Doctoral Researcher, Boreal Peatlands

Faculty of Science invites applications for  

Doctoral Researcher in Boreal peatlands

starting earliest in November 2024 in a fixed term contract of 3 years.

Background
Boreal peatlands store vast amounts of carbon and are important carbon sinks that help mitigate global warming. Increasing drought in the boreal zone threatens these carbon sinks as limited water availability can drastically reduce plant production. The water use strategies of boreal peatland plants in response to drought and their impact on peatland production, however, are largely unknown. Therefore, we urgently need to understand the water use of peatland plants and its implications for peatland carbon sink potentials. To address this knowledge gap, our project will assess the drought response of distinct peatland types, i.e., pristine and forestry-drained peatlands.

We will systematically characterize the impact of plant water use strategies on peatland productivity by combining 1) novel in-situ water stable isotope methods and state-of-the-art machine learning techniques for process understanding with 2) eddy-covariance carbon and water flux monitoring and multi-sensor remote sensing for vegetation and soil water dynamics. We will integrate our results in a process-based land surface model to provide improved predictions for future carbon emissions of boreal peatlands. The doctoral researcher will work with the extensive observations collected during the project. The observations include novel in situ plant and soil water isotope data, greenhouse gas exchange measurements, as well as ecosystem level eddy covariance measurements, collected at different peatland sites. The doctoral researcher will actively conduct and participate in observations.

The doctoral researcher will work as part of the new Academy of Finland fellowship PeatStress. The position will be located in the micrometeorology group at INAR. The work will be done in close collaboration with the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the German Aerospace Center (Munich, Germany) and University College Dublin (Ireland), including visits to our collaborators.  
We are seeking a talented and motivated doctoral researcher (PhD student), who recently completed their MSc degree in the field of Meteorology, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Geography, Environmental Data Sciences, or similar areas. MSc students near the completion of their degree are also encouraged to apply.

The candidate should have:
•    Willingness to pursue a PhD degree in environmental sciences or meteorology.
•    Some experience in programming (e.g., R, python) and statistical analysis of scientific data.

• Experience in working with remote sensing data (e.g., with products from Copernicus) as well as greenhouse gas measurements (e.g. eddy covariance, chamber, sap flux) is an asset.

•    Willingness and suitability for field work, with partially long working days.
•    Driver’s license class B.
•    Sufficient skills in written and spoken English.
•    Interest in doing research and ability to independent creative thinking, combined with good self-discipline and reasonable communication skills.
•    Enjoy working collaboratively.

What we can offer
•    A 3-year PhD student position, an extension to 4 years is planned and will be applied for
•    Starting salary of ca. 2600-2800 € per month, depending on the appointees’ qualifications and experience
•    A multi-disciplinary research environment at the University of Helsinki Kumpula Campus, which also hosts the FMI headquarters
•    Flexibility between on-site and remote working
•    Desk space and sufficient computing resources

The appointee should either already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki by the start of the appointment or apply for the right and obtain it within the probationary period of six months of their appointment. If the candidate does not already have the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki, it must be applied for separately, please see more information here. The requirements for pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki can be found here.

The candidate will get a chance to attend international conferences and present their scientific work in local and international meetings. As an employee of the University of Helsinki, researcher will receive occupational health care, and will be entitled to sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development. The doctoral researcher position will start earliest in November 2024 (or as soon as the position is filled). The position is initially for 3 years but an extension to 4 years is planned. The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months.
 
Research environment
Finland is a member of EU, has high quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families and in the world’s top ten most livable cities. Finland and the Helsinki region possess top expertise in sciences in terms of a vibrant talent pool, leading research, strong support services and functioning collaboration networks. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see here.

The starting salary of the doctoral researcher will be ca. 2600-2800 €/month, depending on the appointees’ qualifications and experience. Furthermore, the University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care and health insurance, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development. The University of Helsinki welcomes applicants of any gender and age, linguistic or cultural background, or minority group. Click this link to read about accessibility and inclusivity at our University.

How to apply
Please submit all files using the University of Helsinki Recruitment System by clicking the button “Apply now”. Applicants who are employees of the University of Helsinki are requested to leave their application via SAP Fiori. Deadline for applications is 15 October 2024, or until a suitable candidate is found. The selected candidates will be contacted personally and will be invited for an interview.

The application should include:
•    A short motivation letter (max. 1 page), clearly highlighting research/educational accomplishments,
•    Your CV (max. 2 pages), clearly highlighting earlier relevant experience in environmental sciences.
•    Bachelors/Masters degree grade card including Bachelors/Masters thesis topic and its grade
•    Publication list (if applicable)
•    Names and contact details of 2 references.

For further information, please contact Dr. Angelika Kübert, angelika.kuebert(at)helsinki.fi.

Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) is a large multidisciplinary research unit based in physics, chemistry, meteorology, forest sciences, environmental sciences and social sciences in the University of Helsinki. INAR aims to strengthen the internationally leading, integrated multidisciplinary research and education environment for atmospheric and Earth system science and to feed in scientific results for the national and international environment and climate policy. It performs multiscale research from molecular to global scale and focuses on climate change, air quality, biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem processes.  

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