The successful applicant will work together with an international team to improve the understanding of carbon uptake, transfer, export, and sequestration in polar marine systems. Most of the work that is planned within the project will be based on data collected in recently completed or ongoing research projects.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will address the fate of primary producers with regard to both vertical export and grazing/ trophic transfer, of relevance to carbon cycling. This will be done by identifying traits in plankton communities of importance for vertical carbon export and carbon sequestration in selected Arctic open ocean systems. Existing datasets on taxonomic composition and abundance and newly compiled traits data will provide the basis for multivariate analyses of functional characterization and classification aimed to assess carbon sequestration potential.

Required qualifications include:

  • A PhD or equivalent in biology, marine biology, biological oceanography, marine science, or related area;
  • Familiarity with plankton, community ecology, or biodiversity data;
  • Knowledge of inferential statistics: the candidate must have familiarity with statistical applications for hypothesis testing and estimation in empirical research;
  • Familiarity with statistical software and scientific programming in R, Matlab, Python, or other relevant programming languages;
  • Documented fluency in English. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma;
  • Documented experience with writing and leading peer-reviewed publications; and
  • An interest in working with large datasets and compiling data.

Desired qualifications include:

  • Experience with trait-based approaches to marine ecology questions;
  • Skills in data analyses, multivariate methods, and statistical modelling; and
  • Knowledge of high latitude ecology.

Applications must include:

  • Application letter;
  • A statement of personal and scientific interest;
  • A separate outline of a potential postdoctoral project idea within the framework of the funded project (one to two pages);
  • Curriculum vitae;
  • Diplomas and transcripts (all degrees);
  • Documentation of English proficiency;
  • Contact information to two to three references;
  • A list of academic productions;
  • Description of academic production, stating which works you consider most important; and
  • Academic works, up to ten (the doctoral thesis is regarded as one work).

Application deadline: 7 February 2024

For more information and how to apply:  Full position description

For questions, contact:
Marit Reigstad, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Email: marit.reigstad@uit.no
Phone: +47 20776 2044525