PhD - Geochemical Paleoproxies of the Arctic

Employment will preferably commence on April 15th 2013. 

The position is part of the interdisciplinary research project "The Transpolar System of the Arctic Ocean"funded by BMBF (German-Russia bilateral cooperation program). The sub-project  “Geochemical Proxies” focuses on the use of established, and development of new, inorganic geochemical proxies forreconstructing variability of transpolar ice drift from the Laptev Sea towards the Fram Strait over the last 150ka. Of special interest are environmental conditions during the Early Holocene and Eem - periods withelevated temperatures that may serve as a possible scenario for future impact of global change. We will follow a multi-proxy approach combining elemental ratios and trace element abundance in bulk sedimentlayers with chemical fingerprints in selected mineral grains for reconstructing ice drift. ED-XRF corescanning and laser ablation-ICPMS will be used for in situ elemental analysis, and ICP-OES, ICP-MS, WD-XRF for bulk chemical analysis, also calibrating the generated ED-XRF data. The project is embedded in a multi-disciplinary scientific network of Russian and German partners. 

Your profile:

• An academic qualification comparable to a German Diploma degree (equivalent to a Masters degree including a written thesis) in the field of (Marine) Geosciences, or related disciplines
• highly motivated and enthusiastic candidate, who is interested in inorganic geochemistry and marine geosciences / paleoceanography.
• Willingness to participate in seagoing expeditions as well as strong interest in analytical chemical labwork is essential.
• Fluency in English

The PhD student will be responsible for taking samples during several Russian-German expeditions to the Arctic Ocean, processing samples, acquiring the geochemical data, and for interpretation and publication of results. Further more help of a student research assistant will be available.

The PhD student working on this project will be trained in a diverse number of state-of-the-art analytical techniques and will interact with international researchers with diverse expertise. The position will be for 36 months. Salary will follow the German E13 TVL pay scale (75%). The position cannot be split. 

The Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel is an equal opportunity employer and explicitly encourages female scientists and scientists with disabilities to apply. 

Applications should mention the project name "Geochemical Proxies" 

- include a curriculum vitae

- contact details of two references

- qualifying documentation (copies of degree certificates, reference letters). 

The closing date is March 15th 2013. 

Please send applications to:

CAU University Kiel

Institute of Geosciences

Ludewig-Meyn-Strasse 10

D-24118 Kiel Germany 

For more information please contact Dr. Dieter Garbe-Schönberg, email: dgs@gpi.uni-kiel.de 

Position posting as pdf