Two predoctoral contracts in soil erosion and sediment production in mountain areas

Overview

Two predoctoral contracts in soil erosion and sediment production in mountain areas, offered by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, Spain. The research is part of the MUSSED project at BarcelonaTech (UPC).

Location : Barcelona, Spain. Sector : Academic. Relevant divisions : Geomorphology (GM), Geosciences Instrumentation and Data Systems (GI), Natural Hazards (NH). Type : Contract. Level : Student / Graduate / Internship. Salary : 18000 - 19000 € / Year. Required education : Master. Application deadline : 5 October 2025. Posted : 9 September 2025.

Responsibilities / Research focus

The project will investigate sediment production and erosion in mountain zones, which influence land degradation, desertification, and sediment infilling of water reservoirs. The MUSSED work plan includes three blocks :

• Block 1 — erosion in badland areas
• Block 2 — erosion in debris torrential catchments and open hillslopes
• Block 3 — upscaling sediment yield to upper river valley heads and assessing impacts of future scenarios due to climate change, land cover, and wildfire variations

The project will apply a multidisciplinary approach using (1) advanced geotechnical and geomatic monitoring techniques to characterize soil production and erosion at several spatial scales, and (2) development and validation of modelling tools. Physically-based models will be implemented at local scale, with ensembles of physically-based and machine-learning models at larger scales.

Position 1 is linked to soil production and erosion in fine-grained humid badlands in the Saldes basin (South-eastern Pyrenees). Position 2 is linked to coarse- and mixed-grained sediment production and flux due to torrential flows in the Senet basin (South-Central Pyrenees) and to shallow landslides observed during regional events.

Qualifications / Requisites

How to apply

Application must be delivered until 5 October 2025 through :

Additional details

Note : This posting includes context about the MUSSED project and the UPC doctoral program requirements; for full description refer to the linked UPC pages above.

#J-18808-Ljbffr