Dear colleagues, a PhD position is available at Potsdam University (Germany) on vegetation effects on rock weathering and climate, today and in the geological past. See below for a detailed description. Please get in touch with me ([email protected]) for further information, and please feel free to distribute this email to suitable candidates.
Best regards, Philipp Porada Dr. Philipp Porada Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University of Potsdam https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/ibb-vegnat/members/dr-philipp-porada.html -------- 1 PhD position within the research project ‘Estimating impacts of non-vascular vegetation on global biogeochemical cycles from the geological past to the future’ Mosses, lichens, terrestrial algae and cyanobacteria –non-vascular vegetation– are a remarkable, yet understudied group of organisms. Current research indicates, however, that these organisms play a significant role in the Earth system. The goal of the research project is to analyse and quantify various interactions between non-vascular vegetation and the environment at the global scale. This will also include potential effects of early non-vascular vegetation on climate in the geological past. Before the rise of vascular plants (trees, grasses), early non-vascular organisms were the only form of terrestrial vegetation. Through biotic enhancement of rock weathering, they may have caused a decrease in atmospheric CO2 content which led to an interval of glaciations. The goal of the PhD project will be to quantify the enhancement of weathering by early non-vascular vegetation at the global scale in the Paleozoic and the Proterozoic. In this way, the role of the organisms for the climate of the past can be assessed. To achieve this, the candidate will develop a numerical simulation model. Within the project, the PhD candidate will perform three tasks: (1) Develop a model of biotic enhancement of weathering. Based on already established approaches, the model will explicitly represent different effects which enable vegetation to enhance weathering of rocks. (2) Quantify weathering by today’s non-vascular vegetation. The model will be applied to quantify the enhancement of weathering fluxes in areas dominated by non-vascular vegetation under today’s climatic conditions. (3) Estimate biotic effects on weathering in the geological past. Subsequently, the model will be applied to estimate biotic enhancement of weathering in the Paleozoic and Proterozoic. This will provide insights regarding the role of early non-vascular vegetation for atmospheric CO2 and climate in the past. The candidate should fulfill the following requirements: * A very good M.Sc. degree (or equivalent) in (Bio)Geosciences, Geoecology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics or related natural sciences. Candidates who have not yet completed their Master thesis can submit a study record to show their qualification. * Very good written and spoken English skills * Interest in numerical computer simulation of biological and geochemical processes * Experience with Unix/Linux is an asset The place of employment will be Potsdam University (Germany) and the position will be hosted by the working group of vegetation ecology and conservation biology (Prof. Florian Jeltsch) and also the department of Geosciences. Potsdam is a small city with rich cultural heritage and beautiful parks, located close to Berlin. The PhD position will start on October 1st, for a duration of three years, at 26 hours per week (payment level E13, TV-L BAT-O 65 %). The remainder of the working time can be used for scientific qualification. Applications should include a cover letter explaining the motivation to carry out the PhD project, a CV and the M.Sc. certificate or other informative records. Please send the documents as one pdf file by September 1st to [email protected]
