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Technische Universität München

PhD or Postdoc position in Earth system science

At the Technical University of Munich (TUM), as part of the SIRENE project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), we offer a

PhD or Postdoc position (m/f/d) 

to work on the quantification of vegetation resilience using Earth Observation data, to be filled as soon as possible.

The successful candidates will be part of the Earth System Modelling group at TUM (https://www.asg.ed.tum.de/esm/home/) and will be closely involved in the ESA project SIRENE, coordinated by the Earth System Modelling group at TUM.  The position is funded for 3 years (Postdoc, 100%, 40h per week; PhD, 75%, 30h per week). Remuneration is in accordance with the German public tariff scheme (TV-L), salary group E 13. 

About the project:

Several components of the Earth system have been suggested to respond abruptly to ongoing anthropogenic climate and land use change, when critical forcing thresholds (`tipping points’) are crossed. Due to the strong underlying non-linearities, such transitions may be difficult or even practically impossible to revert on human time scales. Among the list of such potential tipping elements are several vegetation ecosytems, including tropical rainfreosts such as the Amazon, or boreal forests. The SIRENE project will develop an uncertainy aware methodological framework to quantify the resilience of vegetation systems, and changes therof, combining remote-sensing with ground-based data. 

 

Key responsibilities:

The candidates will be expected to work on one or more of the following tasks

  • Develop methods rooted e.g. in dynamical systems theory and / or Machine Learning to identify resilience changes of vegetation ecosystems

  • Apply the developed methodological framework to different Earth Observation datasets and identify possible climatic drivers 

  • Report on the progress within the consortium and to ESA at a regular basis

 

Requirements:

  • Master’s / PhD degree in physics, mathematics, computer science, meteorology, remote sensing, or a related field

  • Excellent skills and strong background in programming (e.g. python, Julia) are required

  • Experience in working with Earth Observation data is required

  • Experience in machine learning is of advantage

  • Knowledge of complex systems science and/or dynamical systems theory is of advantage

  • Willingness to travel for work (project meetings, workshops, and research visits) and take part in further training

  • High level of competence in oral and written English

 

We offer:

  • The chance to be part of an interdisciplinary collaboration of leading European research institutions

  • Participation at international workshops and conferences

  • A stimulating working environment in an internationally recognised research institution

  • a collective pay scheme and associated benefits

 

We explicitly encourage women to apply. In cases of equal qualification and within the given legal scope, women will be given preference. Applications by candidates with migration background are also encouraged. Disabled candidates with equal qualifications will be regarded favorably. TUM also encourages applications by parents returning from parental leave.

 

Please send your full application (including cover letter, CV with list of publications, contact details of two referees, Master / PhD certificates) as a single PDF document by Email to esm-jobs.asg@ed.tum.de until November 30, 2024.

 

The size of the file should not exceed 15 MB.

 

For further information or to discuss the position please contact Prof. Dr. Niklas Boers (n.boers@tum.de) or Dr. Sebastian Bathiany (sebastian.bathiany@tum.de).

 

Technische Universität München

TUM School of Engineering and Design

Department of Aerospace and Geodesy

Earth System Modelling Group

Prof. Dr. Niklas Boers

Lise-Meitner-Str. 9

85521 Ottobrunn

 

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