated versions of STEMMUS-SCOPE with the physics-informed machine learning approaches, and closely working with VanderSat/Planet to explore the commercial potential of applying the emulated STEMMUS-SCOPE for producing operational data products. To add momentum to the collaboration with VanderSat/Planet, most of the research will be done while working from the VanderSat office in Haarlem.
Information and application
For more information, you can contact Prof Dr Bob Su (email: z.su@utwente.nl) or Dr Yijian Zeng (email: y.zeng@utwente.nl). You are also invited to visit our homepage.
Please submit your application before 1 September 2022 (choose “apply here” below). Your application should include:
- A cover letter (maximum 1 page A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications and motivations to apply for this position.
- A Curriculum Vitae
- Two references
Interviews are scheduled to take place between 7 - 15 September 2022.
The University of Twente wants to be an organisation that optimally deploys diversity, talents and capabilities in the labour market for now and the future. In the framework of our diversity and inclusiveness policy, we strongly stimulate people with a (work) disability to apply for this position.
About the department
The ITC-WRS Department works in the domains of Water and the Environment, focusing on water, food, energy and ecosystems security and sustainability. The department uses Earth observation and in-situ ground truthing in combination with hydrologic and Earth systems modelling and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for the assessment and monitoring of the water, energy and biogeochemical cycles to support planning and management of water resources, freshwater and coastal ecosystems under global change.
About the organization
The Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) provides international postgraduate education, research and project services in the field of geo-information science and earth observation. Our mission is capacity development, where we apply, share and facilitate the effective use of geo-information and earth observation knowledge and tools for tackling global wicked problems. Our purpose is to enable our many partners around the world to track and trace the impact – and the shifting causes and frontiers – of today’s global challenges. Our vision is of a world in which researchers, educators, and students collaborate across disciplinary and geographic divides with governmental and non-governmental organisations, institutes, businesses, and local populations to surmount today’s complex global challenges and to contribute to sustainable, fair, and digital societies.
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