Department: Oceanography
Job type: Postdoctoral Fellow, Full time.
Location: Narragansett, RI, USA

The URI Graduate School of Oceanography is seeking a motivated, and intellectually curious individual for a two year postdoctoral fellowship to study the microbially-mediated biogeochemistry of C1 compounds in the Central Arctic during the MOSAiC Expedition. The RV Polarstern will be the hub for the MOSAiC Central Observatory and MOSAiC Distributed Network during a year-long ice camp, beginning October 2019.

The successful candidate will participate in parts of the MOSAiC drift, as well as pre and post-expedition analysis, meetings, and other activities. The position is based at URI/GSO with time spent at Scripps Inst. of Oceanography in San Diego, and at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven to train and interact with our collaborators.

—- How to apply —-
Please email CV, statement of interest, and a list of 3 references to Brice Loose (bloose@uri.edu) and Jeff Bowman (jsbowman@ucsd.edu).

More information regarding the MOSAiC Expedition

—- Applicant Qualifications —-
Required

• PhD in geochemistry, microbiology, computer sciences, or related areas at the time of entry.
• Willingness to participate in the MOSAiC field program.
• Publication record demonstrating scholarly activity in one of the above fields.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Desired; any combination of the following:

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for the wonders of the polar environment.
• Scientific computing experience in Python, R or Matlab.
• Prior experience with mass spectrometry, chromatography, vacuum systems, or control and automation.
• Prior experience with DNA/RNA sampling, extraction, and 16S sequence analysis.
• Prior sea ice experience, including modeling an/or sea ice fieldwork.

About the MOSAiC project.

Our principal role in MOSAiC is to identify the biological, chemical, and physical drivers of the production and uptake of O2, CO2 and CH4 as these are keystone compounds in Arctic biogeochemistry, and thereby establish the metabolic balance of oxygen and methane in the oligotrophic Central Arctic. This investigation will provide the broader MOSAiC community with key ecological parameters including net community production (NCP), bacterial respiration (BR), community respiration (CR), bacterial production (BP), methane oxidation potential, and microbial community structure. In return MOSAiC provides us an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the metabolic balance of the under-studied central Arctic Ocean across a complete seasonal cycle, in the context of physical, chemical, and biological data collected by the wider MOSAiC effort. These results will feed directly into several MOSAiC modeling efforts, including modeling of the oceanic methane cycle using the MITgcm Arctic Regional Model proposed here, and biogeochemical model studies of the Arctic utilizing the newly developed biogeochemical components of the RASM model.

About the URI Graduate School of Oceanography
The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography consistently ranks in the top 10 of academic institutions in oceanography and ocean exploration. Major advances in knowledge of the oceans arise from the research, education and public service that takes place at GSO. These advances result from strong investigator-driven research and a uniquely dynamic and integrative curriculum.

The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography strives to be an internationally recognized premier oceanographic institution conducting fundamental and applied research to understand our changing ocean planet. We educate marine scientists, policymakers, business leaders and citizens and help develop the knowledge and skills necessary to address present and future marine challenges.

URI is committed and responsible to its role as an equal opportunity employer, and to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive working and learning community. Our work is guided by compliance with the University’s non-discrimination policies and also state and federal laws and regulations related to equal opportunity and affirmative action.