Postdoc M/F - Enjeux, solutions, perceptions autour de la mesure de la température des cours d'eau et de l'atténuation du réchauffement

Job Description

Missions

This work will be carried out at the EVS/CNRS unit (ENS-EVS and ENTPE-EVS components) and is part of the national transdisciplinary project ThermieFrance (PEPR OneWater – France 2030, ANR-24-PEXO-0002), coordinated by INRAE. The project aims to better understand the effects of climate change on the temperature of French rivers, a key parameter for biodiversity, water quality, and numerous human uses. The project particularly focuses on methods to mitigate water warming and thus increase the resilience of river systems to the combined events of severe low water levels and heatwaves, whose frequency and intensity are rising.
The third axis of the ThermieFrance project, in which the postdoctoral work is embedded, proposes to evaluate adaptation scenarios, co-constructed with stakeholders, to reduce thermal amplitudes and strengthen the resilience of watercourses. By leveraging time series at the scale of the French river network, hydrological and thermal models, as well as participatory approaches, ThermieFrance aims to better quantify the impacts of warming—including risks to biodiversity—and to produce operational tools to support management and adaptation strategies.
The main objective of this postdoctoral position is to involve stakeholders in the production of knowledge, the perception of problems, and the evaluation of potential solutions. Special attention will be given to thermal refuges (cooler areas in summer) as environmental features and motivations that are perceived and interpreted differently by various social groups. It will quantify the benefits of various adaptation measures using spatial analyses, models, and interactions with socio-economic actors and NGOs (e.g., fishing associations) through social surveys and a participatory approach.
The work will engage stakeholders in the co-production of knowledge, the shared understanding of the problem, and the assessment of potential solutions. This postdoctoral research will be conducted in synergy with all researchers involved in ThermieFrance, particularly around the project's four study sites (Lower Ain Valley, Veyle, Argens, and Hérault/Bueges basins) and the three interdisciplinary workshops proposed for PhD students and water stakeholders. It will benefit from and contribute to the scientific activities of the EUR H2O'Lyon, including participation in a master's cluster that will be implemented in 2027. The postdoctoral researcher will also contribute to supervising the master's cluster and a social sciences and humanities (SSH) student in connection with their work.

Activity

The postdoctoral researcher will carry out two main tasks:

Task 1: Social Assessment of Rising River Temperatures
The postdoctoral researcher will compile a list of stakeholders potentially affected by rising river temperatures at the national level (e.g., fishing associations, energy providers, drinking water suppliers, water management authorities) and within specific sub-catchments of the Rhône Basin, which will serve as case studies.
He/she will conduct interviews to document the perceptions of relevant stakeholders regarding:
1. Their concerns about rising river temperatures (ecological and chemical consequences, changes in industrial processes, infrastructure vulnerability, investment needs, etc.);
2. Their decisions related to water use during river heatwaves, including exemptions from existing thresholds and emergency measures;
3. Their current practices (existing monitoring), concerns, and data needs related to this issue (available data, disclosure obligations, confidentiality, granularity, frequency, duration);
4. Specifically for fishing associations, their knowledge of thermal refuges, river thermal regimes, and their environmental consequences;
5. Their potential solutions (including the experience of fishing associations in preserving fishery resources) and feedback on potential solutions linked to ThermieFrance's Work Package 3.
The methodology for this study will rely on a classical sociological survey, based on semi-structured interviews with representative stakeholders from each sector at both national and local levels. Several stakeholders have already been contacted, and discussions are underway, including:
• The EPTB Saône et Doubs for basin-scale water management;
• Various actors in the Lower Ain Valley, heavily impacted by hydropower plants;
• The Union of Fishing Federations of the RMC Basin;
• Drinking water syndicates (potential links may be established along the main Rhône River with the water intake fields of Avignon, Valence, and Lyon, within the dedicated working group of the OHM VR);
• Industrial actors;
• EDF;
• The OFB (French Office for Biodiversity) and the Ministry of the Environment.
The specific case studies will be defined in cooperation with GRAIE, ZABR/OHM VR, and ThermieFrance scientists to target the most relevant stakeholders. With fishing associations, thermal refuges will be conceptualized as "environmental motifs" (Bouleau, 2019)—perceived environmental features that can be stabilized through negotiation and their articulation with policy instruments. The methodology for mapping data sources will draw inspiration from a recent ANR-FNS study on another sector (Geffroy, Anduze, Ceccato, 2024, "Statistiques et politique : une méthodologie pour une approche critique de la quantification du tourisme", in Tourism Recreation Research).
Deliverable for Task 1: A report on stakeholder concerns regarding rising river temperatures and shared information on this topic.

