Natural Resources Canada - Lands and Minerals Sector, Geological Survey of Canada, GSC-Quebec
Québec (Québec)
This PhD study will start in September 2025 and end in March 31, 2028.
Bursary of $28,000/year paid in 3 equal instalments each year.
For further information on the organization, please visit Natural Resources Canada
Geological Survey of Canada
Research Affiliate Program
CLOSING DATE: 21 JULY 2025 - 23:59, PACIFIC TIMEWho can apply: Persons residing in Canada, and Canadian citizens and Permanent residents abroad.
Students enrolled or able to enroll in a in the Interuniversity PhD inapplied sciences from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (QC,Canada). Proof will be required before the start date.
To be considered for RAP opportunities:
1. you are a full-time student in a post-secondary institution. This includes students with physical or emotional disabilities deemed tohave full-time status by their academic institution. Adult students registered in education and retraining programs at the secondary level may also be eligible for student employment programs.
2. you are enrolled in an academic program that requires research as part of your curriculum.
3. you meet the minimum age required in the province/territory of work.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

At Natural Resources Canada, a Federal government job means developing leadership skills, fostering teamwork, and supporting creativity and innovation. We know it takes people from diverse pools of talent to make this happen. That is why we are looking for people like you. As an employee at Natural Resources Canada you can enjoy diverse employment opportunities, a range of career development programs, and a learning culture that supports you to learn on an ongoing basis. We support balancing your work and private life by offering the benefits of flexible work arrangements.

Local geological conditions can significantly affect the amplitude and frequency content of incoming seismic waves. This results in considerable short-distance spatial variations of the intensity of ground shaking. The shear wave velocity of surficial sediments (Vs) and the fundamental site period (To) are key ‘site parameters’ widely used to evaluate the local seismic site response. Vs is a measure of the mechanical property of soils and defines the shear modulus and soil behavior at small strain amplitudes. Vs of the top 30 m of soil is recommended in building code provisions to estimate of the maximum expected lateral force at the base of the structure due to seismic activity. Proportional to the ratio between the thickness of the soil column and the average Vs, To indicates the period where resonance amplification occurs at levels greater than the broadband amplification.
To evaluate Vs and To, excellent knowledge of surficial geology, spatial distribution, and sufficient Vs measurements in surficial units are required. This is a challenging issue at urban and regional scales since field measurements are often limited in number and sparsely distributed. The local clustering of field data can lead to biased results since the lack of representativeness can contribute to overestimation of their importance elsewhere.
The main objective of the present research is twofold: a) to determine the stratigraphic architecture and spatial distribution and heterogeneity of unconsolidated units, and b) to generate Vs and To maps in the transportation corridor between Saguenay, Tadoussac, and Quebec City. Existing geological knowledge and field measurements for the study region will be used (e.g., Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec; Ministère des Transports du Québec; Ministère des Ressources naturelles Canada, etc). The surficial soils will be grouped into major units: glacial sediments and fine and coarse post-glacial sediments. Geostatistical modelling will be applied to provide uncertainty information on the variable outcomes, such as thickness of the different sediment units in this case. To fill the gaps in the local field measurements, auxiliary variables will be also integrated, such as interpretations of geological maps, derivatives of digital elevation models and remote sensing data. Representative interval Vs±s functions with depth will be assigned to the surficial units to calculate the spatial distribution of the local site parameters, Vs and To.
The successful candidate will enroll in Interuniversity PhD in applied sciences from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. With the help of their supervisors and the scientists involved in this project, the successful candidate will be invited to publish the results of their research in GSC public reports and peer-reviewed scientific journals, give oral and/or poster presentations at scientific, government or industry conferences, and conduct outreach activities on their research to the Inuit stakeholders.