California Water Quality Job

Environmental Scientist (permanent, full-time) position in water quality and estuarine ecology, California Dept. of Water Resources

Job Posting: Environmental Scientist

Link to Online Application: https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=358976

Job Description and Duties

Join a diverse, dynamic team of professional environmental scientists as part of the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) and the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP). Our program conducts monthly ecological monitoring in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, sampling over 25 discrete stations aboard our research vessel, R/V Sentinel. The incumbent is responsible for leading water quality and biological sampling for EMP onboard our research vessels or by vehicle. The incumbent should have a background in water quality, scientific fieldwork, managing large datasets, and statistical analyses. The incumbent will act as crew lead in the field, mentor seasonal and temporary staff, and contribute to the communication, QA/QC, and sharing of research data and analyses via written technical reports, oral/ poster presentations, and peer-reviewed articles. The incumbent will represent EMP at relevant DWR and IEP project work teams.

Position Details

Job Code #: JC-358976

Position #(s): 840-370-0762-015

Working Title: Environmental Scientist

Classification: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

Salary: $4,145.00 – $7,926.00 (monthly)

# of Positions: 1

Work Location: West Sacramento, Yolo County, CA, USA

Job Type: Permanent, Full Time

Benefits

  • Flexible Work Hours
  • Telework Opportunities
  • Free Parking
  • Health, Dental & Vision Benefits
  • Paid Sick & Vacation
  • Retirement
  • Basic Group Term Life Insurance
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • 11 Paid Holidays
  • 401(k) & 457 plans
  • Student Loan Forgiveness
  • Long Term Care
  • Group Legal Services

Minimum Requirements: You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

Special Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, biology, geoscience, ecology, or a related field and possession of a valid driver’s license. Field sampling may occur on weekends and at night. Must be able to work on boats without incapacitation due to seasickness.

Department Information

Division of Integrated Science and Engineering

Ecosystem Monitoring, Research, and Reporting Branch

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Section

Discrete Environmental Monitoring Unit

Department of Water Resources (DWR) was established in 1956 by the California State Legislature.  We manage California’s water resources, systems, and infrastructure, including the State Water Project, in a responsible sustainable way. At DWR, we are embedding climate change response into every project we undertake. We have set standards to help evaluate how each project incorporates climate resilience principles and ensure consistency across the Department.  Our mission is to sustainably manage the water resources of California, in cooperation with other agencies, to benefit the state’s people and protect, restore, and enhance the natural and human environments. DWR also strives to create a trusting and welcoming workplace where employees embrace diverse viewpoints and treat each other with civility and respect.  An important component of DWR’s equal employment opportunity program centers around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Department Website: https://water.ca.gov

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

  • Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
  • Resume is required and must be included.
  • Other – Cover Letter
  • Other – See Supplemental Questionnaire information under Special Instructions below.

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations for the hiring interview process must request the necessary accommodations if scheduled for a hiring interview. The request should be made at the time of contact to schedule the interview. Questions regarding reasonable accommodations may be directed to the EEO contact listed on this job posting.

The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to elicit information regarding each applicant’s abilities, knowledge, and experience in relation to the advertised position. Please complete these questions and identify a reference who can verify your knowledge and/or experience.  If you do not have experience regarding the question, then include examples of similar experience that would demonstrate your ability or potential to perform the specific function.  Please limit your answer to approximately one page (double-spaced, Arial 12 pt font and 1″ margins).


Supplemental Question: 
Discuss school or work-related experience you have in analysis and synthesis of water quality and biological data.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate’s relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

Scientific field experience including work on boats; experience working in remote, rugged, or arduous conditions; interest in working outdoors in the San Francisco Bay-Delta; knowledge of water quality, biology, and ecology; experience with water quality and biological monitoring; demonstrated ability to work both independently and cooperatively with others as part of a team; experience with statistical analysis of scientific data, including use of software such as R, RStudio, Python, ArcGIS, MiniTab, or similar; experience performing data QA/QC; strong technical writing and oral communication skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office; detail-oriented.

Special Instructions: To be considered, submit a completed State application (STD. 678), cover letter, resume, and supplemental questionnaire to the address below.  Please reference SAP Position #50031575 and Job Control #358976 in the “examination(s) or job title(s) for which you are applying” section of your application.

Contact Information: The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position or application process.

Hiring Unit Contact:
Meagan Transue
(916) 855-8553
dise_hr@water.ca.gov

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department’s EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
Office of Workforce Equality
(916) 653-6952
weo@water.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice) TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

CSIRO Mission AquaWatch Australia officially launched!

Congratulations to CSIRO and the entire Australian AquaWatch team!  We are planning to host a GEO AquaWatch webinar on Australian AquaWatch in a few months – so stay tuned!

CSIRO CEO Dr Larry Marshall, together with Australian Ministers Tania Plibersek and Ed Husic and other partners attended the launch in Canberra and Dr Alex Held (Mission Lead) is also currently in NYC with the Australian delegation at the UN Water Conference this week.

