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Here you can see the official announcements of job opportunities at ICTA-UAB
PhD opportunity - Data-driven approaches for tracking anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions changes
Job Position: Docctoral candidate to join URBAG team at the Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB) to work on research related to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Environmental Science and Technology doctoral programme at UAB and supervised by an interdisciplinary team including Vanessa Monteiro, Gara Villalba and Ariane Arias.
The Framework: PHYNEST Programme.This position is part of PHYNEST, a Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND programme coordinated by the UAB. It is designed to nurture the next generation of scientific leaders committed to finding sustainable energy solutions. PHYNEST offers 25 PhD positions in total across five major thematic areas, including climate change and carbon monitoring.
Research project description
There is a need to track changes in anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in a timely manner to evaluate the effectiveness of emission reduction policies. Typical approaches rely on bottom-up emission inventories which provide no real assessment of concentrations in the atmosphere or a way to track them, or modelling efforts which carry a high degree of uncertainty.
This proposed research hypothesizes that observation data-driven approaches can enable tracking of emission changes both in urban areas where traffic is a major source and rural areas with agricultural activities contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Monitoring these sources is crucial for assessing changes in management practices aimed at reducing emissions, a key focus of EU Green Deal targets. Leveraging on the GHG monitoring network recently set up for the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (https://urbag.eu/ghg/) and eddy covariance measurements in the Delta del Ebre region, the project will pursue three main goals:
Benefits and Conditions.
- Build various emission scenarios (i.e., baseline emissions and implementation of low-emission zones) to assess the sensitivity of in-situ GHG monitoring networks to detect changes in emissions. To identify and understand emission patterns, data analysis and machine learning will be used to assess the relationship between changes in atmospheric concentrations, meteorological variability and instrument noise.
- Identify differences in atmospheric observation patterns and emission trends between urban and rural settings to test the sensitivity of monitoring strategies.
- Validate these scenarios through local initiatives (e.g., emissions reduction campaigns within the footprint of instruments).The main outcome of this research will be a deeper understanding of how atmospheric observations can indicate the effectiveness of emission reduction plans and provide actionable recommendations.”
As a PHYNEST fellow, you will receive:
- 48-month full-time doctoral contract (37.5 hours/week).
- A competitive gross monthly allowance of €2,575.
- Opportunity to undertake international secondments (3–6 months) at leading institutions and companies.
- Access to top-tier research facilities and over 50 cutting-edge research topics.
- An excellent training programme (workshops, seasonal schools, retreats).
- Dedicated support for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
How to Apply: The applications are now open. Call information and application portal: PHYNEST website.
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.