PhD: Reconstructing Zeeland’s historic landscape developments

Deadline 1 Nov ’26
Published 8 Oct ’26

Research fields

Geosciences

Job types

PhD; Research, development, innovation; Education

Education level

University graduate

Weekly hours

36—40 hours per week

Salary indication

€3204—€4051 per month

Location

Princetonlaan 8a, 3584CB, Utrecht

Job description

The PhD position is part of the larger research project Re-Flex Zeeland that aims to reconstruct and visualize Zeeland's natural landscape formation processes during historical periods of rapid sea-level rise, with a focus on the last 12,000 years. The project is funded by the Delta Climate Centre (DCC) in Vlissingen and consists of two PhDs and one postdoc position in a collaboration between Utrecht University, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), NIOZ, Scalda and UNESCO GeoPark Schelde Delta.

Your job

The present-day landscape of Zeeland is highly regulated to support key societal, economic, and flood-safety functions. Allowing more space for natural processes to shape the landscape can contribute to flood protection and restoration of biodiversity, however, knowledge of how natural landscapes have evolved in the past and of the ecosystem services they once provided remains limited. This phenomenon is often described as shifting baselines, whereby each generation perceives the contemporary environment as the long-term norm. In reality, the Dutch landscape—and that of Zeeland in particular—has been extraordinarily dynamic and adjusting flexibly to changes in sea level. Over the Holocene, Zeeland has transitioned from an subarctic environment with boreal forest to alternating phases of peatland and intertidal environments, before becoming largely regulated through human embankment only in the past few centuries.

For the work package “Holocene peat deposits as natural archives of landscape developments” we look for a motivated PhD student who investigates these landscape and ecosystem dynamics in Zeeland based on fossil plant remains preserved in peat and lake sediment records.

What will you be doing?

You will design and carry out field work to map the locations and ages of peat deposits along an east-west transect around the major marine estuaries of Zeeland. You will integrate existing and new field data and investigate the botanical composition of the peat and, using pollen analysis, improve the current knowledge on past landscape reconstructions with a focus on peat to intertidal transitions. You will also co-supervise BSc and MSc courses and thesis projects that contribute to this.

The gathered data will provide new insight in the exact timing and variability in past landscape changes. Your results will furthermore contribute to computer simulations of coastal dynamics in a parallel PhD project conducted at WUR and provide context for visualisations of historic landscapes developed by a postdoc at NIOZ in a collaboration with Scalda and UNESCO GeoPark Schelde Delta.

Requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate who is interested in landscape and vegetation development through time across different timescales and a drive to understand the relevant processes involved. The project physical geographical field work, pollen analysis and quantitative vegetation reconstruction. We require at least significant experience in one of these aspects and a motivation to develop skills in the other. The project will involve several sampling campaigns in Zeeland, in collaboration with the DCC, and training courses for the relevant techniques. You have a broad interest in geosciences, are a team player who is able to work in interdisciplinary environment, and are curiosity-driven.

We are looking for a candidate:

• with an MSc degree in Physical Geography, Earth Sciences, Landscape Ecology, or a related field;
• who has a drive to link and collaborate with different geoscientific disciplines;
• with demonstrated experience with paleogeographic and/or botanical landscape reconstructions;
• with affinity with Zeeland and willingness to spend time in and engage with the Zeeland landscape and community;
• with good English oral and writing skills: English at C1 level or better (comparable to level 3 of the Lecturer Assessment Grid) qualifies, or willingness and aptitude to obtain this level by training.

PhD candidates at Utrecht University follow courses as part of their own academic and personal development. They also assist in teaching courses at Bachelor's and Master's level at our faculty. Both activities amount to approximately 10% of the contracted time.

Conditions of employment

We offer:

• a position (1.0 FTE) for 1 year, with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3.204 and €4.051 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU)). The salary is based on a 38-hour working week;
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment set out in our collective labour agreement, we offer attractive additional benefits, including opportunities for personal and professional growth, flexible leave arrangements, and extra vacation days. Through the UU Terms of Employment Options Model, you can tailor your employment package to your needs. In this way, we encourage you to grow in what you do, both in your work and in your development. Read more about our terms of employment.

Employer

Universiteit Utrecht

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth’s core to its surface, including man’s spatial and material utilisation of the Earth – always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With 3,400 students (BSc and MSc) and 720 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

The city of Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, with a charming old centre and an internationally oriented culture that is strongly influenced by its century-old university. Utrecht has been consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the Netherlands.

The team of the Department of Physical Geography excels in research and education on BSc, MSc and PhD level. We research processes, patterns and dynamics of Earth’s continental and coastal systems, and the interaction in between. This knowledge is essential for the sustainable management of our planet and to guarantee the availability of resources for the next generations. We are a lively department that hosts an active PhD candidate community of more than thirty PhD students. Will you join our team?

Additional information

For further information about the vacancy, please contact: Dr T.H. Donders (Associate Professor) via t.h.donders@uu.nl or Dr W.Z. Hoek (Associate Professor) via w.z.hoek@uu.nl

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.

Working at Utrecht University

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