Postdoc position: ERC-Projekt COLDSPOT – Deadline 16 February 2025

Background

The advertised position is part of the ERC Starting Grant project “Arctic Greenhouse Gas Sinks: Exploring Coldspots of Methane and Nitrous Oxide in the Permafrost Domain (COLDSPOT)”. This project investigates the magnitude and functioning of greenhouse gas sinks in the Arctic.

The release of greenhouse gases from the terrestrial biosphere has global significance. The Arctic acts as a net source of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), making it a biogeochemically critical ecosystem due to its vast soil carbon and nitrogen reserves and above-average warming rates. Current reporting of Arctic greenhouse gases shows an observational bias toward high-emitting hotspot sites. In contrast, COLDSPOT focuses on Arctic locations that function as CH₄ and N₂O sinks, removing these climate-relevant gases from the atmosphere. Specifically, the project aims to investigate how plants influence nutrient availability and microbial activity, thereby regulating fluxes of CH₄, N₂O, and other climate-relevant gases.

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with expertise in biogeochemistry, plant physiology, microbiology, or a related field. In this role, you will investigate how processes in the plant-soil-microbe continuum regulate greenhouse gas fluxes, with a particular focus on the consumption of atmospheric CH₄ and N₂O in Arctic ecosystems. You will study the biogeochemical and microbial functioning of CH₄ and N₂O sinks through a combination of field experiments (e.g., plant removal experiments) and laboratory manipulation of intact plant-soil systems (mesocosms) in climate chambers. Field sites are located in Canada and Finland.

You are encouraged to bring your own research ideas, with the project potentially focusing on various aspects of plant-soil interactions depending on your prior experience. In addition to in situ and lab-based greenhouse gas flux measurements, your work could emphasize:

• Microbial dynamics (e.g., methanotroph and nitrogen-cycling gene abundance and activity)
• Soil-plant-atmosphere fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Biological nitrogen fixation
• Stable isotope tracer experiments

You will join a new research group established through close collaboration between the Alfred Wegener Institute and the University of Hamburg. This position offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic team of experts and access state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. You are expected to participate in field expeditions, collaborate closely with team members and project partners, present findings at scientific meetings and conferences, and publish results in peer-reviewed journals. Opportunities for supervising students are also available, depending on your interests.

• Independently plan and conduct field campaigns in the Canadian and Finnish Arctic
• Design and conduct lab experiments to investigate the biotic and abiotic mechanisms underlying CH4 and N2O uptake by Arctic soils, and link CH4 and N2O flux rates to nutrient cycling, plant- or microbial functioning
• Conduct experimental manipulation studies including a mesocosm experiment in climate-controlled chambers
• Collaborate closely with team members and scientific partners
• Publish results in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Present results at national and international scientific conferences and team meetings

• A PhD in a relevant field
• Strong background in biogeochemical cycles, plant functioning and/or bioinformatics, ideally in high-latitude ecosystems
• Experience in field or lab-based measurements of either greenhouse gas fluxes, BVOCs, nitrogen fixation, nutrient turnover or microbiology
• Coding (e.g. R, Matlab, Python) and statistics skills
• Proven record of scientific work and publications in international scientific journals
• Ability to conduct independent work
• Willingness to participate in multi-week field expeditions to remote Arctic sites and work in diverse research teams
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• very good English skills (C1)

• A driver’s license class B as well as Finnish and German language skills are an advantage#

For any questions you may have, you are very welcome to get in touch with Dr. Carolina Voigt (carolina.voigt@awi.de).This is a full-time position, limited to 2,5 years. It is also suitable for part-time employment. The salary will be paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation (Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes, TVöD Bund), up to salary level 13. The place of employment will be predominantly Hamburg.

All postdocs will register with AWI’s postdoc office PROCEED and thus gain access to a set of tailor-made career development tools.

The AWI is characterized by

• our scientific success – excellent research
• collaboration and cooperation – intra-institute, national and international, interdisciplinary
• opportunities to develop – on the job and towards other positions
• an international environment – everyday contact with people from all over the world
• flexible working hours and the possibility of mobile working up to 50% of regular working hours
• health promotion and company fitness with Hansefit and Wellhub
• support services and a culture of reconciling work and family
• occupational pension provision (VBL)

AWI values diversity and actively promotes gender parity, as well as an open, inclusive environment that provides equal opportunities. We are convinced that diverse teams and a variety of perspectives enrich our work and our daily collaboration. In a continuous process of learning and reflection, we aim to ensure that all our employees can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging. We welcome applications from qualified people regardless of binary and non-binary genders, race and nationality, ethnic and social background, religion, age, physical abilities, neurodivergence, sexual orientation, and other identities.

Applicants with disabilities will be given preference when equal qualifications are present.

AWI fosters work-family compatibility in various ways and has received several awards as a result of this commitment. And as a new international member of our team, you can be sure that we will help you settle in. Our Family Office and International Office will be glad to support you, even before you start at AWI.

We look forward to your application!
Please submit your application by February 16^th 2025, exclusively online.
Along with the application, please provide us with a cover letter detailing your motivation and research ideas, copies of degree certificates, list of publications, and a CV including names and contact details of three references.

Reference number: 25/5/D/Geo-b