PhD Scholarship Announcement
"Arctic Lakes - Biogeochemistry and Paleoecology of Lake Sediment Cores
for Understanding Carbon Cycling and Greenhouse Gas Production in
Thermokarst Lakes in Siberia and Alaska"
Water and Environmental Research Center
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Application Deadline: Friday, 9 May 2008
For further information, please contact:
Katey Walter
Phone: (907) 474-6095
Email: ftkmw1 [at] uaf.edu
Mary Edwards
Phone: +44-023-8059-2217
Email: M.E.Edwards [at] soton.ac.uk
Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship in biogeochemical and
paleoecological analysis of sediment cores from thermokarst lakes in
Alaska and Siberia. The funding, provided by the National Science
Foundation, is available for three years and is related to activities
within a new multi-disciplinary research project: "IPY: Understanding
the Impacts of Icy Permafrost Degradation and Thermokarst-Lake Dynamics
in the Arctic on Carbon Cycling, CO2 and CH4 Emissions, and Feedbacks to
Climate Change." The Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC), at
the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will employ the successful
candidate.
Thermokarst (thaw) lakes dominate large areas of the arctic land surface
and may expand as permafrost continues to warm and thaw. The successful
candidate will join a team exploring a new frontier in polar science:
the relation of thermokarst lakes to global climate change. The team
will:
1) Develop a quantitative model of CO2 and CH4 emissions from
thermokarst lakes in Alaska and Siberia from the Last Glacial Maximum to
the present
2) Estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions from thermokarst lakes during the next
100-200 years - a potential positive feedback to climate change.
The team will use process-based ecological and trace-gas flux
measurements, geophysical field measurements, remote-sensing based
observations, paleoenvironmental analyses of permafrost and lake cores,
and laboratory incubations of thawed permafrost soils and lake
sediments.
The goal of the studentship is to use paleo-techniques and
carbon-cycling studies along with geophysical approaches to understand
the structure, function and evolution of thermokarst lakes. The
successful applicant will focus on collection and analysis of sediment
cores from Alaskan and Siberian lakes and drained lake basins to
characterize their organic carbon contents, sediment stratigraphy and
the mineralization potentials of organic matter through laboratory
incubations. Collection of cores will occur as a team effort for extant
lake cores during spring field expeditions and during summer for drained
lake basins. The research student will be responsible for applying
conventional and innovative analytic techniques, including description
of lake and basin characteristics, characterization of sediment-core
lithology, stratigraphy, and geochemistry, and for characterizing
sedimentary evidence of rapid thermokarst events and lake formation. In
addition, s/he will carry out laboratory incubations to determine the
CH4 and CO2 production potentials of thawed materials in collaboration
with Dr. Peter Frenzel at the Max Planck Institute for Microbiology in
Marburg, Germany. Travel support for the PhD candidate to work several
weeks in Germany is provided by the fellowship, as is travel support for
core processing at the LacCore Facility at the University of Minnesota
(http://lrc.geo.umn.edu/LacCore/laccore.html), field expeditions in
Alaska and Siberia, and to a professional conference.
Candidates must hold a Master's degree in science (limnology, geology,
biogeochemistry, chemistry, or ecology); have a strong background in
research, laboratory analyses, and intensive field work, with an
interest in climate, lakes, and biogeochemistry. Applicants must have
good written and verbal communication skills. An understanding of stable
isotopes is an advantage.
Applicants are requested to submit an application, in English, that
includes:
1) A short description of qualifications
2) A two-page research proposal related to the PhD topic described above
3) A curriculum vita that provides relevant academic, employment, and
personal details
4) Authorized transcripts of course work and authorized copies of
diplomas and university degrees, all translated into English
5) A list of references
6) Three letters of support from previous employers or supervisors
7) Authorized evidence of English language competence
A committee will evaluate the applications and selected applicants will
be invited for interviews. The successful candidate is required to apply
for enrollment as a PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Unless invited, applicants need not apply to the University. The PhD
study is expected to start as soon as possible.
The application marked "YourLastName.April2008" should be emailed no
later than Friday, 9 May 2008, to Katey Walter and copied to Mary
Edwards:
Katey Walter
Email: ftkmw1 [at] uaf.edu
Mary Edwards:
Email: M.E.Edwards [at] soton.ac.uk
Details about ongoing projects and the laboratories of Katey Walter and
Mary Edwards are available at:
http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/cem/ine/walter/ and
http://www.wun.ac.uk/view.php?id=478
For further information about employment at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks, please contact Leanne Isaacson, the WERC human resources
coordinator:
Email: fnlli [at] uaf.edu
Phone: 907-474-7777
Fax: 907-474-7041