Postdoc: Subsurface Freshwater Storage and Groundwater Modelling

Utrecht University; Netherlands; On-site; EUR 41,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday pay 8%

Year-end bonus 8.3%

Pension scheme

Professional development

Flexible terms

Job summary

Utrecht University in the Netherlands invites applications for a full-time post‑doctoral researcher in hydrogeology to lead the STURDI‑Water work on subsurface freshwater storage in Zeeland and Zeeuws‑Vlaanderen. You will enhance a regional groundwater model, perform scenario analyses and develop maps for decision support.

The two-year role involves collaboration with researchers and practice partners, publishing results and contributing to project meetings.

Qualifications

• PhD in hydrogeology, physical geography, earth sciences, civil or environmental engineering, or closely related field.
• Experience with numerical groundwater modelling and uncertainty analysis.
• Publication record appropriate to career stage and strong scientific writing in English.

Responsibilities

• Lead research on subsurface freshwater storage feasibility in Zeeland regions.
• Improve and apply a regional groundwater model for variable-density flow and salinity.
• Design reproducible scenario and sensitivity analyses to quantify model uncertainty.
• Develop detailed potentiality maps with uncertainty information for decision support.
• Collaborate with STURDI-Water consortium and publish results in peer‑reviewed journals.

Skills

Numerical groundwater modelling

Variable-density flow

Solute transport

Python programming

GIS-based spatial analysis

Scientific writing (English)

Education

PhD in hydrogeology or related field

Tools

MODFLOW

MT3DMS

SEAWAT

Python

GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS)

Job description

Organisation/Company Utrecht University Research Field Geosciences » Hydrology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 8 Oct 2026 - 21:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 40.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Freshwater scarcity and salinisation increasingly threaten water availability in delta regions. In the Dutch Southwest Delta, technical solutions for storage, treatment and reuse have been demonstrated at pilot scale, but their wider implementation depends on a robust understanding of where subsurface storage is feasible and under what conditions it will succeed.

Your job

As a postdoctoral researcher in the NWO KIC project STURDI-Water (Storage, Upgrade, Reuse and Distribution of Water in regional collaborative networks), you lead research aimed at identifying the key success factors for subsurface water storage systems. Your main case-study area are the islands of Zeeland and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, with connections to monitoring and pilot sites. You will work at the interface of hydrogeology, variable-density groundwater flow and fresh-salt transport modelling, field evidence and applied spatial decision support.

You will improve and apply an existing calibrated, high-resolution groundwater model that represents the region’s complex palaeogeographical development and depositional environments. Using this model, you will investigate infiltration and extratraction schemes, interactions between surface water and groundwater, drainage, climate variability and uncertainty in local hydrogeology. The central output will be spatial potentiality maps that shows where subsurface freshwater storage is promising and which factors determine feasibility and performance.

What will you do?

• Improve, document and apply a regional groundwater model for variable-density flow groundwaterflow and coupled salinity simulations.
• Analyse controls on subsurface water storage, including geological and hydrogeological conditions, hydraulic parameters, drainage efficiency, surface water – groundwater interaction, climate variability and operational design.
• Design reproducible scenario and sensitivity analyses to quantify model uncertainty and identify the parameters that most strongly affect storage performance.
• Assess sustainable infiltration and abstraction strategies over time, including risks of salinisation, freshwater loss and local drought impacts.
• Develop detailed potentiality maps for subsurface water storage, supported by uncertainty information and clear guidance for interpretation.
• Integrate available geological, hydrogeological and monitoring data from studied pilots in Zeeland.
• Collaborate with researchers and practice partners across the STURDI-Water consortium and translate model results into information usable in the project’s broader decision-support work.
• Publish the scientific results in a peer-reviewed journal, present them at conferences and project meetings in line with project agreements.

We are looking for an independent and collaborative researcher who combines strong qualitative groundwater-modelling skills with an interest in societally relevant freshwater challenges. You bring:

• A PhD in hydrogeology, physical geography, earth sciences, civil or environmental engineering, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience with numerical groundwater modelling, preferably including variable-density flow, solute transport, freshwater-saltwater processes, aquifer storage and recovery, or comparable subsurface storage applications.
• Experience with established groundwater modelling frameworks; experience with MODFLOW, MT3DMS, SEAWAT or closely related codes is an advantage.
• A solid understanding of groundwater-model concepts and parameters, calibration, sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis and uncertainty assessment.
• Programming and data-analysis skills in a reproducible scientific workflow, for example using Python or comparable tools, and experience with GIS-based spatial analysis.
• The ability to work with heterogeneous geological, hydrogeological and monitoring datasets and to connect model assumptions to field evidence.
• A publication record appropriate to career stage and strong scientific writing and presentation skills in English.
• The ability to work independently, take ownership of deliverables and collaborate constructively in an interdisciplinary consortium with academic and practice partners.

The following would be an advantage:

• Knowledge of coastal or deltaic groundwater systems and freshwater - saltwater dynamics.
• Familiarity with the hydrogeology and water-management context of Zeeland or comparable low-lying coastal regions.
• Experience with high-resolution regional modelling, model evaluation against monitoring data, or development of spatial suitability or potentiality maps.

Additional Information

Our offer:

• A full-time postdoctoral position (1.0 FTE) for two years, subject to the applicable Utrecht University employment conditions and formal HR approval.
• a working week of 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.706 and €4.599 in the case of full‑time employment (salary scale 10.0 - 10.5 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year‑end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development , various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities . You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University .

Selection process

At Utrecht University, we strive to be a place where everyone feels at home. We value colleagues with different backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including differences in culture, religion or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability and age. We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute. Read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion. If you have any questions about accessibility, for example regarding your workplace Vening Meineszgebouw A , the application process or your work, please contact us via our HR contact page .

Knowledge security screening can be part of the selection procedures of academic staff.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.