PhD in Climate Sciences: Terrestrial ecosystem modelling

Our group

Our group for Geocomputation and Earth Observation develops new models and model-data integration methods to gain a mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical cycling of terrestrial ecosystems, water-carbon coupling, and forest responses to climate change. We are hosted at the Institute of Geography, University of Bern, and work at the intersection of terrestrial ecology, earth system science, earth observation, and data science. Within the bi-national multi-PI project UP-SCALE - Understanding VPD impacts on forests across scales to advance the next generation of Earth-system models, we are recruiting a PhD student (fully funded 4 years).

Tasks

• Use the BiomeEP model and a diversity of ecosystem data for understanding responses of growth and mortality to effects of rising VPD and other environmental changes. BiomeEP is a vegetation demography model that resolves ecophysiological processes, biogeochemical cycling, and the water balance of terrestrial ecosystems
• Conduct methods development for model-data integration on the basis of data from ecosystem manipulation experiments, continuous dendrometer measurements, sap flow measurements, tree-ring width archives, and forest inventories
• Implement recently developed eco-evolutionary optimality-based modelling approaches for simulating acclimation of plant architectural and metabolic traits to a changing hydroclimate, and break new ground in extending this theoretical paradigm to additional processes.
• Build on and integrate into the UP-SCALE project, collaborating closely with project partners
• Reliable and reusable code development, active participation and regular exchange as a group member based in Bern, presentations at national and international conferences, publication of your PhD research in peer-reviewed scientific journals

Requirements

The candidate must hold a MSc degree in natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering and should demonstrate proficient English written and oral skills and excellent analytical and numerical skills. Experience with programming and other data science methods are an asset and an open and collaborative mentality for the development of our computational infrastructure is expected.
We offer the candidate to be part of a small group with a strong collaborative philosophy and to benefit from a leading academic environment, from an international collaboration within the UP-SCALE project and from the excellent quality of life in Switzerland. This PhD will be placed within the Graduate School of Climate Sciences at Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) and will draw on supervisory expertise and that bridges physical geography, ecosystem science, vegetation modelling, and climate science. For further information about our group please visit https://geco-group.org/