A two-year postdoctoral position is available at the Terrestrial Ecology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen starting in September 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter. 

The position is open in a project assessing bidirectional exchange of reactive hydrocarbons between arctic ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this project, we will conduct laboratory and field experiments in order to get a better understanding of the controls of emission and deposition of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). BVOCs will be measured using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to assess the temporal patterns, environmental controls and the diversity of the compounds exchanged. The focus is on the arctic ecosystems, which have been shown to be extremely sensitive to the ongoing climate change. The Arctic is experiencing drastic and rapidly proceeding changes in climate, which are likely to lead to a large increase in BVOC emissions from this area. The successful candidate will participate in laboratory experiments with mesocosms and soil/permafrost samples, as well as in field work in Swedish Lapland.

The post doc will work closely together with associate professor Riikka Rinnan, assistant professor Thomas Holst, and a group of post docs, PhD and MSc students. He/she will be affiliated both to the Department of Biology and to the Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), both at University of Copenhagen. CENPERM is a center of excellence, which integrates multidisciplinary research of biogeochemical and physical processes in a “climate-vegetation-soil-microorganism-permafrost” approach, in transects across the major climate zones of Greenland. The ambition is that new insights in permafrost dynamics will improve the quantification and prediction of changes in carbon and nitrogen pools, and gas fluxes, including BVOCs, from arctic ecosystems.

For details see: http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/?show=821172