Master Thesis: Non-Target Screening of URBan Water Systems to Identify Micropollutant Sources ([...]

Biogéochimie ISotopique et Expérimentale; France; Sur place; EUR 40 000 - 60 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A research institute in the field of environmental science is offering a 6-month internship in France focused on non-target screening of urban water systems to identify micropollutant sources. The role is open to Master's or final-year engineering students in analytical chemistry, environmental sciences, or hydrology. Candidates will perform field sampling and analyze data using advanced mass spectrometry techniques. This internship supports urban sustainability efforts.

Prestations

According to the CNRS public internship pay scale

Qualifications

• Master's or final-year engineering student in analytical chemistry, environmental sciences, or hydrology.
• Familiarity with mass spectrometry and multivariate statistics is advantageous.

Responsabilités

• Establish a non-target screening workflow for environmental samples.
• Conduct field sampling in urban areas to collect water samples.
• Analyze samples using advanced mass spectrometry techniques.

Connaissances

Analytical chemistry

Environmental sciences

Hydrology

Mass spectrometry

Multivariate statistics

Formation

Master's student or final-year engineering student

Description du poste

Organisation/Company Biogéochimie ISotopique et Expérimentale Research Field Environmental science » Water science Researcher Profile Other Profession Positions Master Positions Country France Application Deadline 16 Jan 2026 - 00:00 (Europe/Paris) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37 Offer Starting Date 1 Mar 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Interreg Reference Number A3-4 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Period: February–April to end of August–September 2026 (6 months)

Profile: Master’s student or final-year engineering student in analytical chemistry, environmental sciences, or hydrology

Topic: Non-Target Screening of URBan Water Systems to Identify Micropollutant Sources (N-URBIS)

Laboratory:Isotopic and Experimental Biogeochemistry Group (BISE), Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences of Strasbourg (ITES)

Keywords:urban sustainability, environmental chemistry, field sampling, mass spectrometry, water reutilisation, multivariate statistics

Application: Please send a specific cover letter (maximum 1 page), your CV, and academic transcripts and grades as a single PDF file by 15th January 2026

Compensation: according to the CNRS public internship pay scale

Context

Cities in the Upper Rhine region are progressively implementing adaptation strategies for more sustainable urban water management in response to climate change. Concepts such as the sponge city and permeable city, along with increased reuse of rainwater and treated wastewater, play a key role in these efforts.

However, sustainable urban water management must be accompanied by a reduction—and ultimately the elimination—of micropollutants, particularly pharmaceutical residues and biocides. Identifying the sources of these micropollutants in urban aquatic environments remains challenging due to (i) pronounced temporal and spatial variability in both water budgets and contaminant concentrations, and (ii) the diversity of pollution sources. These include point sources such as domestic households, hospital effluents, and industrial activities, as well as diffuse sources such as agricultural systems , traffic emissions and runoff from building facades.

• domestic biocides used in laundry and detergent formulations and
• fluorinated pesticide and pharmaceuticals as precursors to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).

The internship study will benefit from the Living Labs (LL) of the interdisciplinary institute ITI Switch ( https://switch.unistra.fr/living-labs/) , enabling the collection of representative samples from different and well-studied as well as closely monitored environmental compartments relevant to (semi-)urban pollution.

Objectives

The key objective of the internship is to establish a non-target screening (NTS) workflow for acquiring spectral data from environmental samples using high-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS). The goal is to link structural patterns from MS² spectra to different pollution classes to identify their sources and associated human activities.

The developed analytical approach will subsequently be applied to integrated water samples, such as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influents, to estimate the relative contributions of different pollution sources in urban wastewater. The successful applicant will have access to state-of-the-art analytical infrastructure at the BISE-ITES laboratory, including a LC-ESI-HRMS system (Orbitrap Exploris 240).

Methods

• Field sampling at different pilot sites with expected site-specific pollutant patterns, including:
  • Agricultural pollution (LL WEFE, Souffel basssin, Bas-Rhin)
  • domestic effluents (LL ZAEU)
  • runoff from different urban compartments such as building facades (LL ZAEU)
  • wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influents as mixed-signal samples integrating different source signatures (LL ZAEU & WWTP)
• Application of NTS screening techniques using high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HRMS) on existing and newly collected environmental samples to investigate the occurrence and fate of micropollutants in urban surface waters
• Evaluation of HR-MS2 mass spectra data using fingerprinting approaches and multivariate statistical methods such as cluster analysis, to identify pollution sources and hotspots of urban contamination.

Milestone & Expected Outcome

• Establishment of a non-target screening (NTS) workflow enabling the untargeted qualitative analysis of environmental samples for a wide range of micropollutants, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and household biocides
• Planning, preparation, and implementation of a field sampling campaign (wastewater network and surface runoff) in a representative area of the Eurométropole of Strasbourg, in collaboration with the ReactiveCity project partners
• Acquisition of basic physico-chemical and biochemical parameters from collected samples (e.g. microbial activity, major ions)
• Preparation and analysis of newly collected and existing field samples using the developed NTS workflow based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS)
• Development and application of statistical approaches to evaluate NTS results in order to identify sources of urban pollution and estimate their relative contributions to overall wastewater loads

References

(1) Maurer, L.; Carmona, E.; Machate, O.; Schulze, T.; Krauss, M.; Brack, W. Contamination Pattern and Risk Assessment of Polar Compounds in Snow Melt: An Integrative Proxy of Road Runoffs. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023, 57 (10), 4143–4152. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c05784 .

(2) Sereni, L.; Imfeld, G.; Payraudeau, S. Estimating Current and Future Urban Biocide Emissions from Building Facades at the City Scale. Environmental Pollution 2026, 388 , 127373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127373 .

(3) Tisler, S.; Zweigle, J.; Gotil, M. K.; Finckh, S.; Brack, W.; Braxmaier, E.-M.; Meyer, C.; Hollender, J.; Kosjek, T.; Schymanski, E. L.; Larsson, P.; Kärrman, A.; Selin, E.; Elabbadi, D.; Elliss, H.; Kasprzyk-Hordern, B.; Boogaerts, T.; Covaci, A.; Oberacher, H.; Flores Quintana, H.; Lai, F. Y.; Ahrens, L.; Assoumani, A.; Béen, F.; Christensen, J. H. Nontarget and Suspect Screening of Fluorinated Ionic Liquids and PFAS in European Wastewaters Using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2025, 59 (39), 21300–21311. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c06876 .

(4) Langeveld, J. G.; Post, J.; Makris, K. F.; Palsma, B.; Kuiper, M.; Liefting, E. Monitoring Organic Micropollutants in Stormwater Runoff with the Method of Fingerprinting. Water Research 2023, 235 , 119883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119883 .

(5) Beckers, L.-M.; Uber, M.; Noll, J.; Hoffmann, T.; Wick, A. Pollutant Patterns Resulting from Rain Events in a Large River: Lessons Learned for Future Monitoring. Environ Sci Eur 2025, 37 (1), 188. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-025-01213-7 .

Where to apply

E-mail [e-mail]

Requirements

Research Field Environmental science » Water science Education Level Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Languages ENGLISH

Additional Information

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Biogéochimie ISotopique et Expérimentale Country France Geofield