Nantes University is a Higher Education Institution. Within the
University, the laboratory ISOMer is recognised for its scientific
expertise in visible near infrared remote sensing, focusing on
intertidal zones dominated by seagrasses in South Brittany (France). The
team has been participating in an EU H2020 project on seagrass remote
sensing (CoastObs, 2017 – 2021, https://coastobs.eu/)
followed by a project on the same topic led by Plymouth Marine
Laboratory funded by the European Space Agency (BiCOME, 2021 – 2023 https://www.bicome.info/).
It is currently involved in a CNES (French Spatial Agency) to map
invasive macroalgae in Western Europe, combining drone and satellite
mapping (Sentinel 2). It is coordinating the 2024-2029 Horizon Europe
project REWRITE (Rewilding and Restoration of Intertidal Sediment
Ecosystems for Carbon Sequestration,
https://rewriteproject.eu/) for mapping intertidal seagrass mainly in Southern European sites (Spain and Portugal).
Context & project overview :
The
REBORN project aims to significantly scale up seagrass restoration
across North-West Europe (NWE), with the objective of increasing
biodiversity and natural capital returns by up to 300%. To achieve this,
REBORN will establish a multi-stakeholder network of more than 30
organisations, working collaboratively to co-define governance
principles for resilient and future-proof restoration strategies. The
project will develop and test a holistic seagrass restoration model
across five pilot regions in NWE, with the ambition to replicate this
model over at least 10,000 hectares. In parallel, REBORN will strengthen
regional capacity by training participants from 40
organisations—including public authorities, private companies, and
practitioners—as seagrass restoration ambassadors. These activities will
be supported through dedicated training modules covering business,
policy, and practical implementation aspects. The project is closely
aligned with recent European policy developments, particularly the
Nature Restoration Law (NRL), and directly contributes to achieving its
legally binding restoration targets.
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/reborn-new-dawn-transnational-seagrass-collaborationnorth-west-europe
Position overview :
The postdoctoral researcher will lead two tasks structured into two components :
- To produce baseline maps of intertidal seagrass in NWE seagrass sites
- Overview of key environmental stressors for planning and monitoring
The
candidate will have to write/coordinate deliverables and contribute to
the administrative and scientific reporting of the project.
The
position combines remote sensing, field ecology, and spatial analysis in
order to support the restoration of intertidal seagrass in NWE. The
methodological approach will combine satellite remote sensing (e.g.,
Sentinel-2) for large-scale mapping and time-series analysis, Drone/UAV
imagery processing for high-resolution small-scale mapping, integration
of multi-source datasets (satellite, UAV, field data), development of
open-access and reproducible workflows using R and Python.
The postdoctoral researcher will be supervised at Nantes Université by Pierre Gernez and Laurent Barillé.
Expected outcomes :
- Harmonised baseline datasets of seagrass cover across NWE restoration sites
- Analysis of seagrass phenology across NWE restoration sites
- Identification of key environmental stressors
- Support for restoration planning and transnational strategy development
Duration of contract : 24 months
Salary : € 2.950 gross per month
More information and application details: https://www.euraxess.fr/jobs/435581