Postdoctoral Postion: Terrestrial Carbon Cycle Forecasting at Boston University, USA

A post-doctoral position in ecological forecasting is available in the Dietze lab in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University. This project will focus on expanding the capacity of our current carbon cycle forecast to a larger network of sites and bringing in additional data constraints into our data assimilation system.

This system covers sites across North America, with an emphasis on NEON and Ameriflux sites, and multiple timescales including decadal hindcasts, short-term forecasts (35 days), seasonal forecasts (9 mo), and multidecadal projections (CMIP scenarios). Data constraints to be added will include a subset of the following, depending on the expertise and interests of the candidate: eddy covariance, lidar (NASA GEDI), soil carbon, soil moisture and vegetation optical depth (microwave remote sensing, e.g. NASA SMAP), vegetation inventory data, remotely-sensed land-use & disturbance (e.g. MODIS, Landsat), solar induced fluorescence, thermal remote sensing. This postdoc may also contribute to the design and implementation of new data assimilation algorithms focused on capturing environmental disturbances and land use / land management within the forecast system. Modeling frameworks will include SIPNET (simple carbon budget model) and ED2 and/or LPJ-GUESS (more complex cohort-based models). Research questions focus on assessing the predictability of the terrestrial carbon cycle, drivers of spatiotemporal variability, and the impacts of disturbance & land management on carbon cycle projections and reanalyses. The project will make use of, and contribute to, the ecoinformatic tools being developed by the PEcAn project (http://pecanproject.org), which aims to make ecosystem models, data assimilation, and forecasting more accessible, automated, and repeatable.

Qualifications:
Minimum qualifications are a doctoral degree in a related ecological or environmental science. Experience with at least two of the following is preferred: R, Bayesian statistics, ecosystem modeling, remote sensing. Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Applications will considered on a rolling basis. 12 month contract with the possibility of renewal subject to the availability of funds.

To apply please submit a cover letter, CV, and contact info for 3 references to Dr. Michael Dietze (dietze at bu.edu). Feel free to contact Prof. Dietze if you have additional questions. 

Boston University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

Application Deadline: Rolling

Postdoctoral Scholar – Hydrology, Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley seeks a highly motivated Postdoctoral Scholar to conduct research in the field of remote sensing, and hydrological data assimilation. The candidate will be involved in a NASA sponsored project that aims at understanding Human-Driven Changes to the Hydrological Cycle via Multi-Variate Assimilation of Soil Moisture and Terrestrial Water Storage.

A remaining challenge of hydrological data assimilation is to operate within physically realistic models so that the true observational features (e.g., included human driven processes) are not excluded during data assimilation of satellite observations. The successful candidate will be responsible for 1) improving land surface model physics by explicitly introducing existing irrigation schemes; 2) applying multi-variate (soil-moisture and terrestrial water storage) data assimilation schemes; 3) analyzing the multi-variate assimilation results to understand changes in the hydrology caused by both anthropogenic and natural hydrologic processes.

The successful candidate should be passionate and committed, have strong analytical and communication skills, possess excellent programming skills, and have background in land surface modeling, remote sensing, and data assimilation. The successful candidate will contribute to the interpretation of results and publication of peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference presentations. The incumbent will also exercise functional supervision over supporting graduate students. As part of the postdoctoral experience, the incumbent will receive mentoring for developing research proposals and participation in career development activities will be strongly encouraged.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS (at time of application)

PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD degree program (or equivalent international degree)

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (by start date)

• PhD (or equivalent international degree)
• The candidate should have no more than four years of post-degree research experience by start date

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (by start date)

• Demonstrated written and verbal communications skills and scientific excellence
• Excellent quantitative, computational, and programming skills (e.g., Fortran, MATLAB, Python)
• Ability to work independently and as part of a larger team
• Ability to think critically and innovatively
• Strong interest in interdisciplinary studies

APPOINTMENT

This position reports to Dr. Manuela Girotto.  The initial appointment is 100% for one (1) year with the possibility of an extension, based on satisfactory performance and availability of funding.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Generous benefits are included (https://apo.berkeley.edu/compensation) 

TO APPLY

Contact Manuela Girotto: mgirotto@berkeley.edu

Contact information of three references is required, only those of finalists will be contacted. All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality: http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html. The recruitment will remain open until filled.

Please direct questions to Dr. Girotto at mgirotto@berkeley.edu

Berkeley seeks to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.

The department is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their work.

Application Deadline: Rolling

Project Manager for the research program CDRterra at LMU Munich, Germany 

We are looking for a manager for an interdisciplinary research program in the field of climate protection. The manager coordinates all internal and external concerns of the program and thus contributes substantially to creating the science basis for political decision-making in research- and climate-policy in Germany and world-wide. The research program investigates measures to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, such as afforestation or technological solutions. Such measures intend to support the goal to reach greenhouse gas neutrality, which Germany aims at by 2045, but need to be comprehensively assessed concerning potentials, implementability, risks and side-effects. To this end, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the program CDRterra comprising around 100 researchers (https://www.fona.de/de/massnahmen/foerdermassnahmen/co2-entnahmemethoden-cdr.php). The Department of Geography of the LMU Munich leads the synthesis, transfer and coordination project, CDRSynTra, of this BMBF program.

