PhD fellow in marine zooplankton diversity and carbon fluxes in the Central Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean 2050 programme

Are you interested in how the Arctic ocean function in the interlink between ecology and biogeochemistry? Would you like to join Norway´s largest Arctic research programme, the Arctic Ocean 2050? We have a PhD position open at UiT, in Tromsø, within the group Arctic Marine Systems Ecology (AMSE) on the coupling between zooplankton and the biological carbon pump and processes across the mesopelagic layers in the Central Arctic Basin. 

The position is affiliated with the national research programme Arctic Ocean 2050. The programme brings together 18 Norwegian research institutions in a major interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at strengthening Norway’s knowledge base and strategic capacity in a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean. Its goals are to improve our understanding of the present-day Arctic Ocean and how it may change towards 2050, and develop the knowledge needed for future management, sustainable use, and a safe and secure region. The ten-year programme (2026–2035) combines basic research, applied science, and innovation – offering unique opportunities for professional development and cross-disciplinary collaboration. 

Arctic Ocean 2050 focuses on processes within the central Arctic Ocean, its interactions with the surrounding seas, and how these dynamics connect to broader climatic and political systems. Field activities will primarily take place in the Eurasian Basin, between Fram Strait and the North Pole, as well as including the adjacent continental slopes. Pan-Arctic perspectives will be ensured through remote sensing, research on broader sociopolitical drivers, and modelling tools that cover the entire Arctic Ocean, and extensive international research collaboration. 

As part of Arctic Ocean 2050, you will join an ambitious research environment with high societal relevance and the opportunity to contribute to new knowledge on some of the world’s most remote and important ocean regions. 

About UiT/AMSE

The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) includes 6 research groups. Research and teaching at AMB has a broad span, from molecular mechanisms at cellular/subcellular levels via studies of adaptations at the organism level, to ecological interactions in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The institute is an exciting and cutting-edge academic and research unit in biology that addresses challenges in basic research, industrial and administrative-oriented research with a strong focus on the North. The institute has extensive national and international research collaboration including regional institutions like the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Institute of Marine Research, and the Fram Centre.

The position

The PhD fellow will work on biodiversity of zooplankton and fluxes of carbon in the mesopelagic layer in the Central Arctic Ocean. The PhD project is part of the newly funded, large national research programme Arctic Ocean 2050 (Polhavet 2050). 

The PhD project will be based on samples and datasets collected during previous expeditions to the Arctic Ocean, as well as new data collected during the PhD project. The study will focus on describing diversity and function of the mesopelagic layer (200-600 m depth). This includes linking the mesozooplankton taxonomic and functional diversity with quantifications of marine snow and vertical export flux within and below the mesopelagic layer. Data on mesozooplankton and marine snow (sinking detritus particles) are partly available from previous campaigns but will be supplemented with new data collected during the PhD project. Vertical carbon export will be investigated with long-term sediment traps at different depths, while the distribution of mesozooplankton and marine snow are collected with nets and an underwater vision profiler (UVP6). We are looking for a highly motivated person who sees the benefit of combining different methods and approaches to address ecological hypotheses in an extreme ecosystem. The PhD candidate will work independently and should function well as part of a team. They will work collaboratively with other members of Arctic Ocean 2050, consisting of a large multidisciplinary national team. The PhD students in the project will all be part of a larger group of early careers. 

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other career developing activities. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

Project description

The applicant must present both a cover letter explaining their motivation for undertaking the PhD programme, and a tentative project description within the framework outlined above  that summarizes their scientific interests. The project description in English (1-2 pages incl. references) should provide an example of a PhD project idea, including a description of the topic, research questions, proposed methodology and a reference list. The final project description will be developed with the supervisors upon commencement of the PhD position and aligned with the project activities and deliverables.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor Sünnje Basedow: 

• email: sunnje.basedow@uit.no

or Professor Marit Reigstad:

• email: marit.reigstad@uit.no

or Professor Camilla Svensen:

• email: camilla.svensen@uit.no

Qualifications

This position requires a master’s degree or equivalent in subject Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Marine Science or similar from a recognized University. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply.

Required qualifications:

• A minimum grade of «B», or equivalent, is needed to be admitted to the PhD programme.
• Experience with data statistical analyses including knowledge of R and/or python. 
• Experience in biodiversity- and/or ecological studies in aquatic environments.
• Experience from relevant biogeochemical or plankton related analysis in lab and/ or with large data sets.
• Willingness to participate in field-based studies in the Arctic.
• The applicant must document fluency in English (written and oral). Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

The selected candidate must fulfill the health requirements for participating field work on the research vessels.

Additional desirable qualifications, knowledge and experience:

• Experience in working with zooplankton, optical zooplankton sampling and/or sediment traps. 
• Competence on marine and polar environments. 
• An interest in a system-based approach to the marine system, which includes working with larger data sets.
• Previous peer-reviewed publications record will be considered positive.
• Experience from marine fieldwork

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. The project description will also be considered. In addition, professional experience and other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme will be taken into consideration.

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

• Have good collaboration skills
• Demonstrates good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
• Wants to contribute to a pleasant working environment

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme 

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:  

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS. 
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS. 

Grade requirements applies both to the master thesis as well as courses part of the master’s degree. The minimum requirements are grade B or better on the master’s degree, and an average grade of B or better on courses that are part of the master’s degree. For integrated master's degrees, applicants are required to have achieved a grade of B or higher on their master's thesis and an overall average grade of C or higher across all courses comprising the integrated degree programme. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.  

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position. 

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project 
• Good career opportunities 
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues  
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement  
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 565 000 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application 

Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.

Your application must include: 

• Cover letter explaining your motivation for undertaking the PhD program at UiT, faculty of Biosciences, fisheries and economics, Tromsø
• CV
• Official diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language 
• Official transcripts of grades/academic record for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
• Official translation of diplomas and transcripts of records (ToR) to English or a Scandinavian language, if applicable
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• 2-3 references with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works peer-reviewed academic works (max 3)
• Project description (maximum 2 pages, incl. references) The project description must include your research interests and  a tentative PhD project idea, including a description of the topic, research question(s), proposed methodology, and a reference list.

Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must still submit your transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge (jobbnorge.no) within the application deadline. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) related to any aspects of this application must be specified and declared in the cover letter.

Assessment 

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants. 

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. 

General information 

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.

A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years. 

We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.