The research group “Landscape Ecohydrology”, led by Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff, in the Department of Ecohydrology & Biogeochemistry of IGB (Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries) in Berlin is inviting applications for the position of a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (24 months, with the possibility of extension, fulltime with less % possible) starting from 01.04.2025. The project is part of a major project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) “WETSCAPES2.0: Sinks, links and legacies of novel ecosystems in rewetted fen landscapes”. WETSCAPES2.0 combines expertise from University of Greifswald, University of Rostock, the IGB Berlin, GFZ Potsdam, LUM München, the MPI for Biogeochemistry Jena and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Focus of WETSCAPES2.0 is the functional understanding of rewetted fens, including coastal peatlands. The rewetting of previously drained and often agriculturally used fens results in the development of novel ecosystems that differ from natural peatlands and are largely unexplored. The planned monitoring, experimental and modeling research emphasizes biogeochemical, hydrological and biological processes, focusing on water and matter fluxes within and beyond the peat body and their associated microbiological and biological drivers. In addition to site-level studies, the role of rewetted fens in the broader landscape is investigated. For more details about the overarching research questions, specific topics, training program and contact persons please visit http://www.uni-greifswald.de/wetscapes2.
This project aims to advance and test the capacity of process-based, tracer-aided, ecohydrological modeling frameworks and investigate the hydrological functioning of rewetted fens from the plot scale up to the landscape scale in terms of spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of water storage, pathways and release. For this, we will integrate tracer approaches of stable water isotopes (deuterium, oxygen) and water chemistry linked within advanced tracer-aided models. We seek a dynamic, motivated and ambitious young scientist to join an existing interdisciplinary science and modelling team on Landscape Ecohydrology to support the evolution and growth of tracer-aided ecohydrological modelling in peatlands. It is expected that the modelling will utilise existing data sets from instrumented peatland research sites in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern and Brandenburg, Germany. The successful candidate will have experience in the development and application of numerical models for different purposes, across various scales and environmental science contexts. The successful candidate should be experienced in combining process-based (hydrological) understanding with strong numerical / computational skills. Experience with programming is essential. Expertise in remote sensing & data assimilation and / or incorporation of tracers into hydrological models would be advantageous. Access to high-performance computer clusters is available to facilitate use and development of “state of the art” research models.
