Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) / Tohoku University

JAMSTEC
https://www.jamstec.go.jp/e/

Tohoku University
https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/

Homepage: https://wpi-aimec.jp/en/

https://www.jamstec.go.jp/recruit/e/details/wpi20240607/

“Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Change (hereinafter as “WPI-AIMEC”) Director: Toshio Suga”, jointly proposed by Tohoku University and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (hereinafter as “JAMSTEC”) has been selected as a new research center of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (herein after MEXT), aimed to accelerate world-class science and collaboration.

At WPI-AIMEC, with a focus on the Northwest Pacific Ocean, we aim to elucidate the mechanisms of environmental changes in the ocean and the responses and adaptations of marine ecosystems by integrating ocean physics, ecology, and mathematical/data science. Our goal is to improve the accuracy of predicting fluctuations in marine ecosystems that also impact human society.

We are now soliciting applications for around 10 positions of AIMEC Researcher who will be engaged in the following research topics while collaborating with researchers participating in the WPI-AIMEC’s international research network.
Based on the philosophy of Under One Roof, the successful candidates are expected to promote research by utilizing the world-class knowledge and research equipment and facilities of both institutions and play an active role in increasing WPI-AIMEC’s international presence while publishing academic papers.
In addition, a research grant (3,000,000 yen) will be provided as start-up funding for the first year. (No further funding will be provided thereafter.)

[Research Description]
1. Monitoring the marine physico-chemical environment from the coast to the open sea; developing analytical techniques for marine environmental restoration; and studying marine environment-ecosystem co-variation using environmental indicator organisms.

2. Observations and modelling to understand the state of ecosystems and biodiversity, and conducting theoretical and empirical research to clarify the principles that drive, maintain, and respond to ecosystems and biodiversity.

3. Developing methods for assessing and analyzing marine ecosystems using functional genomics, etc., and elucidating the responses of coastal ecosystems and its services to human activities in coastal areas.

4. Observing the seabed, including its hydraulic observations, to clarify ocean-solid earth change phenomena, and making observations and models to understand spatiotemporal oceanic changes to enable advances in underwater acoustic ranging.

5. Studying the environmental response and adaptation mechanisms of marine organisms at the individual and community levels and developing evaluation and analysis methods; clarifying the mechanisms of regime shift phenomena, including mass outbreaks and mass mortality of marine organisms.

6. Developing molecular biological techniques for analyzing marine microbial ecosystems; studying the dynamics of marine particles and material circulation and the response and adaptive mechanisms of microbial ecosystems to changes in the marine environment, and developing technology for this.

7. Conducting research and technological development related to observations of the effects of circulation and microbial distribution on the distribution of substances in the ocean, maintaining automated oceanographic observation networks, and integrating the analysis of oceanographic observations and simulations.

8. Conducting modelling research and applying artificial intelligence to marine ecosystems (including the physical and chemical environment of the surrounding ocean and atmosphere), and maintaining and developing the computational infrastructure.

9. Developing equations that describe the structure of marine ecosystems and related biogeochemical cycles and their variability, and developing models of the response of marine ecosystems (including harmful toxic algal blooms) and their capacity to adapt to environmental changes in estuarine, coastal, and open ocean environments.

10. Assessing the impacts and interactions of changes in marine ecosystems on human society and vice versa, and social and behavioral changes based on such assessments.

[Relevant Research Fields]
Marine Physics, Marine Ecology, Geochemistry, Ocean Engineering, Geomicrobiology, Computer Science, Meteorology, Meteorological and Ocean Modeling, Earth Science, etc.

Click the link below for more details.
https://www.jamstec.go.jp/recruit/e/details/wpi20240607/