Postdoctoral | Research Associate in the Project “ICON-4C4M-O” Developing the ocean carbon cycle component of an emission-driven ICON Earth system model
Climate: Past, Present & Future (CL)
Ocean Sciences (OS)
Job Opening at University of Hamburg: Postdoctoral | Research Associate for the Project “ICON-4C4M-O” Developing the ocean carbon cycle component of an emission-driven ICON Earth system model
Institution: Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Department of Earth System Sciences
Salary level: EGR. 13 TV-L
Start date: as soon as possible, fixed until 31.12.2026 (This is a fixed-term contract in accordance with Section 2 of the academic fixed-term labor contract act [Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG]).
Application deadline: 27.03.2024
Scope of work: full-time position suitable for part-time
Your responsibilities
Duties include academic services in the project named above. Research associates may also pursue independent research and further academic qualifications.
The project “ICON for coupled carbon cycle climate modelling” (ICON-4C4M) funded through the Extramural Funding programme of the German Weather Service (DWD) aims to integrate state-of-the-art representations of marine (project part ocean at University Hamburg) and terrestrial (project part land at Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; MPI-BGC) biogeochemistry into the ICON Earth system model. The project will contribute to an enhanced representation of key Earth system components in ICON for climate science applications and thereby provide new insights into the transient climate response of the Earth system to anthropogenic emissions.
The project part at Universität Hamburg will have two main foci. The first one will be to enhance the representation of ocean biogeochemical processes and carbon storage in the Hamburg Ocean Carbon Cycle Model (HAMOCC). An advanced representation of the particle sinking scheme, dynamic riverine fluxes, and carbon isotopes in HAMOCC will be tested and calibrated in the coupled ICON ocean-atmosphere framework. The second task will be to incorporate and test the CO2 tracer in the atmospheric component of ICON to enable interactive representation of air-sea and air-land CO2 fluxes and prognostic representation of CO2 concentration the in the atmosphere.
The incumbent will closely collaborate with the Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling group in the Biogeochemical Signals department of MPI-BGC in Jena, as well as with scientists at the DWD to develop a fully interactive carbon cycle for ICON and study carbon-cycle climate feedbacks in the 21st century.
Successful candidate will be part of a vibrant research group working in Earth system modeling focusing on the ocean carbon cycle. Responsibilities will include:
- evaluate the HAMOCC model, extended by previously developed new processes, on decadal to centennial time scales in the coupled ICON ocean-atmosphere framework
- analyze ocean carbon storage and carbon-cycle climate feedbacks in simulations following the C4MIP protocol
- develop and apply an emission-driven configuration of ICON with a fully interactive carbon cycle configuration, in close collaboration with the Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling group in the Biogeochemical Signals department of Prof. Sönke Zaehle at MPI-BGC
- integrate and test the atmospheric CO2 tracer in the interactively coupled ICON Earth system model
disseminating the results through publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences
Funding is available for 3 years following an approval of a cost neutral extension.
Your profile
A university degree in a relevant field, plus doctorate.
- a PhD in oceanography, geoscience, environmental sciences, or a related field is required for this position
- compelling understanding of ocean biogeochemical dynamics, in particular regarding its role in Earth’s climate
- experience with ocean carbon cycle models, skill in model development
- strong programming skills in Fortran, post-processing and visualization software (e.g., python, CDO), as well as experience in handling large data sets
- strong communication and organizational skills and an ability to effectively communicate results of scientific research to project members and international colleagues
Please apply via the application portal here:
https://www.uni-hamburg.de/stellenangebote/ausschreibung.html?jobID=e6e26a5f837885c12285f9902ac36689f720f611