Sentinel North Research Chair in Aquatic Geochemistry, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
Audrey Gaudy, étudiante au baccalauréat en chimie, a reçu la bourse de stage en recherche du CRSNG. Elle va contribuer à nos projets de recherche en cours sur la géochimie des éléments terres rares dans le delta du Mackenzie et dans les sédiments arctiques.
Daniel Fillion a reçu une bourse de maitrise du CRSNG. Son projet, en co-direction avec Florent Dominé du laboratoire Takuvik, porte sur la photochimie du carbone issue du dégel du pergélisol.
Félicitions à Audrey et Daniel !
Félicitation à Thomas Bossé-Demers pour l’obtention d’une Bourse de la Fondation Georges-Élie-Amyot. La bourse vise à reconnaître l'excellence et la progression scolaire ainsi que le potentiel en recherche des récipiendaires.
Projets de maitrise (MSc) en géochimie aquatique
Nous cherchons deux étudiant.e.s pour des projets de maitrise en géochimie aquatique. Le premier porte sur la photochimie du carbone en région arctique et le deuxième sur le phosphore et le lanthane dans les sédiments des lacs aux prises avec des problèmes d'algues bleu-vert.
Description des projets et information pour postuler:
MSc sur la photochimie du carbone (poste comblé)
An algal bloom covers the surface of Lake Vansjø in Norway near the shore as children board canoes. Algal blooms are exacerbated by excess nutrients, such as phosphorus, flowing into lakes. Credit: Eva Skarbøvik
Our recent paper on the modelling of the role of sediment in sustaining algual blooms in boreal lakes, published this month in JGR:Biogeosciences, has been showcased in EOS Spotlight, the scientific news magazine of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The paper presents the coupling of two numerical models , one for lake dynamics and one for sediment geochemistry, designed to calculate the rates and fluxes controlling the mobility of elements that control water chemistry, such as carbon, iron, nitrogen, and phosphorus. In particular, the paper shows precise calculations of the effect that phosphorus bound to sediment minerals, such as iron oxides, has on water quality over time. The outcome of various climate change scenarios is tested, along with that of lake remediation measures. The tool presented promises to change how we quantify the response of legacy nutrient under climate and land-use change.
The model code is freely available on GitHub in our group's code repository (login required), while the input and output data is avalialbe on the Canadian Federated Data Repository.
We invite applications for a 3 year, fully funded PhD position focussing on the feedback between current environmental changes and carbon dynamics in lakes and thaw ponds of the northern landscape.
Lakes and ponds in northern Canada store large amounts of carbon in their sediments. These carbon sinks are vast but extremely vulnerable to human and climatic perturbation. Over the large areas of the subarctic and low Arctic that are rapidly warming, degrading permafrost and increased drought frequency affect carbon pathways. The program “Changing Carbon Sinks in Arctic Canada”, CCSAC, seeks to improve the quantitative understanding of carbon dynamics in Canadian subarctic freshwaters, with a focus on protecting natural carbon sinks and processes that govern the balance between carbon sinks and carbon sources to the atmosphere. The program couples hydrology and biogeochemistry with modelling and remote-sensing to contribute to science-based decision making and the effective delivery of climate change actions.
The PhD project, with an expected starting date in early 2020, will focus on the modelling of biogeochemical process impacting carbon dynamics and on the interpretation of datasets from field campaigns, high-frequency sensors and remote sensing products. The project will build on existing multi-component reactive-transport and lake models coded in Matlab and Python, to improve our understanding of the transformation and fluxes of aquatic carbon.
The successful applicant will be hosted by the Sentinel North Research Chair in Aquatic Geochemistry, held by Prof. Raoul-Marie Couture at Laval University in Québec City, and the CNRS Joint International Laboratory Takuvik. Sentinel North and Takuvik provide a host of opportunities for graduate students, including PhD scholarships with competitive salaries, summer schools with a focus on remote field locations, financial support for international internships and world-class laboratories and computing facilities.
