Greetings,
We have a post-doc position available at the US EPA's Western Ecology
Division in Corvallis, OR. The position is funded through the
Oakridge/ORISE program, and _applications must be submitted through the
Zintellect website
(https://www.zintellect.com/Account/ApplicantRegister/4921)_.
*Watershed Integrity: Refinement and Case Study Development*(position
EPA-ORD-NHEERL-WED-2018-06). Under EPA's Safe and Sustainable Water
Resources National Program, an Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) has
been defined (Flotemersch et al. 2015
<https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rra.2978>) and mapped
for the conterminous US (Thornbrugh et al. 2018
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X17307070>).
This research project may consist of the following four elements: (1)
Enhancing the IWI map -- The original IWI map was based on hypothesized
relationships between stressors and ecological functions, using first
order, linear assumptions and no weighting. An approach to enhancing
the IWI map by defining empirical relationships using random forests has
been developed for the water quality function (Johnson et al.
submitted). The research participant may be involved in enhancing the
IWI map by more accurately characterizing the relationships between
stressors and the remaining five functions that are incorporated into
the index using literature and available data; (2) Testing the IWI map
-- The IWI map has been tested by comparing results to stream condition
data from case study watersheds and national surveys (Kuhn et al. 2018
<http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/5/604>; Thornbrugh et al. 2018), and
in conjunction with #3 below, the research participant will acquire
regional data to further test the IWI maps; (3) Regional applications --
The research participant may develop one or more regional case studies
demonstrating the utility of the IWI maps for aquatic resource
management; and (4) Temporal change -- A map of partial change in IWI
over time with respect to specific stressors may also be produced,
dependent on the availability of new spatial datasets.The full project
description can be found at
https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-ORD-NHEERL-WED-2018-06.
Please share this with any colleagues that you think might be
interested. Questions on the application process should be addressed to
ORISE at zintell...@orau.org <mailto:zintell...@orau.org>. Technical
questions concerning the position can be obtained by contacting me at
leibowitz.sc...@epa.gov <mailto:leibowitz.sc...@epa.gov>. Note that
applicants must have received a Doctoral Degree within the last 60
months and must be a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident.
Thank you.
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*Scott G. Leibowitz, Ph.D.*
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
200 SW 35th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97333
Phone: 541.754.4508
email: leibowitz.sc...@epa.gov <mailto:leibowitz.sc...@epa.gov>
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