Postdoc Position (m/f/d) | Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling

The Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) in Jena is dedicated to interdisciplinary fundamental research in the field of Earth system sciences with a focus on climate and ecosystems. The internationally renowned institute, which currently employs around 250 people, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022. Jena is known for high-tech industry, internationally renowned research institutions and a modern university, but it also has a beautiful natural setting in the green Saale valley with steep limestone slopes. The city of Jena has an active student scene and a diverse cultural life. The Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling (TBM) group in the Biogeochemical Signals department is seeking to recruit a PostDoc (m/f/d) for 3 years, starting as soon as possible.

Background and position description

The project “ICON for coupled carbon cycle climate modelling (ICON-4C4M)” funded through the Extramural Funding programme of the German Weather Service (DWD) aims to integrate a novel representation of terrestrial (project part “land“ at MPI-BGC) and a state-of-the-art marine (project part “ocean” at University Hamburg) biogeochemistry into the ICON Earth system model. The project will contribute to an enhanced representation of the interactive carbon cycle in ICON for climate science applications in the context of CMIP7 and C4MIP. Specifically, this project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the transient climate response to anthropogenic emissions and the implications for carbon-cycle feedbacks for atmospheric CO₂ and climate change under future emission pathways.

The offered PostDoc position is associated with the project part ‘land’, which will be integrated into the TBM group. The project will focus on further integrating the QUINCY model (Thum et al. 2019, GMD) within ICON-Land and testing/applying this new land component in coupled climate simulations using ICON. The key innovation of QUINCY is the seamless coupling of biogeochemical (e.g. nutrient limitation of carbon uptake) and biogeophysical processes (e. g. land-atmosphere coupling and surface energy partitioning), permitting to simulate both, the fast responses of vegetation to diurnal and seasonal extremes and the long-term responses of ecosystem structure and carbon storage to climate change. These changes are expected to lead to more realistic estimates of the development of the land carbon sink under changing climate and atmospheric CO₂.

The PostDoc will closely collaborate with the ocean biogeochemistry group of Prof. T. Ilyana (https://www.tatianailyina.earth), and scientists at the DWD and the MPI for Meteorology to develop a fully interactive carbon cycle for ICON and study carbon-cycle climate feedbacks in the 21^st century.

Your tasks

• Test the coupling of the QUINCY model to the ICON atmosphere, based on the already realised coupling of JSBACH4 (Schneck et al. 2022, GMD)
• Evaluate the performance of ICON-Land driven by re-analyses, and when coupled to ICON-Atmosphere using available benchmarking tools
• Estimate carbon-cycle climate feedbacks for the carbon-only, carbon-nitrogen and carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus configurations of ICON-Land in concentration-driven setting using the C⁴MIP protocol
• Develop and apply an emission-driven configuration of ICON with a fully interactive carbon cycle configuration, in close collaboration with the ocean biogeochemistry group of Prof. T. Ilyana
• Present and publish project results in conferences and scientific journals

Your profile

• Successfully completed PhD-thesis in environmental science or environmental engineering, bioinformatics, climate or Earth system science, environmental physics, or comparable fields.
• Background in terrestrial biogeochemical cycles, terrestrial ecology, land-atmosphere interactions and/or numerical modelling
• Experience in at least one higher programming languages (e.g. FORTRAN, c++), and scripting language (e. g. Python, R) is required
• Experience in the development and application of (preferably global) process-based ecosystem models and high-performance computing systems is highly desired
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team
• Demonstrated record of scientific output
• Very good written and spoken English

Our offer

This three years full time PostDoc position is to be filled as soon as possible. Part-time work is generally possible. The position will be evaluated and graded following the collective agreement according to TVöD Bund; in addition, we will provide a pension plan based on the public service (VBL).
The Max Planck Society (MPS) strives for gender equality and diversity. The MPS aims to increase the proportion of women in areas where they are underrepresented. Women are therefore explicitly encouraged to apply. We welcome applications from all fields. The Max Planck Society has set itself the goal of employing more severely disabled people. Applications from severely disabled persons are expressly encouraged.

Your application

Are you interested? Please send us your application with cover letter, curriculum vitae as well a s names and contact information of two references summarised in a PDF file (max. 10 MB) by May 31, 2024, quoting the reference number 10/2024 by e-mail to bewerbung@bgc-jena.mpg.de or to the

Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie
Personalbüro: Kennwort “PostDoc”
Hans-Knöll-Straße 10
07745 Jena

We ask that you do not use application folders, but only submit copies, as your documents will be destroyed in accordance with data protection regulations after the application process has been completed. We look forward to receiving your application!