Australia creating world-first ‘weather service’ for water quality 

CANBERRA, AustraliaMarch 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has launched a mission to deliver a world first ground-to-space water quality monitoring system. 

The United Nations estimates three billion people could be at risk from unsafe water. Through AquaWatch Australia, CSIRO is working with partners internationally to help safeguard freshwater and coastal resources. 

AquaWatch will provide near real-time updates and predictive forecasting – a weather service for water quality – once fully operational. It will support better water quality management and can be used to monitor water quality for drinking, sanitation, aquaculture, environmental assessment and a wide range of other applications to help meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. 

CSIRO, with foundation partner SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre, is bringing together research, government and industry with an initial co-investment of AU$83 million to design and develop AquaWatch.  

Data collected using an extensive network of Earth observation satellites and ground-based water sensors will be integrated at a central data hub where CSIRO’s capability in data analysis and artificial intelligence can provide forecasts a few days ahead. 

CSIRO Chief Executive, Dr Larry Marshall said water is one of the world’s most important and vital resources. 

“In places where people still face the risk of unsafe water for basic needs like drinking and sanitation, a service such as AquaWatch could be a game-changer. 

“The ingenuity behind AquaWatch is it integrates Earth observation with other science capabilities like in-situ sensing, ecosystem modelling, engineering, data science and artificial intelligence.  

“It is the latest example of CSIRO’s Missions Program, which are large-scale scientific and collaborative research initiatives aimed at accelerating the pace and scale at which we can solve the greatest challenges.” 

CSIRO and its international partners are already working together on pilot projects in: 

  • California, USA in partnership with the University of California, Davis and University of California, Merced, focusing on turbidity in a major water storage 
  • Sarawak, Malaysia in partnership with Swinburne University Sarawak, focusing on carbon losses from mangrove forests 
  • Chile, focusing on salmon aquaculture and desalination 
  • Colombia, focusing on coastal wetlands 
  • Vietnam, in partnership with Vietnam’s National Center for Water Resources and Investigation (NAWAPI) and Hanoi University of Mining and Geology (HUMG), focusing on drinking water supplies and hydroelectricity needs. 

CSIRO is Australia’s pre-eminent national science organisation, accelerating innovation through global science.  

Source: CSIRO

 

Find out more here!

Register today for mid-June’s GEO Symposium and Open Data Workshop

Group on Earth Observation’s (GEO) invites you to attend two major GEO events that will take place back-to-back in Geneva in mid-June:

One-stop registration for both events is now open!  Please visit the event webpage links above to register and find out how you can contribute to the events!

Pub Alert! Beyond the SDG 15.3.1 Good Practice Guidance 1.0 using the GEE platform

developing a self-adjusting algorithm to detect significant changes in water use efficiency and net primary production

In the latest issue of Big Earth Data

Abstract: Monitoring changes in Annual Net Primary Productivity (ANPP) is required for reporting on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 15.3.1: the proportion of land that is degraded over the total land area. Calibrating time-series observations of ANPP to derive Water Use Efficiency (WUE; a measure of ANPP per unit of evapotranspiration) can minimize the influence of climate factors on ANPP observations and highlight the influence of non-climatic drivers of degradation such as land use changes. Comparing the ANPP and WUE time series may be useful for identifying the primary drivers of land degradation, which could be used to support the Land Degradation Neutrality objectives of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This paper presents an algorithm for the Google Earth Engine (freely and openly available upon request – http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4429773) to calculate and compare ANPP and WUE time series for Santa Cruz, Bolivia, which has recently experienced an intensification in its land use. This code builds on the Good Practice Guidance document (version 1) for monitoring SDG Indicator 15.3.1. We use the MODIS 16-day average, 250 m resolution to demonstrate that the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) responds faster to changes in water availability than the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We also consider the relationships between ANPP and WUE. Significant and concordant trends may highlight good agricultural practices or increased resilience in ecosystem structure and productivity when they are positive or reducing resilience and functional integrity if negative. The sign and significance of the correlation between ANPP and WUE may also diverge over time. With further analysis, it may be possible to interpret this relationship in terms of the drivers of change in plant productivity and ecosystem resilience.

Read the full article here.

GEO AquaWatch Announces New Code of Conduct and Working Group Structure!

Since our 2022 Biennial Meeting and with the expert leadership of an ad hoc Governance Committee, GEOAquaWatch has simplified and streamlined our Working Group structure and created a new Code of Conduct for our membership.   These efforts build off the recent formation of our Early Career Society, update the long-established Management Team and Steering Committees, and implement our DEI Policy Initiative-wide.

With these modifications and improvements, GEO AquaWatch hopes to better reflect the diverse global water quality community.

We are also excited to have finished that reorganization process and to get on to the fun activities we’ve been brainstorming in our Users and Technical Working Groups.