PhD Arctic Coastal ecology (m/f/d)

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and funded by federal and state government. AWI focuses on polar and marine research in a variety of disciplines such as biology, oceanography, geology, geochemistry and geophysics thus allowing multidisciplinary approaches to scientific goals.

PhD Position "Arctic Coastal ecology" (m/f/d)

Background

With erosion rates as high as 25 myr-1, the release of sediments, organic carbon, and nutrients from permafrost coasts has profound impacts. As the transient area between the coast and the deep ocean, the nearshore zone plays a crucial role in the Arctic carbon and nutrient cycle, because in this area it is determined the extent to which eroded organic material is: i) mineralized into greenhouse gases, ii) involved in marine primary production, iii) transported offshore or iv), retained and buried in nearshore sediments. The main goal of this project is to evaluate how changing terrestrial inputs in polar coastal ecosystems change the biodiversity, production and services of nearshore coastal communities.

The position is part of our recruiting initiative AWI INSPIRES - INternational Science Program for Integrative Research in Earth Systems. AWI INSPIRES aims at strengthening our new research program “Changing Earth, Sustaining our Future”. Details about all open positions and the general application requirements can be found at

.

Tasks

In this project , we will focus on the impacts of coastal erosion and associated lateral matter transfer on nearshore food webs. To do so, we will:
sample coastal waters to quantify zooplankton, phytoplankton, marine bacteria and their diversity,
quantify nutrients in the water column along transects with increasing distance from the coastline,
carry out experiments of different complexity (from bioassays to mesocosms), to assess which factors limit planktonic production in the nearshore, in order to predict the impact of increased permafrost thaw and run-off on these nearshore communities, and

assess the potential impact on the further food chain, as changes in the plankton might have consequences for higher trophic levels (and thus are relevant for human harvesting).

Overall, we will identify how shifting terrestrial matter transport in the Arctic nearshore zone will affect the composition of the planktonic community and restructure trophic interactions.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences or related fields.
• Experience in experimental approaches, uni/multivariate statistics.
• Willingness to participate in expeditions to the Arctic as well as ship-based sampling campaigns.
• Excellent English language skills and enjoy working in an international and interdisciplinary team.

Further Information

For further information please contact
Prof. Dr. Maarten Boersma
(Maarten.Boersma@awi.de, +49(4725)819-3350) or
Prof. Dr. Karen Wiltshire
(Karen.Wiltshire@awi.de, +49(4651)956-4112).
The position is limited to 3 years. The salary will be paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation (Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes, TVöD Bund), up to salary level

13 (66%)
. The place of employment will be
Helgoland.
All doctoral candidates will be members of AWI’s postgraduate program
and thus benefit from a comprehensive training program and extensive support measures.

This characterizes us

• our scientific success - excellent research.
• collaboration and cooperation - intra-institute, national and international, interdisciplinary.
• opportunities to develop – on the job, aiming at other positions and beyond AWI.
• a culture of reconciling work and family – audited, and even more than that.
• our outstanding research infrastructure – ships, stations, aircraft, laboratories and more.
• an international environment – everyday contacts with people from all over the world.
• having an influence – fundamental research with social and political relevance
• flat hierarchies – freedom and responsibility.
• exciting topics – also in technology, administration and infrastructure.

Equal opportunities are an integral part of our personnel policy and we encourage women to apply.
Disabled applicants will be given preference when equal qualifications are present. The AWI fosters the compatibility of work and family through various means. Because of our engagement in the area of work-life compatibility we have been awarded the certificate “Career and Family”.

We look forward to your application!

Please forward your application with letter of motivation explaining why you want to join one of our research areas, two letters of recommendation and a list of publications by

February 16
th
, 2020
exclusively online.
Selected candidates will be invited to present their research ideas and motivation during the “Annual recruitment days”, planned from 16 to 24 March 2020 in Bremerhaven, Germany.

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