PhD position in "flood historical hydrology and statistics": Have floods in the last decades and centuries been increasing or not?

Within the new Research Unit SPATE "Space-Time Dynamics of Extreme Floods", the Vienna University of Technology is offering a PhD position in "flood historical hydrology and statistics". This position is envisaged to start between July 1st 2017 and 1st October 2017 and will extend over a maximum duration of 3 years. The general theme of the PhD project is the question: Have floods in the last decades and centuries been increasing or not? The PhD student will work with systematic measured data and historical, mainly documentary-based information with different statistical methods with the aim to identify changes in the flood occurrence. The study region of the project is Germany and Austria. The PhD student will be supervised by experts in historical hydrology/environmental studies as well as flood frequency statistics. Candidates should hold a Master (or similar) degree in Environmental Sciences/Geosciences or Hydrology and/or Environmental or Civil Engineering or related disciplines, with an excellent speaking and writing knowledge in English. The ideal candidate is willing to and can work in an interdisciplinary and international team that combines the experience of applied/natural and social sciences, possesses a good knowledge of statistics, the ability for a complex understanding of environmental processes, and at least basic skills in programming (R, Matlab, or similar). The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to participate in the "Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resources Systems" (http://waterresources.at/), a highly recognized, international and interdisciplinary PhD programme. Candidates should send a letter of application, a statement of research interests, a Curriculum Vitae, and copies of education certificates including transcripts of grades as a single .pdf file to: [Email Address Removed]. Application deadline is March 1, 2017.