Groundwater Discharge and Coastal Ecosystem Health

Groundwater Discharge and Coastal Ecosystem Health - Research Affiliate Program
Natural Resources Canada
- Geoscience and Earth Monitoring Sector – Geological Survey of Canada - GSC-Québec
Closing date:

August 28, 2026 - 23:59, Pacific Time
Selection process number
2026-RSN-EA-GEMS-676641

Employment tenure
This PhD will start in January 2027 and will last 3 years.

Salary
Student will receive up to 35 700$ per year, payable in equal instalments three times a year

Who can apply
You are eligible for this program if you meet these 3 requirements:
1. You are a full-time student in a post-secondary institution;
2. You are enrolled in an academic program that requires research as part of your curriculum;
3. You meet the minimum age required in the province/territory of work;

This includes students with physical or emotional disabilities deemed to have full-time status by their academic institution. Adult students registered in education and retraining programs at the secondary level may also be eligible for student employment programs.

Note:

Preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who meet the job requirements.

Duties
Project Rationale:
Coastal zones are on the front line of climate change and anthropogenic pressures. While rivers are recognized as major vectors of material transfer to the ocean, coastal groundwater remains a key component that is still poorly quantified. These diffuse fluxes, occurring through littoral sediments, transport nutrients, carbon, contaminants, and fine particles to coastal waters, thereby contributing to deoxygenation, eutrophication, and acidification of coastal waters, as well as sediment dynamics.

Project

Description:

This PhD project aims to understand the role of groundwater discharge in the functioning and health of coastal ecosystems and addresses emerging challenges in coastal hydrogeology. It seeks to investigate and quantify the contribution of groundwater to coastal water chemistry and sediment dynamics by combining hydrogeochemical and hydro sedimentary budgets.

By integrating hydrogeological, geochemical, and coastal dynamics data, this project proposes a holistic approach that will deepen our understanding and contribute to the management—and thus the preservation—of this fragile ecosystem.

Objectives:
More specifically, the PhD project is structured around three main objectives:
Quantify groundwater discharge at the scale of an island system in the St. Lawrence River, integrating different hydrostratigraphic contexts ;
Evaluate major element fluxes derived from water–rock weathering and assess their role in the coastal carbon cycle, with particular emphasis on the impact of alkaline and nitrate inputs on the chemistry and biogeochemical balance of the St. Lawrence coastal waters;
Examine the role of groundwater discharge in hydro sedimentary budgets to improve understanding of its impact on fine-particle dynamics and coastal morphodynamics.
Methods:
The PhD project will combine hydrogeological and oceanographic approaches and will include:
1) Seasonal fieldwork, including installation of piezometers; sampling of surface water, groundwater, soils, and sediments; LiDAR surveys; and thermal drone imaging;
2) Laboratory analyses, including general and isotopic geochemistry (stable isotopes of water, naturally occurring radon and radium isotopes) and biogeochemistry, with their interpretation using statistical software, among other tools; and
3) Hydrogeological modeling.
Intent of the process
The intention is to staff one student position for the completion of a PhD.

Positions to be filled
1

Conditions of employment
Reliability Status security clearance
Learn more about security screening process.
The student will need to be registered at l’Institut des sciences de la mer de l’Université du Québec à Rimouski (ISMER-UQAR) for this PhD degree, where his/her advisor will be located, and reside in or close to Rimouski due to the location of the laboratories and fieldwork.
The student must be ready to do regular field and lab work and irregular work hours.

You need (essential for the job)
Your application must clearly explain how you meet the following

EDUCATION

The candidate must…