Selection Procedures
Global Change Research Institute of the CAS announces an open competition in accordance with the Act No. 283/1992 Coll. on the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Statutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences for a position PhD student position on aquatic methane (CH4) fluxes at Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe).
We are seeking a PhD student to investigate spatial variability and drivers of CH4 ebullition in streams within the project entitled „Methan-e-scape: Deciphering fluvial methane ebullition patterns and environmental drivers by viewing streams as heterogeneous landscapes“. It is a collaborative project between the WasserCluster Lunz (Austria), the Global Change Research Institute (Czechia), and the University of Vienna (Austria).
Natural sources, mainly wetlands and inland waters, comprising lakes, reservoirs, streams, and rivers, are responsible for almost half of the global CH4 emissions. However, considering the high spatiotemporal variability of CH4 fluxes, estimations of CH4 fluxes from inland waters to the atmosphere and their contribution on the landscape scale are large sources of uncertainty in CH4 budgets.
The overall aim of the project is to develop high-resolution, small-scale environmental data sets
paired with geomorphic information within and across different stream ecosystems in parallel with
measurements of CH4 concentrations, fluxes, sediment production, and methanogen diversity that are key to an improved understanding of the global freshwater CH4 budget. The PhD topic will be focused mainly on the determination of key factors driving the spatial variability of CH4 ebullition in streams. Moreover, CH4 fluxes from various components of the floodplain forest ecosystem together with the eddy covariance data will be analyzed to quantify the contribution of aquatic versus terrestrial habitats to the landscape CH4 fluxes.
The candidate should have a background in ecology, hydrobiology, and/or biogeochemistry of inland waters, and must have a MSc degree in a relevant field. Good written and verbal English skills are necessary. The candidate is expected to conduct fieldwork in water ecosystems, perform laboratory experiments and analyses, and publish results in scientific journals.
The PhD position is available for 4 years, preferable starting in August 2024. During the whole duration of the appointment, the person will be based at the CzechGlobe in Brno, Czech Republic. The CzechGlobe – Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a public research institution, European center of excellence investigating the ongoing global change and its impact on the atmosphere, biosphere and human society through the use of the latest techniques and instrumentation.
The PhD study will be realised at Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Palacky University in Olomouc, Czechia and supervised by Martin Rulík and co-supervised by Adam Bednařík.
To submit your application, send a motivation letter and your CV including list of your publications and names of two references to jobs@czechglobe.cz and to Adam Bednařík (bednarik.a@czechglobe.cz). State "PhD methane" in the mail subject. The application deadline is 12th April 2024.
Application deadline: 04/12/2024