Post-doctoral scientist on Southern Ocean Sea ice over the past 200 years
Offer
UCLouvain is hiring a Post-doctoral scientist on Southern Ocean Sea ice over the past 200 years
Job Id : SF 38775
Internal and external job posting until Monday September 14, 2026
For institute Earth and Life Institute of Science and Technology Sector
Main campus : Louvain-la-Neuve
Fixed-term, full-time (100 %) contract, 2 years
Starting date : December 2026
Introduction
Antarctic sea ice extent has shown major changes over the past decades, with a slight increase between 1979 and 2015 followed by an abrupt decrease and low values since then. However, the contribution of the multidecadal variability in the Southern Ocean to these recent changes is still unknow. To reduce the uncertainty on this contribution, the goal of the project, funded by Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), is to reconstruct the evolution of the sea ice extent over the past 200 years and to identify the mechanisms responsible for this variability.
At the Earth and Climate Center of the Earth and Life Institute at UCLouvain (ELIC/ELI), you will join a vibrant and internationally recognized team with a long-standing reputation for excellence in polar research. The polar team comprises around 25 PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, academics, and IT specialists, creating together a dynamic and collaborative research environment. The work will be supervised by Hugues Goosse.
Job description
- Evaluate existing sea ice reconstructions using different datasets, including historical records coming from different sources.
- Perform a new large-scale reconstruction of the state of the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice over the past 200 years combining long instrumental data and paleoclimate proxy records.
- Estimate the origin of the differences between existing reconstructions due to methodology and the choice of the observations.
- Describe the mechanisms at the origin of the most robust characteristics of the reconstructions.
Post-doctoral researcher
Starting date: Ideally in December 2026 but can be negotiated
Full time position for 24 months
Net monthly salary: 3100-3300 € (depending on seniority)
Social insurance and the transportation to and from the workplace are also covered.
Location: Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
The candidates must not have spent more than 2 years in Belgium over the last 3 years and should not have obtained their PhD more than 6 years before the starting date of the grant.
Required qualifications and skills
- To have a PhD in climatology, oceanography or related field;
- To have experience in numerical modelling, climate reconstructions or data analysis;
- To have published in peer-reviewed international journals;
- To have demonstrated good verbal and written communication skills in English;
- To have interest in working in a multidisciplinary, international team environment.
- Experience in sea ice or polar climate is an asset.
Application process
Applicantions should be uploaded as one single pdf including: (i) a statement of research experience, qualification and interest, (ii) a complete CV including a list of publications, and (iii) the name of two scientists who would agree to send a letter of recommendation.
The deadline for sending applications is Monday September 14, 2026. Interviews for selected candidates will take place during the last week of September 2026.