Postdoctoral Researcher – SHELLWISE

Job Details

This position is supported through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland funded SHELLWISE project and is available from May 2026 for up to 31 months. The goal of the SHELLWISE project is to investigate the potential negative (or neutral) impacts of noise pollution and vibration from offshore wind turbines on marine shellfish health, and to measure/model underwater sound propagation from offshore wind farms.

Ireland’s strategy to transition to a sustainable, clean energy future is imperative and requires us to increase vastly our offshore wind energy systems. As we move renewable energy systems from land to sea, there is an urgent need to evaluate the potential risks posed to wildlife health and habitats. Acoustic energy (noise) propagates through water and sediments causing disturbances due to pressure and particle velocity. Charismatic fauna, such as marine mammals and birds, have been the subject of extensive environmental impact assessments and surveys. This is not the case for spineless animals, i.e., invertebrates, which are economically and ecologically important. Marine invertebrates, notably shellfish, represent key members of benthic ecosystems, lucrative fisheries (e.g., crustaceans, shelled molluscs), and are of great value to coastal community heritage.

Through the interdisciplinary SHELLWISE project, the Post-Doctoral Researcher will contribute to the following objectives: (1) assess how shellfish of commercial and ecological importance to Ireland may perceive sound and its disturbance (noise pollution), (2) measure the potential adverse impacts of anthropogenic noise ‘stress’ on marine shellfish (physiology), and, (3) develop a noise sensitivity index.

Requirements

011639 Full Job Description.pdf

Contact Information

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on 19th March 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

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