Centre of Excellence in climate research
KlimaCampus Hamburg

The University of Hamburg jointly with the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre is establishing a transdisciplinary research focus on “Integrated Climate System Analysis and Prediction”. The goal is to analyze ongoing and past changes of the state of the climate system, in response to natural and human-driven perturbations, to determine predictable elements of the climate system over a broad range of space and time scales, and to determine uncertainties intrinsic to predictions of important climate system and environmental indices (see www.clisap.de).

The Cluster of Excellence, KlimaCampus Hamburg, invites applicants for the following subproject

“Advancement of Coupled Climate Ocean Ecosystem Modelling”

Ecosystem and biogeochemical modelling in close cooperation with researchers from the Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science and the Institute of Oceanography. For this project, the university has one 65% FTE (25 hours/week) position open for a research associate (PhD-student)

- salary group 13 TV-L - with a starting date as soon as possible.

Modelling the interaction between phytoplankton and higher trophic levels under climate change

Reference: 1957-PhD-3

The short-term contract will end after 3 years (see also § 2 of the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Law (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz)).

The university intends to increase the number of women amongst its academic personnel and expressly encourages qualified women to apply. In compliance with the Hamburg Equal Opportunity Law, preference will be given to qualified female applicants.

The seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and heterotrophic marine organisms depend to a large degree on temperature, either directly (e.g., via increased metabolism) or indirectly (e.g., via ocean stratification). The current coupling between the trophic levels relies to a large degree on the match of spawning time and food availability. In a warmer climate, the temporal evolution of the organisms may drift out of phase, with net changes in productivity at various levels. The successful candidate will investigate the underlying mechanisms, the potential for regime shifts, and the ecological/biogeochemical consequences.

General Responsibilities: A research associate’s duties include academic service in the project “Advancement of Coupled Climate Ocean Ecosystem Modelling”. Within this framework associates have the opportunity to further their academic education, in particular through the completion of a doctoral dissertation. The data obtained in the project may be used for the dissertation. The PhD students will participate in CliSAP’s “School of Integrated Climate System Science (SICSS)”.

Specific Area of Responsibility: The successful candidate will apply and extend existing ecosystem models in idealized configurations and regional applications.

Requirements: MSc or diploma in (theoretical or marine) biology, oceanography or geosciences. Basic knowledge in programming (e.g., FORTRAN) and LINUX/UNIX would be an advantage. The willingness to cooperate with colleagues from other disciplines is a prerequisite for this position.

Preference will be given to disabled applicants with equal qualifications.

Application dossiers including: application letter, cv, certificate(s), list of computer and programming knowledge, and the reference number (1957-PhD-3) are to be submitted preferably by e-mail to:

Universität Hamburg
KlimaCampus - CliSAP office
Grindelberg 5, 20144 Hamburg
office.clisap@zmaw.de

The deadline for receipt of applications is 10 March 2010.

For more information please contact:

Inga Hense, KlimaCampus
Professor for Advancement of Coupled Climate Ocean Ecosystem Models
inga.hense@uni-hamburg.de
Tel.: ++49 (0)40 42838 6641.