Bolsa de Investigação para Doutoramento - Química / PhD Research Grants - Chemistry   
PhD Research Grant in the area of Chemistry
1 PhD position in Chemistry, with emphasis in atmospheric chemistry, at the Research Institute for Volcanology and Risk Assessment (IVAR) - University of the Azores, in collaboration with Instituto Superior Técnico (IST, Lisbon)
The work plan to be followed aims at the reinforcement of the component of research on studies of the composition of the atmospheric aerosol in the North central Atlantic region as well as its variability due to emissions originated either locally or in the surrounding continents, both from natural as well as anthropogenic provenance, which play an important role in the radiative balance of the region atmosphere. In this context, IVAR is responsible by the management of the Pico Mountain Observatory (OMP), an infrastructure where it is possible to install, among other components, instrumentation for the monitoring of the gases and the aerosol transported by air masses that cross the North Atlantic central region. The research infrastructure of the C2TN/IST also has instrumental resources that allow to complement the sensors installed at OMP, and laboratories having advanced analytical capabilities, which allow to obtain the chemical characterization of the aerosol samples collected in the OMP.
The use of the analytical techniques of C2TN/IST, allows the researchers from IVAR and C2TN to advance the knowledge about the composition of the samples collected in the Aethalometer, which will allow to improve the quality of the information registered since 2001. Based on the analysis of the records of the Aethalometer, obtained at different wave lengths, it is possible to identify, for the aerosols absorbing energy in these wave lengths, if a sampled air mass contains Black Carbon (BC - originated in the burning of fossil fuel), if it corresponds to a mixture of BC and iron oxides, or if there is a possibility of the presence of brown carbon (originated from biomass burning). This characterization requires a deeper study, which should emerge from the added information that originates from the chemical speciation of elements present in the samples collected in the Aethalometer filters.
The PhD student has as main objectives, to increase the information on elements speciation in the aerosol samples collected in the Aethalometer filters, study calibration factors that allow to increase the information on the sampled aerosol, deepen the study of time series of data, already available and classify the sampled aerosol according to the emission sources and their trajectories, when appropriate, study their possible correlation with sources of volcanic origin. Student work, would also include the development of skills to perform tasks of maintenance and instrumentation deployment at the OMP, development of automation routines for data management, collaborative work in the development of real time data system transmission to IVAR facilities, and in the development of protocols to integrate OMP data in the IVAR database and open access.
The scientific supervision of the activities to be carried out in the frame of the work plan for the attribution of the academic degree of PhD in Chemistry will be of the responsibility of Doctor Paulo João de Lemos Cabral de Sousa Fialho, without any limitation to the settling of other co-supervision that is justifiable.
The applicants should have a Master's degree in Chemistry or Physics or engineering or other formation having a strong base in chemistry and physics, should not have benefited from a PhD scholarship, or a PhD in business context, directly funded by the FCT, regardless of its duration.
National citizens or citizens of other European Union states, as well as citizens of third States, with a valid residence permit at Portugal at the start of the scholarship, can apply.
The Grant is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for a maximum of 4 years, including tuition and a monthly stipend of 1.064,00€
The call is open until September 12th, 2021. Applications and supporting documents for the application must be submitted by email to [email protected].
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