As part of the EMBRACER project, you will use advanced models integrating our climate system to human behaviour to study potential scenarios of what could happen to Europe if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation weakens or tips.
Your job
As climate change is unfolding at an accelerating pace, there is an increasing concern about tipping points in the earth system. IPCC defines tipping points as “critical thresholds beyond which a system reorganizes, often abruptly and/or irreversibly”. In this proposal, we explore the socio-economic consequences of one such climate tipping point: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in Europe.
The AMOC is a key driver of regional climate patterns. Specifically, a weakening of the AMOC would likely result in colder and drier winters in Europe, along with an increase in winter storms. Winter arctic sea ice would extend much further South than it does today, impacting for example food security and economic activities by restricting access to ports. Furthermore, a tipping AMOC would affect marine ecosystems which can regionally lead to biomass decline and consequently affect human livelihoods and economies that depend on these marine ecosystems. Interestingly, some studies suggest that a weakened AMOC could partially offset the effects of global warming in Europe, potentially resulting in localised economic gains. These contrasting findings highlight the current uncertainty surrounding the specific impacts of AMOC weakening on human societies.
In this PhD project, you will use models and data analysis techniques to explore socio-economic impacts of an AMOC weakening. You will get the opportunity to connect to the IMAGE model, an integrated assessment model that couples our climate system to human behaviour. In addition, you can use cost-benefit models to explore how an AMOC tipping point may influence financially optimal strategies, and/or agent-based models to explore how an AMOC tipping point will influence human behaviour. Within the team, there is expertise on (climate) tipping points, integrated assessment models, cost-benefit models and agent-based models. There is ample room for your ideas and initiative within this broad scope of coupling an AMOC tipping point (and potentially other climate tipping points) to human societies.
Requirements
You are an inspiring and self-driven researcher with:
- a MSc in physics, applied mathematics, environmental sciences, computational science or a related field;
- excellent skills in scientific programming and numerical/statistical analysis of simulated and observed data;
- basic knowledge of environmental processes;
- excellent writing and communication skills.
Benefits
They offer:
- the opportunity to work in and with a team of leading experts;
- a position for 4 years;
- a working week of 36-40 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,901 and €3,707 (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
- 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
- a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.
Organization/Company – Utrecht University.
Research field – Environmental science » Ecology
Research profile – First Stage Researcher (R1).
Country –Netherlands.
Application Deadline – 30 Aug 2025 – 21:59 (UTC).
More information: Euraxess.
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