PhD and Post Doc opportunities announcement

Published on Monday June 16, 2014

The European Center For Geodynamics and Seismology (ECGS – Luxembourg)
The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA – Belgium)
The Spatial Centre of Liège (CSL – Belgium)

are seeking candidates for:

  • 2 Post doc for 2 years
  • 2 PhD for 3 to 4 years

These 4 successful candidates will strongly interact between each other and with the scientific institutes involved in the “RESIST” project (see below).

The Context

The Kivu rift area is part of the East African rift system. It is also the most-populated region of Central Africa and exposed at the same time to one of the highest level of geohazards on the continent. This studied region includes the Virunga Volcanic Province (VVP) in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), western Rwanda and Burundi, as well as southwest Uganda. That area cumulates a rare combination of seismic, volcanic and landslide hazards (with highly variable recurrence rates and potential impact) in conjunction with increased demographic pressure which makes Kivu particularly threatened by natural disasters.

The project

The RESIST project is the continuation of a long-standing research lead by the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), the National Museum for Natural History (NMNH) and the European Centre of Geodynamic and Seismology (ECGS). RESIST partners are RMCA, NMNH, the Spatial Centre of Liège (CSL), the Belgium Institute of Spatial Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). RESIST is targeting the understanding of the source mechanisms driving volcanic eruptions and landslides in the region by 1) filling the gap of knowledge on ground- based level through the installation of the densest seismic and infrasound network ever deployed in the region and first UV camera for SO2 monitoring and 2) combining this information with innovative Earth Observation approaches, using both archived data and new spaceborne data in radar, optic, gas and precipitation monitoring. RESIST will exploit ground-based instrument networks, field surveys and modern EO techniques (Split Band and MSBAS InSAR time-series, SO2 flux, TRMM) to study and characterize the changes in the monitored parameters that could/should be considered as significant in terms of volcanic and landslide (LS) processes.

The project that will start on 1st December 2014 and last 4 years is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office and the Luxembourg National Fund for Research in the frame of the “STEREO III” Research Program for Earth Observation. It is closely related to other past and ongoing projects:

More details can be found in this PDF document.

Page last updated on: Mon, June 16, 2014