The applicant will also be collaborating with the CCSAC team, led by Prof. Sherry Schiff at the University of Waterloo. The team further comprises of researchers from Laurier University, University of Winnipeg, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, University of Washington and NASA. We expect that this will provide an extremely stimulating scientific environment and the opportunity to develop a portfolio of experience in both modelling and field work.
Application Instructions
Applicants must have a strong quantitative background in a relevant field (e.g., environmental engineering, computational (geo)chemistry, mathematics, bio/eco-informatics, information technology). Experience with ecosystem modelling and scientific computing is desirable. Finally, experience with and/or interest in field work in remote regions is an asset as we encourage modellers in our group to take part in designing and performing field campaigns.
Interested applicants should submit: 1) a cover letter stating how their experience, motivation and expectations align with the proposed research, 2) a curriculum vita, 3) academic transcripts and 4) contact information of three academic or professional references. All documentation should be sent as a single PDF file to raoul.coutu[email protected] . The position will remain opened until filled.
Linking national-scale efforts to understand the role of sediment processes in controlling water quality in eutrophic lakes.
Eutrophication, and related harmful algal blooms (HABs), is widely considered the most significant stressor affecting fresh waters. Part of multidisciplinary effort to understand and predict the occurrence of HAB in lakes, we are seeking a highly motivated candidate with strong quantitative skills who can work independently in a collaborative environment. The successful candidate will conduct research to implement, test, and revise numerical models of biogeochemical and diagenetic processes taking place in lake sediments.
The project (FORMBLOOM) will advance our understanding of carbon, nutrient and metal fluxes across eutrophic lakes with different underlying geochemistry, and aid in predicting the role of sediments in altering effects of eutrophication, trajectories of eutrophication recovery, and HAB risk.
Background and interest in water quality or reactive transport modelling are preferred, along with a Master, Doctoral degree or equivalent, from a recognized university in a relevant academic discipline. Proficiency with scientific computing environment such as Matlab and Python is required.
The successful applicant will be working closely with Dr. Couture and collaborating with Dr. Jason Venkiteswaran (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Dr. Helen Baulch (University of Saskatchewan). The project will bridge activities within the SN Research Chair in Aquatic Geochemistry with those of the FORMBLOOM Global Water Futures project, benefiting from working in a multi-university and multidisciplinary research team, as well as from interactions with partner organizations and ecosystem managers.
The successful applicant will have access to a wide range of datasets from detailed field campaigns such as Buffalo Pound (Saskatchewan, a key regional drinking water source), Lake 227 (Ontario, a well-studied experimental lake at IISD-ELA), Conestogo Lake (Ontario, a recreational water body in a highly impacted watershed), Lake Plesne (Czech Republic, a flagship monitoring site for acidification and eutrophication) and Lake Vansjø (Norway, a drinking water and recreational lake monitored for several decades).
In your application, please include a cover letter identifying the position of interest (PhD or Postdoc) and stating your motivation for the position and how your research interests align with it, a curriculum vita including a publication record, a copy of your academic transcripts, and contact information of three references. All documentation should be sent as a single PDF file to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the positions will remain open until filled.
Laval University is located in Québec City, Canada. Candidates should be fluent in written and spoken English and interested in working in a primarily French-speaking environment.
Three Sentinel North Research Chairs were launched on May 9th 2018, in the presence of the Sentinel North executive director Martin Fortier, the Faculty's dean André Zaccarin, the VP research Eugenie Brouillet and the president of Laval University, Sophie d'Amours. See University Press releases here, here and here (in French).
From left to right: M. Zaccarin, Mme. Brouillet, M. Couture, M. Fortier, Mme. D'Amours
The three chairholders: Raoul-Marie Couture (Aquatic Geochemistry), Caroline Ménard (Neurobiology of stress), and Gary Wong (Influenza surveillance network).