[ES_JOBS_NET] Two funded PhD positions at Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF

[Christa Kelleher]

*Two NSF-funded PhD Assistantships to study beaver dam analogues impacts on
floodplain hydrology: *We are seeking two PhD students to start May or June
2021 for an NSF project focused on understanding the hydrologic impacts of
beaver dam analogues in semi-arid landscapes using a combination of
fieldwork (Wyoming), numerical modeling, and UAV image analysis.  As
populations of beavers have declined, local municipalities, state agencies,
and private landowners have been installing beaver dam analogues (BDAs), a
stream restoration structure that mimics the form of natural beaver dams,
in beaver-less stream reaches. Due to their simplicity and expected
benefits, BDAs are gaining extensive attention and implementation, in spite
of the absence of clear scientific data to assess their impacts on reach
scale hydrology. The proposed project aims to address this gap in knowledge
in order to determine the extent to which BDAs alter groundwater and
surface water levels, groundwater- surface water exchange, and
evapotranspiration by monitoring a research site containing several BDAs
located in Wyoming, USA.


This project represents a collaboration between Syracuse University and
SUNY-ESF, both located in Syracuse, NY and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of
Wyoming. One PhD student will be hired at SUNY-ESF to work with Dr.
Philippe Vidon (Sustainable Resources Management Department), and the other
will be hired at Syracuse University with Dr. Christa Kelleher (Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences). Recruited students will work as a
team, spending several weeks pursuing fieldwork together in all weather
conditions in stream and wetland environments at remote locations and in
relative autonomy during summers. In addition to field work to characterize
physical hydrology of the study sites, one student will focus on the
application of novel integrated hydrologic models to study BDA impacts on
floodplain hydrology, and one student will focus on the use of unoccupied
aerial vehicles to characterize sediment and vegetation response
(evapotranspiration and greenness) to BDA installation. The project will
involve regular interactions with TNC-WY staff and outreach to local
practitioners.  As part of their PhDs, the selected candidates will have
opportunities of professional development in collaboration with TNC.


If interested, please contact Dr. Christa Kelleher (Syracuse University,
Earth and Environmental Sciences) or Dr. Philippe Vidon (SUNY-ESF,
Sustainable Resources Management) ahead of the application deadline (Jan
15, 2021) with a current CV, information about your interest in pursuing a
graduate degree, and research or other relevant experience.
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