PhD position in Radar Remote Sensing of Forest

Department of Forest Resource Management
The Department of Forest Resource Management conducts education and research in the areas of forest planning, forest remote sensing, forest inventory and sampling, forest mathematical statistics and landscape studies. The department is also responsible for the implementation of the ongoing environmental monitoring programs the National Forest Inventory, National Inventory of the Landscape in Sweden, Terrestrial Habitat Monitoring and the Butterfly and Bumblebee Inventory. In total, we are about 100 employees. More information can be found at www.slu.se/srh.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/

Investigating the connections between radar measurements of forest variables and the water content
Background:
Radar measurements of forest are impacted by e.g., the geometrical forest properties and the water exchange in trees. The geometrical properties are changing relatively slowly, while the tree water exchange (evapotranspiration) varies both throughout the day and season, and across years. The external forest properties have been and are still extensively researched using, e.g., laser scanning and other sensors, while the internal properties (primarily through the water exchanges) are only since recently undergoing important research. An improved understanding of how the water exchange in trees and varying weather conditions affect the radar measurements enables improved estimations and a wider use of radar sensors for mapping biomass and other forest variables at global scales with higher accuracy.

This project will contribute to the forest research by making use of proximate radar measurements from the ground and from a tower, and link those measurements with both terrestrial sensors and remote sensing collected from airplanes and satellites. Furthermore, field measurements will be used in combination with the radar meaasurements to generate wall-to-wall estimates.

The project is co-funded by several national projects and is carried out in collaboration with different departments in SLU and other universities in Sweden. The doctoral student will work in the SLU Forest Remote Sensing group in Umeå and will collaborate closely with researchers from other SLU departments and Swedish universities, but the work will also contribute to a large European project and therefore travels within Europe should be expected.

The PhD project will develop models that describe the relationship between forest variables (e.g. biomass ), radar measurements, and water status (both the exchange within trees and through soil moisture). The work inludes data processing, image analysis, statistical modelling, field data collection, scientific writing and oral presentations. The work will be applied to single trees to landscape scales. Research visits to the project partners is possible based on interest.

Qualifications:
Required:


• Master degree in Engineering (e.g., Physics, Electrical, Computer science) or similar.
• Fluent in English.

Meriting:


• Experience in remote sensing data processing and analysis
• Knowledge of image analysis, signal processing etc.
• Knowledge of machine learning methods
• Knowledge in statistics
• Proficiency in programming (Python, R, C, Matlab etc.)
• Experience of forest or vegetation dynamics
• Driver licence level B (car)

We put a large importance to personal qualities, such as team work, problem-solving and the ability to work independently.

Place of work:           
SLU, Umeå.

Form of employment:
Employment as a doctoral student 4 years of education.

Starting date:
According to agreement.

Application:  
We welcome your application no later than 2023-05-01, use the button below.

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se