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PhD opportunity - Addressing marine litter and mass tourism in coastal cities

REF_ 2025DILIFRUA167

• Job Position: PhD positions within the Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND doctoral programme “PHYNEST” and and the 'María de Maeztu' Unit of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the State Research Agency (AEI).

• Location: ICTA-UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
• Eligibility: Worldwide
• Duration: 3 years (fully funded)
• Application deadline: 19th Jan 2026 - 23:59 CET (Europe/Madrid)

About:

This PhD project will address the generation of coastal marine litter related to mass tourisms in the Mediterranean Sea. These coasts yearly attract approximately one third of the global tourism. Yet, little research has been conducted to address the evolution of marine plastic litter in coastal urban environment and its relationship with tourism. Working in Barcelona and Larnaca (Cyprus), we will assess the potential flux of this contamination to the marine environment in urban coastal destinations, developing practical and policy solutions to reduce the socioenvironmental pressure of the marine litter from tourism. The project aims to produce detailed maps of (micro)plastic pollution in teh coastal cities of Barcelona and Larnaca with seasonal resolution with identification of main sources of this pollution. We will provide policy briefs on actions to fight marine litter and reduce waste generation and microplastics.

For further details and how to apply, please visit the website 

PhD opportunity - Ecological drivers of the ocean carbonate pump and carbon export: linking biodiversity, trophic interactions, and carbonate biogeochemistry

• Job Position: PhD positions within the Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND doctoral programme “PHYNEST” and and the 'María de Maeztu' Unit of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the State Research Agency (AEI).

• Location: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
• Eligibility: Worldwide
• Duration: 4 years (fully funded)
• Application deadline: 28th February 2026

About: 

This PhD project will investigate how ecological processes influence the magnitude and efficiency of the carbonate pump and how these dynamics affect (organic and inorganic) carbon sequestration in the deep ocean. The research objectives are: 1) Quantify the contribution of key calcifying plankton (e.g., coccolithophores, foraminifera, pteropods) to pelagic carbonate stock, production and export under varying ecological and environmental conditions and the role of shallow biological dissolution; 2) Determine how diversity, trophic interactions and ecological traits regulate carbonate production, dissolution, and export throughout the water column; and 3) Assess how the carbonate pump modulates organic carbon transfer to the deep ocean.

For further details and how to apply, please visit the PHYNEST website.

ICTA-UAB participates in INPhINIT 'la Caixa' Fellowship Programme

Find all the information here