Three PhD positions to work on the Deep lakes of Côte-Nord region
Three PhD scholarships are available within the research project “Deep lakes of Côte-Nord region: Exploring unique paleoenvironnemental archives†funded by the FRQNT and lead by professors Pierre Francus at INRS – Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Patrick Lajeunesse at Université Laval, and Guillaume Saint-Onge at ISMER – UQAR.
The project’s main objective is to study the interannual climate variability by analyzing varved sediments, their architecture, and the glacial geomorphology of the watersheds of four deep lakes of the Côte-Nord region in Quebec. The specific objectives are:
- to map the lakes’ basins at high-resolution using multibeam sonar,
- to characterize the nature and the architecture of the sediments using surveys obtained with a subsurface profiler,
- to obtain sediment cores,
- to analyze physical properties and fine sedimentary structures, and
- to analyze the paleomagnetic properties of the sediments in order to integrate the sedimentary sequences within a common chronostratigraphic framework.
The three PhD projects will be carried out in collaboration at the INRS (limnology and fine sedimentary structures), Université Laval (geomorphology and geophysics), and ISMER (sedimentology and paleomagnetism). The candidates should have a university degree in Earth Sciences (physical geography, hydrology, geology, oceanography or a related discipline), be at ease with computers and fieldwork, and ideally have basic knowledge in paleoclimatology and/or limnology and/or sedimentology. Experience in fieldwork in the North will be considered an asset but is not essential. Working and teaching language in Quebec is French but English speaking students are also encourage to apply as the professors involved are also fluent in English.
Three scholarships of $18,000/year at least are available for 3 years. Scholarships are also available to pay for the increased tuition fees that apply to foreign students. Students having a scholarship or eligible to an NSERC or FRQNT scholarship will be given priority. The candidates will have to register in one of the three institutions (INRS, U. Laval, UQAR). The laboratories involved in this project are among the better equipped in Canada in their field.
If interested, you are invited to contact one of the professors for further information. The application package should comprise a curriculum vitae, a cover letter, a university transcript, a list of practical and technical skills and the names of two references, and be sent to one of the addresses indicated below. The selection of the candidates will begin on August 1st and will continue until the positions are filled. The PhD projects will begin in the fall 2013 or the winter 2014 at the latest.
For more information please contact:
Prof. Pierre Francus
Email: pfrancus@ete.inrs.ca
Prof. Patrick Lajeunesse
Email: patrick.lajeunesse@ggr.ulaval.ca
Prof. Guillaume St-Onge
Email: guillaume_st-onge@uqar.qc.ca