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The Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC), located in Jena, Germany
announces a doctoral position with the working title:

Gaseous and isotopic tracers as a tool to analyse regional carbon budgets over terrestrial surfaces

Project background:

The position will be funded by the EU project "Regional Assessment and Modelling of the Carbon Balance of Europe (RECAB)". In this project, a consortium of researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and France have joined forces in order to quantify carbon fluxes between the terrestrial surface and the atmosphere on a regional scale (of order 104km2). The project strategy to achieve this goal combines a number of aircraft-based and tower-based experiments with a suite of atmospheric transport modelling tools provided by different partners.

The role of the MPI-BGC in the project is mainly on the experimental side. The approach is two-fold: it combines a budgeting technique and a tracer technique. The budgeting technique relies on the fact that regional mixing in the atmosphere at daytime occurs in an unstable layer called CBL (convective boundary layer). Since the CBL is topped by an inversion layer inhibiting vertical mixing, the CBL can be used as a natural "integration chamber": knowing its height at different times of day and the change of concentration (of a species of interest) within the CBL allows an estimate of the net surface flux of the species. We will measure CBL height and CO2 concentration from small aircraft in order to calculate regional CO2 budgets.

Tracer techniques in the atmosphere exploit the fact that the chemical and isotopic composition of gases which are taken up or released at the surface depends on the processes involved. Photosynthesis, respiration and fossil fuel combustion all contribute to changes in the atmospheric concentration of CO2. These processes can be distinguished by the compositions of other trace gases involved, and by different ratios of the carbon and oxygen isotopes forming the CO2 molecules. So, during our aircraft flights we will take air samples at several heights to be analysed later for concentrations of relevant trace gases and stable isotopes. These will allow to link observed changes in the CO2 budget to the source/sink processes.

Job description:

It will be the prime task of the successful applicant to interpret the lab results of trace gas and isotope analysis with regard to the origin and transport history of the measured species. In a first step, this will allow to identify the relative weights of different source/sink processes to changes in the carbon budget. In further steps, a strategy shall be developed to determine the geographical distribution of the source/sink strength, based on available land use data. Via atmospheric transport models, the source/sink distributions can then be used to predict concentration fields in the atmosphere, which are to be verified by the aircraft data. To this end, collaboration with the modelling partners within RECAB is expected. It is further expected that the successful applicant will contribute to the planning, preparation and completion of the field campaigns.

Position requirements:

Advantageous would be

Remuneration is according to the rules of German public service. We will pay one-half of a "BAT-O II a" salary. The position will initially be filled for 2 years, extension possible. The suggested starting date is 1 August 2000. Applications will be reviewed immediately, until the position is filled.

Please direct your application to:

       
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