Modelling groundwater flow and dissolved carbon transport in a boreal peatland-aquifer-river ecosystem

The accelerating climate change together with the intensified land use put major pressure on the groundwaters and carbon transport. Understanding the groundwater's role in catchment scale element transport is thus essential in fostering sustainable land use practices and in climate change adaptation. So far northern groundwater resources are rarely linked to the transport of dissolved organic or inorganic carbon. In Digital Waters (DIWA) flagship, by utilizing the recent advancements of geospatial data, survey technologies, data processing and modelling environments, opens possibilities to study phenomena in higher detail, and direct water management in a more sustainable direction.

We are looking for a talented and motivated candidate dedicated to combining multi-scale data coupling groundwater systems and carbon transport. The PhD project aims at 3D scale hydrogeological and geochemical analysis to reveal groundwater-driven carbon processes and timescale. The main objective of the project is to increase our understanding of how surface and groundwater processes are linked to carbon transport in hillslopes, river valleys and catchment scales, and how processes can be measured and modelled, to develop and support digital transition in groundwater management.

The doctoral researcher will carry out scientific research together with the multi-disciplinary group of DIWA flagship and team from Geological Survey Finland (GTK). PhD researcher will focus on the sites in the boreal-subarctic region and undertake the following topics in the PhD thesis: 1) how groundwater-surface and carbon transport are interconnected on a river valley scale, and 2) apply 3D groundwater model to an alluvial aquifer, and 3) estimate how groundwater is linked to the boreal fen carbon cycle. The doctoral researcher has access to existing field data and geological models and is expected to process the data, further build and apply numerical models, and use those to analyse processes.

Work is led by Associate Professor Hannu Marttila and supervised together with Associate Research Professor in Hydrogeology Kirsti Korkka-Niemi (GTK) and Adjunct Professor Jarkko Okkonen (GTK). Work is done in close collaboration with Associate Professor Pertti Ala-aho (UOULU), a team in GTK and other collaborators in DIWA and study sites at Oulanka research station.

The position requires an active approach, diligence and cooperation skills, willingness to work as a part of a team and a passion to learn new. We also expect a Master’s degree in, for example, hydrology, geology, water and environmental engineering, physical geography or a related field of environmental sciences. Due to the nature of the described PhD project, the candidate would benefit also from having e.g. the following skills: (1) Good understanding of hydrological and geochemical processes in surface and groundwaters; (2) Good and demonstrated data analysis and numerical skills, and knowledge from programming languages such as R, Python, Matlab, etc. (3) Experience in groundwater modelling.

Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)

Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology

Hannu Marttila

Jarkko Okkonen (GTK)

Kirsti Korkka-Niemi (GTK)

Jarkko Okkonen (GTK)