45,000 students and 8,000 employees in teaching, research and administration, all working together to shape perspectives for the future – that is the University of Münster (WWU). Embedded in the vibrant atmosphere of Münster with its high standard of living, the University’s diverse research profile and attractive study programmes draw students and researchers throughout Germany and from around the world.
The Institute of Landscape Ecology in the Faculty of Geosciences at the University of Münster (WWU), Germany, is seeking to fill a
PhD Position
in Peatland Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in
(salary level TV-L E 13, 65%)
at the earliest possible date. We are offering a fixed-term part-time position (65% FTE) for 3 years. As part of this position, the successful candidate will be required to teach the appropriate pro rata proportion to a full-time (100%) employee’s teaching commitment of 4 hours per week during the semester.
Project description:
Peatlands are significant stores of carbon and nitrogen, yet they are most vulnerable to changes in temperature and water availability. This project aims to quantify and understand the effect of climate variability, plant and soil functioning, and restoration activities on the emission of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) from nemoral peatlands. The project will focus on collecting high-resolution eddy covariance measurements. The detailed flux and environmental measurements (vegetation and soil) will be combined with a suit of modelling tools (statistical, process-based) to scale up peatland ecosystem fluxes and disentangle the important drivers.
Your tasks:
The successful candidate will help establish a new eddy covariance station close to the city of Münster and will be in charge of processing raw data into turbulent fluxes of heat and CO2, CH4 and N2O, collecting soil and vegetation data, applying data quality assessment and managing the database, analysing and interpreting the data, EC site maintenance, presenting results and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
The student will join the recently established Biosphere-Atmosphere Interaction (BAI) group within the Institute of Landscape Ecology (ILÖK) in the Faculty of Geosciences of the University of Münster. In addition, the successful candidate will have ample opportunities for cross-project collaborations with ETH Zürich and the University of Vienna to use existing data and explore additional areas of interest.
Our expectations:
- a Master of Science in Micrometeorology, Hydrology, Soil Science, or another related field
- good communication skills, a strong work ethic, a team player interested in carrying out regular field work
- a valid driving license is required for travelling to the field site
- interest and ability to solve technical challenges related to instrument maintenance
- experience with eddy covariance data collection methods (or chamber flux measurements) and strong computer programming (Python, R) and statistical skills for handling large data sets will be a strong advantage
- interest in supporting the teaching of the BAI group
German language skills are not required but would be advantageous. However, fluency in English is mandatory.
The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Consequently, we actively encourage applications by women. Female candidates with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities.
The University of Münster is committed to employing more staff with disabilities. Candidates with recognised severe disabilities who have equivalent qualifications are given preference, although some restrictions related to field work and access to laboratory facilities may apply.
Information about the Institute of Landscape Ecology can be found here: https://www.uni-muenster.de/Landschaftsoekologie. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Prof Mana Gharun mana.gharun@usys.ethz.ch (no applications).
If you are interested, please send a letter of motivation, CV, and copies of BSc and MSc certificates and transcripts via email by 15 March 2022 to:
The University of Münster
Institute of Landscape Ecology
Dr. Beate Keplin
keplin@uni-muenster.de
Reference no.: 2022_02_23
You are kindly asked to send us your application electronically in a single PDF file. Please note that other electronic file formats cannot be considered.