SGL looking for PhD candidate on Mediterranean Badlands

The awarded NWO-ALW Open Program PhD project Temperate Mediterranean Badlands: A (pre-)Holocene or Anthropocene phenomenon?”, aims to investigate badland formation and evolution in a Mediterranean setting (e.g. Turkey). Badlands are areas which lack soils and vegetation due to constant erosion. Their formation and extension is a catastrophic and irreversible process, which forms a major threat to local economies.
This PhD project aims to develop a high-resolution geochronological framework, building on a unique investigation site in SW Turkey. As a PhD candidate, you will use and develop Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and, where possible, apply complementary dating methods (cosmogenics, radiocarbon, U-series, Ar/Ar, geomagnetism and archaeological material). You will i) expand recent developments in luminescence dating of feldspars and ii) develop novel methods to recognise fossil badlands in the Pleistocene landscape record. By combining these approaches, you will (iii) test hypotheses on driving factors for badland formation through Landscape Evolution Modelling. The insights gained during this PhD project are expected to support the development of effective mitigation and conservation measures to secure sustainable land-use in Mediterranean areas. You will carry out this project under supervision of the principal investigator dr. Jeroen M. Schoorl, co-workers at the chair of Soil Geography & Landscape and a whole team of international scientists.

The details on this PhD project and job vacacy can be found on the Wageningen University Vacancy site and Academic Transfer