The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national centre for research into the geosphere. With around 1,650 employees, we develop a sound understanding of systems and processes of the solid Earth as well as strategies and options for action to counter global change, understand natural hazards and sustainably secure energy and raw material requirements.

This position is part of the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network „Climate-Tectonics Interactions using Big Data informed Models“ (INITIATE, www.initiate-dn.eu/). We are seeking for a candidate to build a Digital Twin of the Corinth Rift by which to unravel conditions responsible for the localization of deformation at present-day. The goal is to link the basin structure to the deeper crustal and mantle configuration, thus elucidating the first-order structural characteristics controlling the thermo-mechanical state of the system. This will be achieved based on an approach linking (geo)data and process simulations.

The PhD position is subject to approval by third-party funders.

Your responsibilities:

• Gather and compile data on the distribution of sedimentary units and integrate those via potential field modelling and gravity data to build a model of the crust-mantle boundary 
• Use existing tomography to map heterogeneities in the temperature and density distributions in the lithospheric mantle
• Front-end the derived model against physics-driven simulations to constrain the thermomechanical state of the Corinth Rift
• Use the results to design forward numerical experiments to test working hypothesis on controlling factors on localization of deformation
• Interpretation and publication of results in peer-reviewed journals

Your qualifications:

• Master degree or diploma in Physics, Mathematics or Geosciences is mandatory 
• Knowledge of thermal-hydraulic-mechanical physical processes 
• Knowledge of geophysics and deformation mechanisms
• Knowledge in 3D structural modeling and numerical methods
• Programming skills are an advantage 
• Good English language skills

Eligibility:

• Researchers recruited in a Doctoral Network must be Early Stage Researchers and not been awarded a doctoral degree 
• At the time of recruitment researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity in the country of their host organization for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to the reference date (EU mobility rule)