PhD Candidate in Glaciology & Glacial Hazards

Immigration Policy Lab; Zürich; On-site; CHF 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

ETH Zurich invites applications for a Doctoral Student in Glaciology and Glacial Hazards to join the ICEFAL project in Zurich. The four-year, fixed-term position will work with VAW-Glaciology and collaborate with WSL, focusing on hanging glaciers and hazard assessment.

The successful candidate will map and measure glaciers, collect temperature and mass-balance data, and apply Elmer/Ice modeling to understand stability and hazard potential in the Swiss Alps.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in geophysics, physics, environmental or earth science, environmental engineering, or related fields.
• Excellent knowledge of English, both in oral and written form (C1 to C2).

Responsibilities

• Create an inventory of hanging glaciers using manual mapping and possibly machine-learning aided approaches.
• Perform field measurements at high-elevation sites in Switzerland.
• Collect ice temperatures, mass balance measurements, firn cores, and analyses of long-term ice-avalanche monitoring data.
• Drive a thermo-mechanical model (Elmer/Ice) using field and meteorological data to study past and future temperature evolution.
• Predict basal temperatures and derive a hazard index for hanging glaciers in the study region.

Skills

Master’s degree in geophysics

English (C1–C2)

Geospatial analysis (QGIS)

Python or Matlab

Fieldwork in high mountains

Glaciology knowledge

Hazard and risk concepts

Thermo-mechanical modeling

Elmer/Ice modeling

Education

Master’s degree in geophysics or related fields

Tools

Elmer/Ice

Job description

ETH Zurich invites applications for a Doctoral Student in Glaciology and Glacial Hazards to join the ICEFAL project in Zurich. The four-year, fixed-term position will work with VAW-Glaciology and collaborate with WSL, focusing on hanging glaciers and hazard assessment.

The successful candidate will map and measure glaciers, collect temperature and mass-balance data, and apply Elmer/Ice modeling to understand stability and hazard potential in the Swiss Alps.