PhD Position in Physics of the Earth (f/m/d) part-time 75%

Area of research:Other

Part-Time Suitability:The position is suitable for part-time employment.

Starting date:03.11.2026

Job description:As the successful candidate, you will develop deterministic, physics-based, quantitative models to compute the deformation of the Earth's crust caused by atmospheric pressure loading. You will deploy and operate a large-N array of autonomous barometers around Black Forest Observatory (BFO). From the data thus obtained, combined with BFO's high-quality deformation sensors, you will derive parametric descriptions of time-varying lateral air-pressure gradients. Building on this, you will develop models of how atmospheric loading couples into deformation of the Earth's crust. The goal is a quantitative description enabling a signal-correction procedure that mitigates local background disturbances in rotation measurements. Such mitigation is essential wherever instruments installed on — and thus coupled to — the Earth's crust read tiny signals normally masked by these disturbances, as in gravitational-wave observatories, normal-mode seismology, and Earth-orientation determination. You will follow the whole chain from array design and data collection, through coupling-model development, to the correction procedure's application. Within the framework of RING, you will collaborate with 15 fellow early-career researchers, conduct measurements at partner sites, and supervise test installations of advanced rotation sensors at BFO. You will present your work at project meetings, international conferences, and in scientific papers. We expect you to be willing to develop your teaching skills by assisting with lectures and field courses within our Geophysics Bachelor and Master programs.

Links to additional information about:

• the extended PhD project description: https://www.black-forest-observatory.de/336.php
• the project at Black Forest Observatory: https://www.black-forest-observatory.de/325.php,
• the RING Research Unit: http://www.ringlaser.de,
• the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): https://www.kit.edu/english/index.php,
• the Geophysical Institute at KIT: https://www.gpi.kit.edu/english/index.php

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.