Jobs:Job-01242
Apply before: 2 July 2023
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Posting:
Position: 1 PhD Position
Apply before: 2 July 2023
Apply online:
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The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national centre for geosphere research. As a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (https://www.helmholtz.de/en/) we are part of the largest scientific organization in Germany. With approximately 1,500 (https://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/about-us/organisation/facts-and-figures/) employees our key mission is to secure a profound understanding of the systems and processes of solid Earth, to develop strategies and options for action in addressing global change and its impacts on a regional level, to understand natural hazards and to minimize associated risks, to ensure the sustainable provision of energy and raw materials for a high-tech society and to evaluate the influence of human activity on system Earth.
For section 4.3: Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution (department "Geosystems”), we are offering a:
PhD position Warm-Hydro Project (f_m_x)
Reference Number 7943
Impact of global warming during the penultimate termination on regional hydroclimate in the Dead Sea and Lake Van
This DFG-funded project is part of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), with a specific focus on the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project and Lake Van Drilling Project. The project aims at investigating the transition from the penultimate glaciation into the last Interglacial (ca. 125 thousand years ago), which was the warmest time interval during the Quaternary and can serve as an analogue to investigate the consequences of anthropogenic warming. We will use two unique laminated drilling records from the Dead Sea and Lake Van, located in the eastern Mediterranean region. With this project, we aim at reconstructing the changes in hydroclimate using several methods (sedimentology, organic and inorganic geochemistry). Using the (near-)annual resolution provided by these records, the project will examine the changes in extreme rainfall events and climatic variability in a warmer-than-present climate. Such data are crucial to test forecasts from numerical models and improve our understanding of the hydrological cycle.
As a doctoral researcher, you will support this goal by developing a detailed stratigraphy and chronology using the partly annually-laminated lacustrine sediments of the Dead Sea and Lake Van ICDP drilling records. Sediment analyses will include microscope observations, organic and inorganic geochemical characterisation (XRF-scanning, element analyses, stable isotopes), and analyses of biomarker compounds that originate from land plants and their hydrogen isotope ratios (δDwax). These detailed synoptic reconstructions will contribute to a comprehensive picture of past hydroclimatic dynamics and global linkages over the eastern Mediterranean during one of the strongest warming intervals of the Late Quaternary.
Your responsibilities:
- Perform microfacies analyses of thin sections, measure major elemental contents (micro-XRF) and build a detailed stratigraphy and chronology for the selected intervals of the Dead Seas and Lake Van sediment records
- Extract, purify and analyse terrestrial biomarkers and their hydrogen isotope ratios (δDwax) to trace hydroclimate change (such as changes in atmospheric circulation, water vapor transport, and seasonal rainfall patterns)
- Obtain a detailed regional correlation of these records using state-of-the-art chronological synchronization tools
- Publish in international journals and present results at scientific meetings
Your qualifications:
- MSc degree (or equivalent) in geosciences (geology, physical geography, environmental sciences)
Interest in palaeoclimatology, (organic) geochemistry, lake records, source-to-sink thematic, and/or feedback processes - Experience in sediment core stratigraphy, sampling, and analyses
- High motivation and creativity as well as a result-oriented, structured and reliable working attitude
- Willingness and ability to work in diverse, interdisciplinary and international teams
- Good English skills, both written and spoken
What we offer:
- Ambitious and varied tasks in a dynamic and international research environment
- State-of-the-art equipment
- Public service benefits
- Extensive training opportunities
- Professional career advice offered by our in-house Career-Centre
- Flexible working hours and conditions
- Support with finding a good work-life balance offered by benefit@work
- Institute day-care centre on site
- Working at the Albert Einstein science park on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam
- Work place within walking distance of Potsdam main train station, or just a short ride on the shuttle bus
Start date: 1st September 2023
Fixed-term: 3 years
Salary: The position is classed as salary group 13 according to “TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost - https://lohntastik.de/od-rechner/tv-gehaltsrechner/TV%C3%B6D-Bund/E-13/1 )”. The salary group is determined on the basis of the Collective Wage Agreement and the respective personal qualifications.
Working hours: Part-time 75% (currently 29.25 h/week)
Place of work: Potsdam
Deadline: 2nd July 2023
How to apply:Follow the step at: https://gfz-potsdam.de/karriere/stellenangebote/details/7943