Your tasks

The Project Manager will become member of a dynamic team at the chair for Physical Geography and Land Use Systems, which leads the BMBF program with respect to scientific coordination, work with stakeholders from the public, industry, and politics, and public relations. Specific tasks of the Project Manager in this team comprise:

Five Postdoctoral or PhD Researchers in Quantitative Environmental Sciences (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany)

KIT is seeking to appoint up to 5 quantitative Environmental Scientists as either postdoctoral
researchers or PhD students. The successful applicants will contribute to a number of EU-funded
research projects exploring the impacts of environmental and policy change on land use and
ecosystems, including biodiversity at large spatial scales (European to global). The positions will be held within the Land Use & Climate Change Research Group (https://landchange.imk-ifu.kit.edu/) and/or the Global Land Ecosystem Modelling Group (https://lemg.imk-ifu.kit.edu/) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Specifically, we seek researchers to address the following topics:

1. The contribution of sustainable forest management to climate change mitigation, adaptation and nature conservation;
2. The nexus between biodiversity, food and timber production, climate change mitigation, water resources and health;
3. Nature-based solutions to reduce climate change risks;
4. The role of international trade and environmental policy in land use and ecosystem change.

You will contribute to the further development and application of the LandSyMM modelling framework (https://landsymm.earth/) using environmental modelling, data analysis methods and literature review. Willingness to engage with stakeholders is also expected for some of the tasks. The positions will entail contributions to project management and reporting, and some teaching. The positions are available from September 2022 for 2-3 years initially with the potential for extension beyond this period.

Applications should be sent by email to Sylvia Kratz (sylvia.kratz@kit.edu) by Friday 22 April 2022, quoting the reference, 5MRAA. Applications should be submitted within a single PDF document that includes your CV, publications list (with citations), a short (1-2 page) letter of motivation and contact details for 2 referees. The motivation letter should clearly state a) your skills and experience in quantitative environmental sciences b) whether you are applying for a postdoctoral or PhD position, and c) how your research interests relate to the topics given above and the project descriptions in the annex. Please also indicate where you heard about this job opportunity.

Program Manager for Carbon Dioxide Removal Project at LMU Munich, Germany

The Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich’s Department of Geography invites applications (full-time) for Program Manager for Carbon Dioxide Removal Project.

The chair for Geography and Land Use Systems carries out fundamental and applied research on the human impact on climate via land use. It leads the synthesis, transfer, and coordination project for the BMBF funding line on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR; https://www.fona.de/de/massnahmen/foerdermassnahmen/co2-entnahmemethoden-cdr.php).

To limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement’s goals, greenhouse gas neutrality needs to be reached within the next few decades. This will likely require CDR in addition to emissions reductions. Projects in the BMBF program on terrestrial, geological, and material-based CDR and a parallel program on marine CDR methods aim to provide a systematic and comprehensive science basis of potentials, implementability, risks, and side-effects in the Earth system of various CDR methods and pathways and will investigate feedbacks with other Sustainable Development Goals. The CDR program aims to enhance the research capacities in Germany for CDR, strengthen the links between research and other stakeholders, and provide an adequate scientific basis for political decision-making in research and climate policy.

The Program Manager will work closely with the Scientific Coordinator, Transfer Manager, and Public Relations Officer. Specific tasks comprise of:

• acting as the focal point for internal and external concerns of the program, which comprises approximately 100 researchers
• assisting the program spokesperson in all tasks
• being responsible for a program-wide communication system, networking and coordination activities, which ensure a structured collaboration between the program’s individual and joint projects, its governing bodies, with the marine funding line, and relevant international programs
• ensuring timely compliance with commitments and monitoring scientific progress towards the overall goals of the program.

The Program Manager’s position requires:

• an MSc or Ph.D. university degree (preferably in environmental or climate sciences)
• experience of several years in managing research projects
• very good organizational skills
• capability to work independently and in a team
• very good English skills in speech and writing.
• Good German language skills are advantageous, as is knowledge of German and international research landscape around climate and CDR.

The Program Manager will become a member of a dynamic team around research, coordination, and transfer of the CDR synthesis project and many other projects at the chair for Physical Geography and Land Use Systems. The team is strongly involved in large international collaborations such as the Global Carbon Project, AIMES, and the IPCC/CMIP6.

The position is offered from April 2022 or soon after until October 2024.

Your workplace will be located in central Munich and is easy to reach by public transport. We offer an interesting and responsible position with good opportunities for vocational training and career development.

Payment will be in accordance with TV-L E14. Part-time work is in principle possible. Handicapped persons with comparable qualifications receive preferential status. We encourage female candidates to apply.

Please send an application outlining your fit for the position (including a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, copies of scientific degrees, and the names and contact information of two references) by April 1, 2022, by e-mail (one PDF attachment with max. 5MB only including all documents) with subject “CDR-PrM-2022” to climate.jobs@geographie.uni-muenchen.de. For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz (julia.pongratz@lmu.de).