Task 2: Promotion of a "Hybrid Forum" and Participatory Stakeholder Approach for ThermieFrance
The postdoctoral researcher will promote a participatory approach to identify all issues related to rising river temperatures and organize two workshops (one per year) bringing together diverse academic, managerial, and local riverine communities. These workshops will address thermal adaptation solutions to mitigate summer temperatures and ecological responses studied within the project.
• The first workshop, organized at the national level and involving as many stakeholders as possible, will aim to achieve a shared understanding of the problem. It will focus on cold-water refuges for fish, verifying the alignment between modeling results and local stakeholder knowledge. This outcome will be essential for validating the models developed in ThermieFrance's various work packages and deepening knowledge of these ecological refuges, which are critical for adaptation.
• The second workshop will focus on the various potential temperature mitigation solutions tested in the project's tasks and the future applications of the results.
These workshops will lay the foundation for more sustainable collaboration between scientists involved in the project and the various water management stakeholders, potentially facilitating the implementation of concrete measures.
Deliverable for Task 2: Reports summarizing the outcomes of the two forums.

Your Profil

Skills

Requirements for Candidates:
Applicants must hold a PhD in Sociology or Social Geography and meet the following criteria:

• Proficiency in STS (Science and Technology Studies) approaches and/or Environmental Sociology.
• Strong expertise in conducting and analyzing qualitative interviews, interdisciplinary work, ideally with experience in the water sector.
• In-depth knowledge of stakeholders in the water sector, as well as expertise at the intersection of sociology and political science, including public policy tools and governance frameworks.
• Ability to conduct empirical surveys using diverse data sources.
• Capacity to analyze needs and develop a tailored methodology for the ThermieFrance project.
• Fluent English (Level C1/C2); ability to communicate and publish results collaboratively with project partners and contribute to collective syntheses.
• Strong teamwork skills with specialists from various disciplines.
• Autonomy, strong organizational skills, and the ability to conduct interviews with diverse social groups.
• Valid driver's license (Category B).
• Ability to organize and facilitate forums with water sector stakeholders

Your Work Environment

The postdoctoral researcher will be hosted at EVS and INRAE, with specific arrangements to be discussed with the candidate. They will be co-supervised by a multidisciplinary consortium:
• Florentina Moatar (INRAE Lyon, RiverLy): A specialist in the interactions between hydrology, water quality, climate, and anthropogenic pressures. She develops physical and statistical models of river thermal regimes and is the coordinator of the ThermieFrance project (PEPR OneWater – France 2030, ANR-24-PEXO-0002).
• Gabrielle Bouleau (INRAE LISIS, Paris): A socio-political scientist at INRAE whose work focuses on environmental policies and the ecologization of policies in France, Europe, and the United States. She studies how new environmental issues are incorporated into political agendas and translated into public policies, new professions, and indicators.
• Fabrice Bardet (ENTPE, Lyon): His research examines forms of quantification emerging in metropolitan contexts, particularly from a comparative perspective with Brazil and North America.
• Hervé Piégay (CNRS Lyon, EVS): A geomorphologist specializing in the landscape dynamics of river corridors, particularly thermal landscapes, using large-scale geomatics and remote sensing approaches. He is a co-coordinator of EUR H2O'Lyon and has extensive experience in supervising PhD students in transdisciplinary research contexts.
The postdoctoral researcher will benefit from and contribute to the scientific activities of H2O'Lyon. The postdoctoral work will leverage the broad academic and operational consortium (INRAE, CNRS, BRGM, Météo-France, EDF, Mines Paris PSL, etc.) assembled within the ThermieFrance project. They will have privileged access to project databases, exchange opportunities with PhD students, and interdisciplinary training.
One of the strengths of this postdoctoral proposal (R2, see figure below) lies in its close collaboration with the PhD thesis on mitigation solutions (PhD5), focusing on the quantification of solutions to mitigate river warming. This work will also benefit from other aspects of the project, including:
• Analyses of the role of groundwater in physical and ecological habitats (PhD3, PhD4);
• The production of climate scenarios and comparison of simulations with other models at the watershed scale (PhD1, R1).

Constraints and risks

The work will be carried out in close collaboration with two additional laboratories: RiverLy (INRAE, Lyon)—where there is a possibility of being hosted—and INRAE LISIS (Paris).
Short-term travel within France will be required to effectively conduct the postdoctoral research, including:
• Co-supervision meetings,
• Engagement with stakeholders,
• Training events organized under H2O'Lyon or ThermieFrance.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Starting at €3,071 gross per month, depending on experience

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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