Postdoctoral Position as an Earth Resilience Analyst

Postdoctoral Position as an Earth Resilience Analyst

PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Potsdam, Germany

The Earth Resilience Science Unit serves as a bridge group between PIK and the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPI-GEA), and aims to develop a framework to characterize the resilience of the Earth System in the Anthropocene, exploring stability landscapes of the whole planetary system and its critical geophysical, ecological and societal components, which are only fragmentarily known so far. This includes the identification of critical conditions and tipping points for these subsystems, their capacity to resist to and recover from disruptions, as well as the risk of cascading interactions between them.

Key responsibilities:

• analysis of the planetary-scale resilience and stability of the Earth system (its capacity to absorb and recover from human perturbations such as greenhouse gas emissions and land-use changes) based on principles of climate physics and (non-equilibrium) thermodynamics of the whole planet, including consideration of energy (im)balance, radiative transport, entropy budgets and material cycles (of water, carbon etc.);
• development of Earth resilience metrics based on these principles to quantify planetary resilience and its change over time in the past (based on Earth observation data), present and future (based on Earth system model simulations for different future scenarios, e.g. using the CMIP6 ensemble and own simulations);
• identification of critical biogeophysical Earth system processes and feedbacks that shape planetary resilience;
• coordination with the other scientists in the PB-TIP project, within the ERSU and the Planetary Boundary Initiative (PBI);
• analysis of model outputs and Earth observation data and publication of results in high-ranked, peer-reviewed, international scientific journals;
• presentation of key results at international scientific meetings and conferences as well as annual project meetings;
• contribute to the drafting of project documentation and reports (interim and final project reports);
• support of e.g., interns, students, doctoral candidates in the processing, evaluation and interpretation of data and in the conception and implementation of research projects.

Requirements:

• completed scientific higher education degree (PhD) in the field(s) of Earth system science, physics, climate physics, geosciences, mathematics, computer science or a comparable field;
• demonstrated experience performing simulations with computational models of the Earth system on different levels of complexity;
• scientific publication records appropriate for the experience level;
• experience in scientific software development;
• knowledge of the state-of-the-art in climate physics and Earth system modeling and data analysis techniques;
• programming skills e.g. in C, BASH, Python, Latex;
• software user knowledge: MS or Libre Office, Linux;
• proficient in dealing with operating systems and high-performance computing facilities.

We expect:

• the ability to work independently and on your own initiative;
• a methodical and systematic approach;
• structured and goal-oriented thinking;
• capacity to familiarise yourself quickly with new topics;
• creativity and openness to new approaches;
• a high level of competence in oral and written English;
• reliability, engagement, and a high level of motivation;
• capacity for teamwork.

Apply NowDeadline 20 July