The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national Research Centre for Geosciences in Germany and a member of the Helmholtz Association. Department 5 "Earth Surface Processes", Section 5.4 "Hydrology", invites applications for a

The analysis of flood hazard and associated uncertainties is a research focus of Section 5.4. Probabilistic methods are developed and applied on different scales with a focus on large scale application. Particular attention is paid to the influence of flood protection measure and their failure probabilities on the flood hazard in larger river systems.

Within the joint German-Chinese research project DELIGHT Section 5.4 investigates the flood hazard for the Delta of the Yellow River in China. In this particular context the joint probabilities of storm surges, wave heights and tides need to be investigated. Also the failure probability of the existing flood defenses leading to inundation of the Delta need to be estimated. The inundation process will be explicitly simulated with a 2-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The position is subject to the outstanding final project grant. Furthermore, the project will be evaluated after the first year for funding of the remaining 2 years.

Tasks:

• Multi-variate frequency analysis of coastal storm surges
• Estimation of failure probabilities of costal flood defenses
• Development of a 2D hydrodynamic model for the Yellow River Delta
• Probabilistic flood hazard analysis for the Yellow River Delta
• Presentation and publication of scientific results

Qualifications:

• Master/Diploma in hydrology, civil engineering, environmental sciences or similar
• Sound background in statistical methods; knowledge of flood frequency estimation and copulas is an asset
• Experiences in hydrodynamic modeling and numeric is advantageous
• Willingness to travel to China
• Programming skills, preferably in Fortran and R or Matlab, but command of other programming languages qualify as well
• Motivation to work in a multi-disciplinary and international team
• Good command of English language, German and/or Chinese is an asset

Starting Date: 1^st April 2013
Duration: 2+1
Salary: EG 13 TVöD-O (50% for PhD)
Contact: Dr. H. Apel (hapel@gfz-potsdam.de)
Application Deadline: Evaluation begins 2 weeks after the announcement of the position and continues until position is filled.

Equal opportunity is part of our personnel policy. The GFZ Potsdam encourages applications from qualified female candidates. There is a kindergarten service available. Handicapped applicants will be given preference in case of equal qualifications.

Please submit your applications, stating the above given code number to:

Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam
Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum
- Personal und Sozialwesen -
Telegrafenberg
14473 Potsdam

Email Please apply exclusively to bewerbungen@gfz-potsdam.de