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The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national centre for research into the geosphere. With around 1,650 employees, we develop a sound understanding of systems and processes of the solid Earth as well as strategies and options for action to counter global change, understand natural hazards and sustainably secure energy and raw material requirements.
PhD Position (f_m_x) Smartphone-based data and earthquake ground-shaking prediction
Reference Number 9671
Recently smartphone applications have been developed to detect the occurrence of earthquakes and provide an early warning (Earthquake Network (EQN) application, Finazzi, 2016) or to allow smartphone users to react after an earthquake and assess the level of vibrations felt (LastQuake application, Bossu et al., 2018). A collaboration between GFZ (Prof. Fabrice Cotton), the University of Bergamo (Prof. Francesco Finazzi) and EMSC (Euro Mediterranean Seismological Center) has been developed to analyse the datasets resulting from these applications. This collaboration has shown that LastQuake data can be used to assess the impact of earthquakes (Lillienkamp et al., 2022) and has confirmed the potential of using EQN detections for early warning (Finazzi et al., 2024).
The aim of this work is to explore these new data from smartphones and to develop new methods for merging different seismic vibration measurements. The goal of these developments will be to improve early warning methods from smartphones and to produce high-resolution vibration maps after an earthquake using machine learning techniques (e.g., Esfahani et al., 2023; Lilienkamp et al., 2023).
Your responsibilities:
- Develop a working database of smartphone earthquake reports and records
- Use existing ground motion amplification models developed by the team to select parameters (e.g., geology, slope, building environment) that may affect ground motion at the smartphone location
- Develop methods to detect outliers and improve the quality of the database
- Explore the potential of these new observations to predict ground shaking and map site amplifications in urban areas
- Explore the potential of these new observations to complement classical seismological data
- Suggest improvements to the smartphone applications and contribute to a new generation of smartphone seismological applications
Your qualifications:
- Master degree or diploma in Physics, Computer science, Mathematics or Geosciences is mandatory
- Knowledge of geophysics and seismology
- Knowledge in statistics and/or Machine learning
- Solid Programming skills
- Good English language skills
Please provide the following documents:
- Cover letter on research interests plus motivation
- Names and contact information of two referees
- CV
- Transcripts and diplomas on master degree. If not available, a confirmation from your institution on completed degree by the application deadline
- Approved documentation of proficiency in English
- Scientific publication list (if applicable)
What we offer:
- Ambitious and varied tasks in a dynamic and international research environment
- State-of-the-art equipment
- Public service benefits
- Extensive training opportunities
- Professional career advice offered by our in-house Career-Centre
- Flexible working hours and conditions
- Support with finding a good work-life balance offered by benefit@work
- Institute day-care centre on site
- Working at the Albert Einstein science park on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam
- Work place within walking distance of Potsdam main train station, or just a short ride on the shuttle bus
Fixed-term: 36 months
Salary: The position is classed as salary group 13 according to “TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost)”. The salary group is determined on the basis of the Collective Wage Agreement and the respective personal qualifications.
Working hours: Part-time 75% (currently 29.25 h/week)
Place of work: Potsdam
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Diversity and equal opportunities are integral components of our human resources policy. The GFZ actively promotes diversity and explicitly welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of ethnic and social origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religion/belief, age and physical characteristics. Anyone who has been recognised as severely disabled, will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability and qualification in accordance with the provisions of the German Social Code IX. If you have any questions, please contact our Representative Body for Employees with Disabilities at sbv[at]gfz-potsdam.de, who will be happy to assist you in the further application process. In case of further queries regarding gender equality, please do not hesitate to contact our Equal Opportunities Officer at gba[at]gfz-potsdam.de.
Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of conducting the selection procedure on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 b, Art. 88 GDPR in conjunction with Art. 26 of the Data Protection Act for the State of Brandenburg. After completion of the procedure, application documents will be deleted in compliance with data protection regulations.