项目介绍

2026年2月25日

Within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, members of the Division of Geography and Tourism at KU Leuven have a long tradition in soil erosion research. This includes the monitoring and quantification of soil erosion processes and the modelling of erosion and sediment fluxes at the hillslope and catchment scale. In recent years, soil erosion research in the Department has focused on monitoring the intra-annual dynamics of vegetation and rainfall characteristics that co-determine temporal changes in erosion rates, through the use of remote sensing approaches, as well as on monitoring and modelling gully erosion at continental scales.

Members of the Division of Geography and Tourism have been involved in several multi-partner projects on erosion funded by the EU. At present, the research unit is partner in the EUROSION project funded by the European Union, HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-03: “Towards a dynamic monitoring system to assess status and spatiotemporal changes of soil erosion at European scale​’. This project brings together scientists from 24 different research institutes and universities from 12 countries.

Website van de eenheid

Project

Within the EUROSION project we are looking for a PhD candidate to develop indicators to monitor soil erosion at a high temporal and spatial resolution across Europe. This includes the development of indicators at the field parcel scale that show the changing sensitivity of the vegetation cover to erosion processes, as well as the characterization of field boundaries that impact the connectivity between fields along runoff and sediment delivery pathways. The soil erosion indicators will be gathered using multi-temporal satellite data, combining optical and radar remote sensing Copernicus products. Calibration and validation of the obtained indicators will be performed using field-based data collected at several monitoring sites across Europe in the framework of the EUROSION project.The indicator values will be used not only to develop trends in the sensitivity of the landscape towards soil erosion processes, but also as input parameters for dynamic process-based soil erosion models. Modelling of soil erosion will be conducted together with colleagues from partner institutes. It includes modelling soil erosion by water, wind and tillage. 

Profile

• You have (or are near completion of) a Master in Geography, Earth Sciences, Bioscience Engineering, Soil Science, Agricultural Sciences or Remote Sensing (or a related field). 
• You have a strong interest in soil (erosion) research and working with remote sensing data, and a demonstrable experience in these topics. 
• Experience with the spatial analysis of large-scale datasets is a major asset.
• Experience with spatial modelling of earth surface processes is appreciated.
• You have excellent knowledge of GIS and experience with Python scripting.
• You work proactively and independently and have good communication skills.
• You have a very good knowledge of English, both spoken and written.
• You are highly motivated, ambitious and result-oriented.

Offer

We offer a full-time doctoral scholarship position for a period of four years. You will work in a stimulating and challenging environment in Leuven, Belgium. The city of Leuven is a small town with approx. 100.000 inhabitants and over 50.000 students giving it a vibrant and young atmosphere. Leuven is located close to major international centers like Brussels (25 minutes by train), Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam or Cologne. You will have the opportunity to work together with many international partners in the EUROSION project. Part of your time (max. 4 hours per week or approx. 10%) should be committed to teaching activities such as supervision of practical sessions and/or field trips in the bachelor and master programs in geography. You will also co-supervise bachelor and master thesis students. 

website Eurosion project
website Geography and Tourism research division

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Gert Verstraeten, mail: gert.verstraeten@kuleuven.be.
Your application should include – a detailed CV that allows us to assess your expertise with the topics as mentioned in the profile description. – your grades for courses taken in your bachelor and master programs. – a motivation letter indicating why you like to work on this PhD project.- full bibliographical details of three international papers that are in your opinion relevant for this PhD topic. Provide a short description (5 lines each) why you have selected this publication. You do not have to include these papers, only the link (DOI) and a short description.- names and contact details of two researchers or lecturers that can support your application.
You can apply for this job no later than March 16, 2026 via the online application tool

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.