PhD position monitoring soil erosion indicators using remote sensing

Environmental science » Natural resources management

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Agricultural sciences » Soil science Environmental science » Earth science Environmental science » Natural resources management Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 16 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 May 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Horizon 2020 Reference Number BAP
- Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number  Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

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.

• 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.

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 centres 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 programmes in geography. You will also co‑supervise bachelor and master thesis students.

• 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 programmes.
• A motivation letter indicating why you would 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.

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Gert Verstraeten, mail: