19 October 2026
Job Information
- Organisation/Company: Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier
- Department: Univers Planète Espace Environnement
- Research Field: Agricultural sciences
- Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
- Positions: Postdoc Positions
- Application Deadline: 6 Nov 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Paris)
- Country: France
- Type of Contract: Temporary
- Job Status: Full-time
- Hours Per Week: 35
- Offer Starting Date: 1 Dec 2026
- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
As part of the EO4Irrig « Earth Observation for Irrigation » project under the ANR LabCom program, the postdoctoral fellow will develop, test and consolidate new methods for retrieving irrigation water use (IWU) at the crop scale by assimilating high-resolution remote sensing data in a crop water balance model. In practice, the position's activities will include :
- Getting started with the FAO-56-based crop water balance modeling—MODSPA—platform ;
- Pre-processing the remote sensing data to be used as input to the IWU retrieval method ;
- Getting started with the assimilation scheme of Sentinel1-derived soil moisture data in MODSPA (published in Laluet et al. 2024, Agricultural Water Management) ;
- Integrating the Landsat-derived crop water stress index data in the method ;
- Applying the retrieval methodology over several irrigated areas where in situ measurements of IWU are available ;
- Assessing the IWU retrieval approaches ;
- Linking these activities to the approaches for mapping irrigated areas that will be developed in EO4Irrig.
- Publishing results in a high-ranked journa
Where to apply
E-mail: [contact details available in the full listing]
Requirements
Research Field: Agricultural sciences » Soil science
Education Level: PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
Good skills in programming (Python) and image processing are necessary. Knowledge in remote sensing (radar, thermal infrared, shortwave) and/or in land surface modeling (water and energy balances) is an asset.
Good organizational skills; ability to work in a team and to communicate in an effective and caring manner; ability to report on activity, assemble and format the results of simulation experiments
Specific Requirements
The Centre d’Études Spatiales de la Biosphère (CESBIO) is a French public Joint Research Unit involving CNES, CNRS, IRD, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier and INRAE. It investigates continental surfaces and their interactions with climate and human activities by combining satellite remote sensing, modelling and field experimentation. CESBIO also contributes to the definition, implementation and scientific exploitation of major EO missions, including SMOS, Venμs, BIOMASS and TRISHNA. CESBIO has long-standing expertise in water-cycle monitoring, agroecosystems, crop water requirements and irrigation in temperate, semi-arid and tropical environments. Its capabilities combine EO algorithm development, hydrological and agronomic modelling, experimental observatories, reference-data collection and the transfer of research methods to operational users. Its regional observatories provide meteorological, flux, soil, vegetation, biomass and yield measurements suitable for method calibration and validation.
CESBIO is identified as a security restrictive zone (ZRR) laboratory. Candidate is required to follow a authorization process to be granted access. He/she will also be required to follow closely the security guidance rules once recruited
Additional Information
Additional comments
Expected start date : 01/12/2026
Contract duration : one year
Salary: based on experience (between 2250 € and 2583 € per month net income)
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: CESBIO
Country: France
Contact
City: Toulouse
Website: https://www.cesbio.cnrs.fr
Street: 18 Avenue Edouard Belin
Postal Code: 31400
