PhD Advisors : Prof. Charles Aubourg (UPPA, France, charles.aubourg@univ-pau.fr),  Dr. Nicolas Beaudoin (UPPA, France, nicolas.beaudoin@univ-pau.fr), Dr. Elma Charalampidou (Heriot-Watt, Ecosse, ec10@hw.ac.uk)

PhD location: Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Heriot Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland).

This PhD thesis explores deformation bands observed in two different areas located in the southern foreland of the Pyrenees: the Boixols overlap area (Tremp basin) and the Cotiella thrust area (Armena Valley). These sites provide access to two types of host rock lithologies: Cotiella cement-limestone calcarenites and Boixols sandstones. The goals of this PhD thesis are: a) to characterise the petrophysics of these bands focusing on their textural characteristics; and  b) to evaluate the impact of the observed bands on the structural integrity of the rock mass. The PhD thesis will develop along 4 axis; work will focus on a) the (micro)structural characterisation of the terrain (geological interpretation); b) the characterisation of grain texture by 3D imaging (XR CT, petrophysical investigation); c) the understanding of the bands’ formation (including deformation and fluids the circulated history) by  reconstructing the temperature conditions using isotopic approaches;  and d) the mechanical response of samples with pre-existing  deformation bands (whose grain distribution has been previously characterised by 3D X-ray CT) accompanied by a numerical modelling of fluid flow along the samples’ volume. The first three parts will be mainly carried out at the host university (UPPA, Pau, France), and the last part will require a stay at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland).

Two new experimentalist positions are available in the Geomechanics and Porous Media research group at University Pau & Pays Adour, Basque Coast Campus, Anglet, France. The positions are:

Research Engineer Assistant in experimental porous media. Starting date: September 1st, 2020 (16 months). Details may be found at (in French): https://perso.crans.org/gregoire/positions@G2MP/Offre-AI-G2MP.pdf

Research Engineer in experimental porous media. Starting date: September 1st, 2020 (16 months). Details may be found at (in French): https://perso.crans.org/gregoire/positions@G2MP/Offre-IR-Newpores.pdf

Thierry Faug and Itai Einav are having a new PhD position available, arranged as a cotutelle agreement between INRAE at University of Grenoble Alpes, France, and SciGEM at the University of Sydney, Australia.

You will find more details in the attached file.

In support of the research programme related to the safe disposal of nuclear waste, KU Leuven and SCK CEN are looking for a PhD candidate for following topic:

Diffusion of gases in desaturated clay-based materials

The main aim of the PhD is to investigate how desaturation influences the diffusive properties of the samples for gases. This will be accomplished by performing diffusion experiments on different clay-rich materials (e.g. Boom Clay, Opalinus Clay, bentonite, sand-bentonite mixtures, …) at different degrees of saturation (but still highly saturated to avoid a continuous gas pathway), using different gases (He, Ne, CH₄, C₂H₆). Different methods to perform transport experiments under desaturated conditions exist (e.g. osmosis method, saturated salt method …), but none of them has been used to measure diffusivity of dissolved gases. Diffusivity data will be complemented with a full petrophysical characterisation of all samples in order to assess the effect of changing petrophysical properties on diffusivity, and to compare the observations to those of fully saturated samples. The PhD will be executed in the international context of the EC-EURAD project, with close collaboration between SCK-CEN and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, CH) and other partners involved in EURAD. More information on the topic & how to apply can be found on http://academy.sckcen.be/en/Your_thesis_internship/AllTopics/Diffusion-of-gases-in-desaturated-clay-based-materials-2242

For further details, please contact Dr. Elke Jacops (elke.jacops@sckcen.be)

Deadline for application is September 4th, 2020

Snow is a fascinating material with a complex and evolving microstructure. Snow avalanches, notably slab avalanches, are generally initiated by failure and collapse in the snowpack of a so-called weak layer, whose thickness can be very small (a few mm). This phenomenon, in which the instability of a whole slope is ultimately controlled by rupture mechanisms at the scale of the microstructure of the weak layer, is intrinsically multiscale.

Key points of the PhD:

• Development of an innovative numerical approach
• Applications to natural hazards (snow avalanches)
• Stimulating and multidisciplinary work team

More details in the attached file.

The project CURE (Coupled multiprocess research for reducing landfill emissions) investigates the reduction of the emission potential of landfills by in situ stabilisation measures and will develop predictive tools to forecast the pertaining processes and residual emissions. The objective of the research carried out in this particular PhD project is to quantitatively analyse the spatio-temporal response of landfills to different in-situ stabilisation measures by monitoring the change in quantity and quality of emissions through the water and gas phase as well as the change in the landfills’ structural architecture. This will be achieved by high-resolution measurements of

• Leachate quantity and quality, including stable isotopes and DNA/RNA profiling
• 3D temperature time series and 3D water content time series
• Gas quantity and quality
• Stabilisation-induced consolidation.