We seek a highly motivated student to investigate the effects of human disturbance of European fluvial landscapes during the Common Era (the last 2000 years) on biogeochemical cycles, in particular the carbon cycle, and to explore the use of these landscapes to optimise carbon dioxide drawdown. Landscapes can store carbon, fixed through photosynthesis by plants, in soils and sediments. This stable carbon can become a long-term sink for atmospheric carbon when it is transferred by rivers into geological basins (such as deep ocean sediment). For several thousands of years, humans have been engineering fluvial landscapes to make them more efficient for agriculture and transport. While these activities alter biogeochemical fluxes, their effect on the carbon cycle is unquantified. 

This project will aim at quantifying the effect of human engineering of the Elbe and Oder river systems, two prominent rivers in Germany and Poland. This will be done with a diverse set of tools, from sedimentology, geomorphology, organic and inorganic geochemistry on fluvial sediments and marine archives to trace changes in carbon sourcing, stabilization and transformation during periods of major human disruptions. The outcome will be a model predicting the effect of human landscape engineering on the carbon budget of that landscape.  

As a doctoral researcher, your challenges will be to develop a sampling strategy along the river systems, to organize and carry out fieldwork and to conduct geomorphological, organic and inorganic geochemical analyses. In particular, you will exploit biomarker compounds that originate from land plants and their radiogenic carbon and stable carbon hydrogen isotope ratios to detect changes in carbon sourcing. In addition, quantitative geomorphological analyses using DEMs, UAV and remote sensing data and geoelectric surveying will be used to map and quantify sediment volumes. Importantly, you will consider your results in the context of historical constraints on human land use.

Your responsibilities:

• Perform sedimentological, geomorphological, organic and inorganic geochemical analyses on fluvial and potentially marine sediment archives
• Extract, purify and analyse terrestrial biomarkers and their radiogenic and stable carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios to trace carbon through the landscape
• Obtain a detailed understanding of the natural processes and human perturbations that alter the carbon budget of a fluvial landscape
• Publish key results in international journals and present them at scientific meetings

Your qualifications:

• MSc degree (or equivalent) in the (bio)geosciences (geology, physical geography, environmental sciences, geoecology or related fields), with evidence of excellence in guided research
• An ability to quickly grasp scientific concepts and place detailed information and observations in a wider context
• A talent for combining techniques and insights from different disciplines, and a keen interest in carbon cycling and feedback processes within the carbon cycle
• Experience in sediment coring,  sampling and geochemical analysis is an advantage
• Very good English skills, both written and spoken
• High motivation and creativity as well as a result-oriented, structured and independent working attitude
• Willingness and ability to work in a diverse, interdisciplinary and international team
• Excellent communication skills