I am seeking a highly motivated graduate student (M.S. or Ph.D.) to join my research group in the Department of Biology and Wildlife at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fall 2015. Research in my lab investigates how streams are linked to their catchments and the consequences of these linkages for in-stream biogeochemisty, and focuses on how permafrost influences groundwater inputs of nutrients and organic matter to streams of the boreal forest. The boreal forest in interior Alaska is underlain with discontinuous permafrost, which has a major affect on watershed hydrology, and carbon and nutrient inputs to streams. Where permafrost is present, groundwater flowpaths through catchments are largely restricted to soils, whereas in the absence of permafrost water can infiltrate into deeper bedrock regions of watersheds. In addition to affecting hydrology, permafrost stores a lot of soil organic matter, which will potentially be released to streams and the atmosphere with climatic warming and permafrost thaw. This work is funded through the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Program (http://www.lter.uaf.edu/) and is being conducted in the Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watersheds located near Fairbanks, Alaska. Interested students should contact Dr. Jay Jones ([email protected]; 907-474-7972; http://mercury2.iab.uaf.edu/jay_jones/) to learn more about the position, and information about how to apply to our graduate program.
