CCMAR/BM/06/2026 | Master's Fellowship (W/M) | Biodiversity, Global Change and Oceanography | 1 Vacancy

The Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR) opens one (01) Master’s Fellowship (Bolsa de Mestrado), for applicants of any nationality, including stateless candidates, and holders of political refugee statute, in the scientific field of Biodiversity, Global Change and Oceanography within the research project number 2024.17157.PEX - named as HotClim: “Variações do hidroclima, vegetação e incêndios em períodos quentes do passado: Um alerta para o futuro?”, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) I.P. /MCTES through national funds, under the following conditions:

1.Host and Contracting Institution: CCMAR
This fellowship is intended for R&D activities, by a student with a bachelor degree enrolled in a Master's Degree to the start date of the present research fellowship, with a view to consolidating his/her scientific training, through the development of research work leading to the achievement of a Master's degree.

2.Work Plan, Tasks to perform and objectives:
The HotClim project aims to improve our understanding of climate dynamics during past warm climate states by reconstructing ocean–atmosphere–land interactions in the North Atlantic region. In particular, the project focuses on the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (~3.3–3.0 Ma), one of the most recent geological periods when atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and global temperatures were comparable to those projected for the near future. By combining marine and terrestrial proxy records, the project seeks to identify the mechanisms linking ocean circulation, hydroclimate variability and ecosystem responses during warm climate conditions.

The fellowship holder will contribute to the following tasks:

Task 3: Reconstruction of sea surface temperature conditions

Task 4: Identification of hydroclimate variability and forcing mechanisms, which focuses on reconstructing marine and terrestrial environmental variability and hydroclimate changes in southwestern Europe, while also supporting activities in other tasks of the project.
 

Task 5: Dissemination of the project findings and outreach

Detailed work plan:

a. Sample preparation and sub-sampling of marine sediment samples from the Iberian Margin (IODP Expedition 397, Site U1385), targeting intervals corresponding to the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (~3.3–3.0 Ma).
b. Laboratory processing of sediment samples for organic biomarker analyses, including extraction, purification and preparation of lipid compounds derived from terrestrial vegetation.
c. Analysis and quantification of terrestrial biomarkers (e.g. long-chain n-alkanes, n-alcohols and other plant-derived compounds) using chromatographic techniques (GC-FID / GC-MS) in order to reconstruct past vegetation dynamics and hydroclimate variability in southwestern Europe.
d. Calculation and interpretation of biomarker-based indices (e.g. ACL, CPI and other vegetation and hydroclimate indicators) to infer changes in terrestrial ecosystems and environmental conditions during the studied interval.
e. Integration of terrestrial biomarker records with marine proxy data, including sea surface temperature reconstructions and other oceanographic indicators generated within the HotClim project.
f. Contribution to the synthesis of marine–terrestrial climate interactions, helping to identify the mechanisms linking ocean circulation variability with regional hydroclimate and ecosystem responses during past warm climate states.
 

The results generated within this work will contribute directly to the scientific objectives of the HotClim project and may be integrated into the fellow’s Master’s thesis, as well as into scientific publications and conference presentations.

3.Scientific Supervisor:
Doctor Teresa Rodrigues, Assistant Researcher at IPMA and member of CCMAR, and Doctor Dulce Oliveira, Project Coordinator, Researcher at IPMA and member of CCMAR.

4.Work place: 
The workplace is IPMA – Algés, Divisão de Geologia e Georrecursos Marinhos – Av. Doutor Alfredo Magalhães Ramalho nº6, 1495-165 Lisboa, Portugal CCMAR and other places necessary for the execution of the work plan.

5.Requirements for the application:
Applicants must meet all the conditions stated below:

1.    Bachelor´s degree in Chemistry, Geology, Biology Marine Sciences, or related area.

Non-compliance justifies exclusion from the procedure.

6.Evaluation criteria: 
Through the analysis of the application documents the evaluation criteria for the applications and their relative weight for ranking are as follows:

1.    Academic background and curriculum vitae relevant to the scientific area (40%)
2.    Previous experience in laboratory work related to sediment analysis, geochemistry or environmental sciences (30%)
3.    Motivation and interest in paleoclimate research and laboratory analytical techniques (20%)
4.     Knowledge of English and basic data processing tools (10%)

7.Fellowship conditions: The fellowship will have a duration of 12 months, expected to start from May 2026 and eventually renewed for additional periods until the end of the project, and never exceeding a maximum of 24 months. The fellowship must be carried out full-time (exclusive regime), according to the FCT Fellowship Rules (RBI) and the CCMAR fellowship rules (see here), which are based on the Portuguese law 40/2004, of 18 of August (Scientific Research Fellowship holder statutes) amended by the Decree-Law 123/2019 of 28 of August. A maintenance allowance of 1090.98€ will be paid monthly, through bank transfer, and will be updated as stipulated by the Foundation for Science and Technology (see here).

8.Application period:  between the 8th April 2026 and 22th April 2026 at 23:59 (Lisbon time, Portugal).

9.Application process and mandatory documents:
Complete applications must be submitted online at https://ccmar.ualg.pt/en/career-opportunities and must include:

1.    A motivation letter (in English);
2.    A detailed Curriculum Vitae (in English);
3.    A copy of the Bachelor’s degree (Licenciatura) certificate;
4.    The email contact of up to 3 references.

Non-compliance with this documents/information determines the immediate rejection of the application.