For a DFG funded research project on the fate of trace organic compounds (TrOCs) in streams and their streambeds the IGB in Berlin-Friedrichshagen is inviting applications for a PhD position starting as of 01 Feb. 2023.
This is a PhD position in a pleasant working environment in a research group studying groundwater-surface water interactions and attenuation of TrOCs in streambeds. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with Ben-Gurion University in Israel, where part of the PhD work will be conducted. The project is supervised by a team of two German and three Israeli scientists. It comprises, in addition to the position advertised here, a second PhD position hosted in Israel. In case you are interested in that position please contact Shai Arnon (sarnon@bgu.ac.il).
Project: High TrOC loads occur in lowland streams that receive treated wastewater. Such streams are often characterized by fine sediments in which water flow over small bedforms creates pressure differences and some water flows into, within and out of the streambed (hyporheic exchange flow). Flow through the sediment attenuates some of the TrOC load. Bedform migration is common in streams with fine sediments but significantly understudied. It affects the distribution of flow paths, fluxes, and redox zones within the bed. The project aims to investigate the effects of migrating bedforms on TrOC attenuation in streambeds and to determine how dynamic flow regimes affect bed mobility and TrOC attenuation. Field investigations will be carried out in a sand-bed stream in Berlin (River Erpe) and flume experiments will be conducted in a unique flume at Ben-Gurion University (Israel) that allows systematic variation of bedform celerity and a dynamic flow regime to gain insight into the key processes controlling TrOC attenuation. By improving the mechanistic understanding of TrOC attenuation in streams, the proposed research aims to improve long-term predictions of TrOC fate in streams and advance remediation strategies to improve water quality in freshwater systems. More details on the project “Dynamic hyporheic zone: Impact of non-steady stream flow and moving streambeds on the fate of trace organic contaminants” can be found here: https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/project/dynamic-hyporheic-zone