We are recruiting PhD and postdocs students at the Norwegian Centre of Excellence (Centre for Planetary Habit ability https://www.planetaryhabitability.org/) One of the PhD positions is dedicated to time series analyses in evolutionary biology/paleobiology/geoscience. The project description is here "Much of the research in historical geosciences is concerned the plausible relationships between different (reconstructed) variables, such the atmospheric concentrations of different gases (e.g. oxygen, carbon dioxide), features of the surface of the earth (e.g. continental area, tectonic activities, snow and ice cover, biodiversity), and characteristics of the earth's interior. These variables are variously estimated via proxies (e.g. isotopes) or using models with different types of input parameters, given a set of assumptions, usually based on modern measurements. While there is a lot of focus on both the generation of proxy data and the construction of earth history models, there is less focus on time-series analyses and especially causal inference, even though many of the questions posed in the recent literature concern unraveling causal relationships among time series. There is hence a need to use better time series tools and further develop time series tools for temporally patchy, highly uncertain data common in historical geology. The Ph.D candidate, will carry out some or all of these research in collaboration : Use a time series inference framework to quantify relationships between different abiotic (temperature, tectonics, atmospheric carbon dioxide) and/or (possibly) biotic time series (e.g. extinction rates, functional groups) across the Phanerozoic and beyond. Use a time series inference framework to ask if the underlying dynamic processes in different time intervals of earth history are different (e.g. comparing Snowball Earth periods) Quantify the relationship(s) between measured temporal proxies and model generated curves meant to reflect those measurements (e.g. a delta 018 curve and a modelled global temperature curve) Contribute to an updated version of layeranalyzer (Reitan and Liow 2019) where the time series inference will be performed, including a R CRAN version, together with extended tutorials and vignettes. Depending on the skills and inclinations of the candidate, the candidate can be involved in model extensions to layeranalzyer. " Application details are posted at https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/257601/phd-research-fellow-in-geosciences-earth-history Deadline for application 29 Feb 2024. Thank you Lee Hsiang Liow Lee Hsiang Liow (Ph.D) Natural History Museum & Centre for Planetary Habitability University of Oslo, Norway leehsiangliow.com/ bryozoanlableed.wordpress.com/ Lee Hsiang Liow (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)