We seek a highly motivated PhD student to study the atmospheric chemistry processes that occur in a volcanic plume, ranging from the hot crater emission-source to the dispersed downwind plume. The PhD project will involve a combination of analyses of large observational datasets and numerical modelling of the plume chemistry, and includes the opportunity to participate to field-work at an active volcano.
Candidates should be motivated to undertake exploratory and highly quantitative studies in this novel interdisciplinary field of atmospheric chemistry combined with volcanology. The PhD project is fully funded (3 years salary) with start date Autumn 2021.
Applications will be reviewed from early June until the position is filled.
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Applications still possible by the web-link below, and can contact Tjarda.Roberts@cnrs-orleans.fr for further details on this PhD post.
The candidate should have a master’s degree in a numerate science, some research experience, and interests in atmospheric chemistry and volcano processes and the interdisciplinary link between them. She/he/they should enjoy to make exploratory analyses to identify patterns in observational datasets, and working on developing numerical models to help understand datasets, with skills in computer programming and analysis of large datasets (and/or aptitude to learn all these things). A good level of written and spoken English is needed, as well as the ability to write up research results in scientific papers (training will be given) and strong motivation to undertake a PhD.
Application should include CV, motivation letter including a description of studies and research to date and motivations for applying for this PhD topic, contacts of one (or two) senior scientists who can recommend the candidate, and marks from degrees.
To apply, the website is :
https://collegedoctoral-cvl.fr/as/ed/voirproposition.pl?site=CDCVL&matricule_prop=37515
https://collegedoctoral-cvl.fr/as/ed/voirproposition.pl?site=CDCVL&matricule_prop=37515
Further Information :
Volcanoes release vast quantities of gases and particles to the atmosphere, by explosive (ash-rich) and effusive (lava-flow) eruptions, and by continuous passive degassing. Volcano emissions contain sulfur (mostly as SO2 with some H2S) but also other gases, such as halogens (HBr, HCl), and mercury (Hg). This volcanic gas mixture is highly reactive when it enters the atmosphere. Chemical reactions in the volcanic plume causes the oxidation of sulfur gases to form sulfate particles, and chemical reactions involving volcanic halogens cause the destruction of ozone. Volcanic mercury may become oxidised and deposited downwind from volcanoes. However, we still do not have a complete quantitative picture of all of the chemical and physical processes that occur in volcanic plumes. This is needed to quantify the impacts volcanic emissions have on the environment and society.
By analyzing observational datasets combined with numerical modeling of the plume processes, as well as participating to fieldwork to collect new data, the successful PhD applicant will further our understanding of atmospheric chemistry in a volcano plume. The PhD student will join a vibrant research group tracing the atmospheric processing of volcanic emission-plumes, from the hot crater to the downwind plume. To do this we have developed a range of methods, including: field-measurements using instruments that we deploy directly at the volcano, analysis of large datasets from aircraft, satellite and ground-based monitoring networks, and numerical models of the atmospheric chemistry processes in hot and cooled plumes. Our group is actively developing new models of plume chemical processes, and collecting and analyzing observational datasets (e.g., Roberts et al. 2017, Gutmann et al., 2018, Roberts et al., 2019, Whitty et al., 2020, Surl et al. 2021).
The PhD is fully funded by Labex Voltaire (University of Orléans) and includes 3 years salary as well as research costs. Planned start date is Autumn 2021. The project takes place in the context of a large 4-year national ANR consortium project VOLC-HAL-CLIM led by Dr Tjarda Roberts, and the University of Orléans Labex VOLTAIRE 2 (https://labex-voltaire.prod.lamp.cnrs.fr/project-voltaire-2/) led by Dr Bruno Scaillet. These projects bring together a vibrant community of researchers who seek to trace the behavior of volcanic volatiles such as halogens, sulfur and metals within magma, their emissions related to volcanic activity, and the processing and fate of the volcanic gases and particles in the atmosphere.
Through the project, the PhD will be trained in – and contribute new developments to – our modeling and analysis methods that range from studies of the high temperature reactions that happen within seconds inside the crater to low-temperature multi-phase chemical reactions in the dispersed plume over hours to days downwind and causing impacts on the atmosphere on regional scales.
Further information is available on this website and strongly interested candidates are also invited to contact Tjarda Roberts (Tjarda.Roberts@cnrs-orleans.fr). Interdisciplinary co-advising and collaborations are planned with other laboratories including ICARE (G. Dayma), ISTO (B. Scaillet), with links to university laboratories in Paris (LATMOS/LMD) and internationally. The PhD will publish research findings as scientific papers, and present their research results at international conferences, as well as writing the PhD dissertation.
The PhD candidate will benefit from the expertise of Orléans campus laboratories LPC2E (atmospheric science), ISTO (earth sciences) and ICARE (combustion science) and close collaborations with IPSL atmospheric chemistry modelling groups in central Paris (LATMOS/LMD) and internationally. The city of Orléans is located in the Loire Valley (a Unesco world heritage site, valued for its architectural heritage, chateaux and cultural-environmental landscape), an hour from central Paris where the IPSL laboratories are located close to the Seine and Paris landmarks.
References:
Roberts T.J., Giudice G., Liuzzo M., Aiuppa A., Coltelli M., Vignelles D., Salerno G., Couté B., Chartier M., Baron, R. Saffell J. R., Scaillet B. (2017) Validation of a novel Multi-Gas sensor for volcanic HCl alongside H2S and SO2 at Mt Etna, Bulletin of Volcanology, 79, 36, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-017-1114-z.
Gutmann A., Bobrowski N., Roberts T.J., Rudiger J., Hoffmann T., (2018), Advances in Bromine Speciation in Volcanic Plumes, Frontiers in Earth Science, 6, 213, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00213
Roberts T.J., Dayma G., Oppenheimer C., (2019), Reaction rates control high-temperature chemistry of volcanic gases in air, Frontiers in Earth Science, 7, 154, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00154
Whitty R., Ilyinskaya E., Mason E., Wieser P., Liu E. J., Schmidt A., Roberts T.J., Pfeffer M. A., Brooks B., Mather T. A., Edmonds M., Elias T., Schneider D. J., Oppenheimer C., Dybwad A., Nadeuw P. A., Kern C., Spatial and Temporal Variations in SO2 and PM2.5 Levels from 2007-2018 Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’I, Frontiersin Earth Science (2020), Frontiers in Earth Science, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00036.
Surl L., Roberts T.J., Bekki S., (2021), Observation and modelling of ozone-destructive halogen chemistryin a passive degassing volcanic plume, https://acp.copernicus.org/preprints/acp-2021-145/acp-2021-145.pdf
