GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a foundation of public law jointly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany (90%) and the state of Schleswig-Holstein (10%) and is one of the internationally leading institutions in the field of marine sciences. Currently GEOMAR disposes over an annual budget of approx. 80 million € and has approx. 1000 employees.
The research unit Biological Oceanography of research division 2 – Marine Biogeochemistry is offering a PostDoc position in pelagic ecology and/or biogeochemistry, starting on March 1st, 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Job Description
The successful candidate will investigate possible environmental impacts and co-benefits of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) on plankton communities and ecosystems. This includes ecological aspects (biodiversity, primary and secondary production, biogenic calcification and food web interactions) as well as biogeochemical processes (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon cycling, elemental stoichiometry, secondary precipitation and export fluxes). We are hence looking for a candidate with a strong interest in the functioning of pelagic ecosystems and their resilience to human interventions. The ultimate research objective will be to define the safe operating space for OAE applications in terms of environmental safekeeping.
The position will be integrated in the newly launched project OCEAN ALK-ALIGN: Aligning ocean alkalinity for sustainable, safe and verifiable long-term CO2 removal, which will investigate the potential of OAE as a means for carbon dioxide removal. OCEAN ALK-ALIGN aims at closing existing knowledge gaps by investigating three aspects essential for possible OAE implementation: (1) the efficiency and permanence of CO2 removal; (2) environmental safety; (3) monitoring and verification.
Qualifications/Requirements
- PhD in biological oceanography, marine biology, marine ecology, marine biogeochemistry or related fields
- experience in experimental science
- strong data analysis skills
- effective communicator (English), especially scientific writing (publications)
- academic excellence: critical, independent, global thinker
- willingness to live and work abroad for 1-3 months/year to conduct experimental work
- previous work on one or several of the research topics mentioned in “Job description”
- good team player
The candidate is expected to collaborate closely with other researchers in OCEAN ALK-ALIGN and to oversee Master and PhD students in the project. Rapid publishing of research results and contributing to interdisciplinary publications, reports, and synthesis products is expected. Knowledge of carbon dioxide removal approaches, especially ocean alkalinity enhancement will be beneficial. Experience in working as part of an interdisciplinary team would be helpful.
The position is available for a funding period of up to three years. The salary depends on qualification and could be up to the class 13 TVöD-Bund of the German tariff for public employees. This is a full-time position. The position is not divisible. Flexible working time models are possible in principle.
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel seeks to increase the proportion of female scientists and explicitly encourages qualified female academics to apply. GEOMAR is an equal opportunity employer and encourages scientists with disabilities to apply. Qualified disabled applicants will receive preference in the application process.
Please submit your application for this post not later than 6th February 2023 under the following link: online application
As soon as the selection procedure has finished, all your application data will be removed according to data protection regulation.
For further information regarding the position and research unit please contact Prof. Ulf Riebesell (uriebesell@geomar.de).
However, we will answer all your questions if you send us an e-mail to bewerbung@geomar.de. In doing so, please refer to the keyword “ALK-ALIGN_environmental safety”.
For more information, click here.
