PostDoc position in “Energy budgets and bio-physical linkages in ice-covered oceans” (f/m/d)

Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und...

Bremerhaven

EUR 60.000 - 80.000

Jobbeschreibung

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and funded by federal and state government. AWI focuses on polar and marine research in a variety of disciplines such as biology, oceanography, geology, geochemistry and geophysics thus allowing multidisciplinary approaches to scientific goals.

PostDoc position in “Energy budgets and bio-physical linkages in ice-covered oceans” (f/m/d)

Background
The observed and further predicted warming in polar regions is both a consequence and a driver of feedback processes specific to the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice regions. The project will improve our understanding of ongoing and future changes in the coupled system. Sea ice is an integrator of energy fluxes between the atmosphere and the ocean, where small changes of the fluxes result in major changes of the ice pack. This has physical (energy budget) and ecological (habitat conditions) consequences.

The main aims of the project are:

to advance long-term monitoring of sea ice energy budgets for the various ice types,
to better understand light (solar shortwave radiation) conditions above, in, and under sea ice in all seasons,
to provide Arctic-wide energy budget maps for the past, present, and future sea ice scenarios,
to discuss the consequences of changes for the ecosystem with a focus on light climates and sea ice habitat conditions.

The work will analyze sea ice processes as observed during past (e.g., MOSAiC, Polarstern expedition ArcWatch-1 in 2023) and future (e.g., Polarstern expedition Contrasts in 2025, Tara Polar Station in 2025 and beyond) field observations of radiative fluxes between atmosphere, snow, sea ice, and ocean. This shows the focus of the work on the Arctic. At the same time, linkages to similar questions in the Antarctic are welcome, in particular towards the planned field program of Antarctica InSync in 2027-2029.

The first component of the work is the analysis of spectral radiation and mass balance measurements from our remotely operated vehicle (ROV), also including linkages to other bio-physical parameters. Based on these measurements, parameterizations of solar radiation transfer and habitat conditions will be developed and improved. The second component is the application of these parameterizations to regional data sets from re-analyses and satellite observations. The results aim to provide year-round and Arctic-wide estimates of light conditions (energy budgets) above, in, and under sea ice. They provide the basis to discuss ongoing changes from physical and ecological points of view.

The position is part of the working group studying energy budgets of sea ice in the sea ice physics section of AWI. It is co-funded by the EU Horizon 2020 project Arctic PASSION and the BMBF project MOSAiC 3 – Ice Scan. We expect that you will be an active member of the sea ice physics section and take on international leadership in this field.

Your Tasks
To achieve the aims of the project and to establish a leading role in sea ice energy budget science, the following tasks are required:

Analyze field observations of the physical properties of sea ice and the upper ocean, mostly obtained by our under-ice ROV systems.
Analyze numerical (e.g., re-analyses) and remote sensing (e.g., satellite observations of surface conditions) data sets on Arctic-wide scales.
Developing and adapting methods to bridge scales between the different data sets, e.g., deriving parameterizations from field data and classification from large-scale data.
Participation in the Polarstern expedition PS149 (‘Contrasts’) in July and August 2025.
Support the scientific and data components of the field program of the Tara Polar Station expeditions 2025-2027 with contributions before, during, and after the drift.
Collaboration with related projects from national and international project partners, active exchange of data, and process understanding. This includes linkages to Antarctic sea ice science.
Supervision of PhD and master students and active contributions to the working group.
Dissemination and communication of results and data sets on various levels, including publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals and at national and international conferences.

Your Profile

A PhD in geophysics, physics, meteorology or comparable science.
High motivation to develop this field of research over the coming years.
Strong analytical skills for work with (large) scientific data.
Proficiency in programming / scripting languages (e.g., Matlab, Python, Fortran or similar) as well as operating systems such as Windows and Linux.
Excellent English language skills, both written and spoken.
The willingness and ability to participate in research expeditions to the polar regions lasting several weeks.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

Previous experience with sea ice research and processes is an advantage.

Further Information

For any questions you may have, you are very welcome to get in touch with Dr. Marcel Nicolaus (Marcel.Nicolaus@awi.de, +49(471)4831-2905).

This is a full-time position, starting at the earliest possible date, limited to 3.5 years. It is also suitable for part-time employment. The salary will be paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation (Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes, TVöD Bund), up to salary level 13. The place of employment will be Bremerhaven.

All postdocs will register with AWI's postdoc office PROCEED and thus gain access to a set of tailor-made career development tools.

The AWI is characterized by

our scientific success - excellent research
collaboration and cooperation - intra-institute, national and international, interdisciplinary
opportunities to develop – on the job and towards other positions
an international environment – everyday contact with people from all over the world
flexible working hours
health promotion and company fitness with Hansefit and Wellhub
support services and a culture of reconciling work and family
occupational pension provision (VBL)

AWI values diversity and actively promotes gender parity, as well as an open, inclusive environment that provides equal opportunities. We are convinced that diverse teams and a variety of perspectives enrich our work and our daily collaboration. In a continuous process of learning and reflection, we aim to ensure that all our employees can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging. We welcome applications from qualified people regardless of binary and non-binary genders, race and nationality, ethnic and social background, religion, age, physical abilities, neurodivergence, sexual orientation, and other identities.

Applicants with disabilities will be given preference when equal qualifications are present.

AWI fosters work-family compatibility in various ways and has received several awards as a result of this commitment. And as a new international member of our team, you can be sure that we will help you settle in. Our Family Office and International Office will be glad to support you, even before you start at AWI.

We look forward to your application!

Please submit your application by November 20th 2024, exclusively online.
Reference number: 24/184/D/Kli-b

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