PhD Position in Geological Sciences

University of Bern

Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern
Starting date: 1 April 2026
Duration: Fully funded for 4 years

Are you passionate about using cutting-edge technology to explore the secrets of Earth's past climate and environment? Do you thrive on interdisciplinary challenges and big data? Join our team at the University of Bern for an exciting PhD position exploring the ancient world of lake sediments through modern imaging methodologies and data science. As the saying goes, "the past is the key to the future."

Lake sediments are natural archives of Earth's history, but traditional analysis methods often fall short of capturing their full story. This project, titled Pixel2Paleo, represents a pioneering effort to use a deductive approach to reveal the complex interplay of environmental variables. We will use a combination of high-resolution imaging techniques—µXRF elemental mapping, Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI), and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI)—to explore biogeochemical fingerprints of past environments, including elemental composition, mineralogy, organic compounds such as alkenones, and bacterial and algal pigments.

A key part of the project involves connecting these sedimentary signals to modern observational data from a network of Swiss lakes. By correlating high-resolution data from the sediments with water temperature, nutrient levels, and lake productivity, we aim to build a foundation for a fingerprint database. This will allow us to evaluate proxy reliability and apply the knowledge to reconstruct older, pre-anthropogenic climate conditions.

The ultimate goal is to build a publicly accessible database linking biogeochemical sediment composition with specific climate and environmental conditions. This effort is part of establishing a PaleoIMAGING community, ensuring all data and code adhere to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Tasks

As a key member of the research team, your responsibilities will include:

  • Conducting fundamental research, data acquisition, and data analysis using advanced imaging techniques.

  • Obtaining high-resolution data from sediment cores.

  • Running laboratory incubation experiments to understand sedimentary signal stability.

  • Participating in fieldwork and experimental studies.

  • Applying advanced data science approaches, including supervised and unsupervised pixel clustering and neural networks, to detect unique fingerprints of past climates.

The project is structured into three main work packages, guiding you from initial data acquisition to final fingerprinting. A research assistant will support imaging methods and/or data science tasks.

Requirements

We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with a Master's degree in Earth Sciences or a related field. Applications from diverse academic backgrounds are encouraged, including biogeochemistry, limnology, sedimentology, environmental research, ecology, hydrology, data science, and image processing.

Essential qualifications:

  • Independent, curious, creative, and ambitious team player.

  • Interest or experience in advanced imaging techniques.

  • Interest or experience in data science.

  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively, formulate research problems, and solve them efficiently.

  • Good written and oral communication skills in English.

Data science experience is a plus, but a passion for hands-on analytical work, fieldwork, and willingness to learn advanced data science techniques are most important.

We Offer

  • An interdisciplinary project bridging paleoclimatology and cutting-edge data science.

  • Stimulating and supportive research environment that values multi-dimensional diversity.

  • Access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at the University of Bern (XRF, µXRF, HSI) and collaborators at MARUM, University of Bremen (MSI).

  • Opportunities for international collaborations, conferences, and workshops.

  • Professional and personal development through specialized training in data science.

  • Integration into the Sedimentary Geochemistry unit of the Institute of Geological Sciences (more info).

  • Enrollment in the OCCR climate sciences graduate school.

  • Competitive SNSF-funded PhD salary (~50,000 CHF gross annually).

Application Instructions

Applications must be submitted to hyperspeclab.giub@unibe.ch and include:

  1. Motivation letter (max 2 pages) describing interests, experience, and relevance for the position.

  2. CV including:

    • Education and training

    • Previous and current employment

    • Major achievements/scientific activities

    • ORCID iD (if available)

  3. MSc certificate or transcript (if available at application time)

  4. Summary of MSc thesis

  5. Names and contact details for two referees (name, surname, institutional addresses, email, phone)

Please combine all documents into a single PDF named surname.firstname and indicate “Pixel2Paleo PhD” in the email subject.

For scientific inquiries, contact Petra Zahajská at petra.zahajska@unibe.ch.

Application deadline: 15 December 2025
Interviews: Online during the second half of January 2026

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