Climate change and carbon cycling in high latitude ecosystems: The Ecosystem Ecology Research Lab at the University of Florida is seeking applicants to fill two postdoctoral positions for studies of carbon cycling in Alaska.
Position #1 will be associated with Dr. Michelle Mack’s lab and will focus on the effects of fire severity and plant species composition on post-fire trajectories of carbon accumulation in Alaskan boreal forest. This research is part of a NASA-funded project studying the effects of fire severity on carbon-albedo tradeoffs in climate forcing by changing boreal disturbance regimes. In years 1 and 2 of the project, the postdoc will be responsible for leading a summer field crew in Interior Alaska that will make biometric measurements of forest structure and ecosystem carbon and nutrient pools. In year 2, the project team will also travel to Cherskii, Russia, for a comparative study of post-fire trajectories in Siberian larch forests. The postdoc will oversee processing of field samples and also interface with collaborators Drs. Scott Goetz (Woods Hole Research Institute) and Jim Randerson (U.C. Irvine) to ground-truth remote sensing. Finally, the postdoc will have the flexibility to develop his/her own research within the context of the larger project. Two years of funding are available, with the possibility of a third year depending on performance. Candidates with a background in forestry, biogeochemistry, plant or ecosystem ecology, or soil science are encouraged to apply. Experience with working and living in field conditions is required. Summers (June-August) will be spent at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where family housing and daycare facilities are available. Winters will be spent in sunny Gainesville, FL. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience, and full health care benefits are provided for individuals and families. To apply, please email a CV with the names of 3 references to Dr. Michelle Mack ([EMAIL PROTECTED], 352-846-2510). Position #2 will be associated with Dr. Ted Schuur’s lab and will focus on an NSF-funded project on the fate of permafrost carbon in a warming world. The research is field and lab based, with the primary field location near Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The research foci are (1) net ecosystem carbon exchange and loss of old C from a gradient of sites undergoing permafrost thaw, and similar measurements in (2) a new experimental manipulation of permafrost thaw. Radiocarbon measurements of C pools and fluxes are an important component of this project for determining the age of C losses from ecosystems. This postdoc will be primarily responsible for running the field component of this project: supervising personnel and making measurements of isotope fluxes, ecosystem C exchange, vegetation aboveground productivity, and associated environmental measurements. The postdoc will be expected to organize, analyze, and maintain large data sets generated from a number of sensors and gas exchange measurement systems, and participate in data analysis and publications. There are also opportunities within the context of this project to develop related research interests on climate change effects in high latitude ecosystems. Candidates with a background in biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, plant ecology, soil science, forestry, hydrology, or isotopes are encouraged to apply. Experience with Campbell data loggers, SAS programming, ecosystem C exchange measurements, or isotopes would be helpful, but not required. The postdoc will generally spend the majority of the spring-to-fall field season in Alaska running the field project, with winters spent in Florida on lab and data analysis. Experience with working and living in field conditions is required. Salary is commensurate with experience, and full health care benefits are provided for individuals and families. To apply, please email a CV with the names of 3 references to Dr. Ted Schuur ([EMAIL PROTECTED], 352-392-7913).
