Institute of Geological Sciences |
Open positions
PhD - Origin of banded terrain in NW Hellas on Mars
While the presence of surface and near-surface ice at the poles and, locally, in the northern lowlands has been proven, the presence of near-surface ices at mid-latitudes in the southern hemisphere has only been inferred from the geomorphology of surface terrain. In this regard, NW Hellas presents evidence of flows in the form of so-called “banded terrain”, which might be related to near-surface ice. We plan to quantify these morphologies features through a combination of mapping, morphometric analysis, and transport modeling. The ultimate scope is to quantify the role of water for the formation of the banded terrain.
We will address these scopes through three closely-related tasks: (i) mapping of the physical relationships between landform elements in an effort to restore the overall morphological architecture in a relative temporal framework, (ii) extracting morphometric properties including curvatures, convexities, concavities, slopes, gradients and relief from high resolution digital elevation models with the aim to quantify the landscape's architecture, and (iii) assessing the mechanisms of transport through the application of both diffusion and advection models that are calibrated with the morphometric parameters of task (ii).
The project is designed for a PhD student with a strong background in quantitative geomorphology, Earth sciences and/or landscape evolution modeling. Knowledge in remote sensing and analysis of digital elevation models within a GIS platform is much appreciated. The position is funded for three years with a possible extension for one further year. The salary will follow standard Swiss National Science Foundation regulations.
For questions, please send an email to:
Prof. Fritz Schlunegger
Institute of Geological Sciences
University of Bern
Baltzerstrasse 1+3
CH-3012 Bern
+41 (0)31 631 8767
Baltzerstrasse 1+3 | CH-3012 Bern |
Tel.: +41 (0)31 631 87 61 | FAX: +41 (0)31 631 48 43 |