Background
Terrestrial and marine environments at the rapidly warming West Antarctic Peninsula region are inherently linked via the transport of organic and inorganic matter, but the quantities, directions and pathways are rarely understood. Increased concentration and higher flows of suspended particulate matter (SPM) triggered by glacier retreat, are known as causal factors shaping and potentially altering benthic communities. Also, animals promote exchange of inorganic, organic matter (organic carbon – OC) and nutrients material between terrestrial and marine realm. The use of airborne drone data is an emerging research field. Drones are filling significant gaps between existing in situ, airborne and satellite remote sensing capabilities to better understand the importance of glacier melt in terms of terrestrial and marine habitat change and how ongoing and predicted climate change will affect warming Antarctic shelf ecosystems.
Tasks
The department of Biosciences, section Benthic Ecology, has a vacancy for a PhD student to work on the effects of land-runoff processes on benthic communities at Subantarctic and Antarctic coasts.
You’re expected to
- carry out drone-based georeferenced mapping of marine glacial outflow areas (plumes) in front of several glaciers at King George Island, surveying erosional processes such as periglacial creeks at unglaciated coasts, which are directly linked to changes in the marine ecosystem (provision and delivery of sediment and solutes from the shore) by SPM, OC, discharge volume measurements,
- quantify terrestrial and marine nutrient flows and the spatial extent of source and sink areas using high-resolution seabird tracking techniques to map their implications for sediment and landscape stability by opportunistic vegetation succession in deglaciated areas,
- analyse the relationships between air- (multispectral) and water-borne (salinity, temperature, turbidity, SPM, TOC, geochemistry, phytoplankton) data for calibration purposes,
- quantify the connectivity between benthic and pelagic realms and predict ecosystem functions using multivariate and multidimensional modelling.
Research will involve a 4-month-expedition to the Beagle Channel and King George Island, West Antarctic Peninsula and will be supervised by a Thesis Advisory Committee with senior scientists from four AWI sections.
Requirements
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in marine biology, geoinformatics or related fields
- Excellent knowledge of R and/or Python
- Proficiency in or willingness to learn drone piloting, image analysis and multivariate statistics/spatial ecology/GIS tools to analyze benthic community data
- Excellent written and oral communication skills and a proven ability to work in a team
- Disposition to work in the laboratory, in the office and in the field
Additional skills and knowledge
- Prior experience with benthic ecology, pelagic sampling, and analyses methods remote sensing data are an important asset. Knowledge of Spanish would strengthen the application.
Further Information
Please contact Dr. Kerstin Jerosch (kerstin.jerosch@awi.de, +49-471-4831 1518) for further information.
This is position limited to 3 years. 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 (66%). The place of employment will be Bremerhaven.
All doctoral candidates will be members of AWI’s postgraduate program POLMAR or another graduate school and thus benefit from a comprehensive training program and extensive support measures.
The AWI is characterised 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
- health promotion and company fitness with Hansefit und 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 August 29th 2024 exclusively online.
Reference number: 24/151/G/Bio-b
