Federal position NOAA/AOML coral and ocean acidification research

The Ocean Chemistry Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami Fl  (AOML/OCD) is advertising with the intent to hire an Oceanographer at the ZP-III level.  This is a federal position for a candidate capable of serving as a Principal Investigator with a primary focus on coral reef and ocean acidification science and the ability to grow these activities in the future, including building on existing AOML/OCD science, starting new lines of inquiry, and securing and sustaining resources to support such scientific efforts.

PhD position: ocean acidification and/or plankton ecology and evolution

The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) is seeking a qualified and enthusiastic candidate for a PhD studentship in marine plankton ecology and evolution. The position is within the plankton/ecotoxicology group at NPI with affiliation to the Fram Centre Flagship “Ocean acidification and ecosystems effects in Northern waters”.

PhD-student position in Neuroscience within the subject of ocean acidification and the effects of elevated pCO2 on fish behaviour

Uppsala University hereby declares the following position to be open for application:

PhD-student position in Neuroscience within the subject of ocean acidification and the effects of elevated pCO₂ on fish behaviour

at the Department of Neuroscience, Physiology Unit, Uppsala Biomedical Centre (BMC), Uppsala University, starting as soon as possible.

Ocean CO₂ levels increase in line with atmospheric CO₂ and recent studies showed that fish reared in high-CO₂ water (700 – 900 ppm which is predicted by IPPC for year 2050 and 2100) display drastic behavioural alterations. For instance, instead of the normal avoidance reaction, the smell of predatory fish attracted fish larvae raised in CO₂-acidified water. These behavioural effects of elevated pCO₂ seem to be mediated by effects on the central nervous system of the fish. The fact that these effects are observed in several species indicates that the scope of this problem is truly global. The project, which is funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR), is focused on the neural mechanisms mediating behavioral effects of elevated pCO₂.

Quantitative Proteomics or Biomineralization or Ocean Acidification: Postdoctoral position at HKU

A postdoctoral position is available to study marine invertebrate response to climate change at proteomics or biomineralization or physiology levels.

The future of shelf ecosystems (PhD position)

Supervisors: Dr Daniela Schmidt, Dr Emily Rayfield and Prof Juliet Brodie (NHM London)

The ocean serves us in many ways, from regulating climate to providing food, livelihood and recreation. These services are increasingly impacted by a growing number of environmental stressors such as warming, acidification, and deoxygenation, and more locally fishing, trawling, eutrophication, and pollution (Turley et al., 2010). While previous work was able show that species can calcify even in a warmer more acidic ocean (Ragazzola et al., 2012) few have addressed the question if thinner, less dense skeletal structure will allow these organisms to fulfil their role in the marine ecosystem, provide habitats for other organisms and livelihoods for people.

Post-­doctoral fellowship in modelling the carbonate chemistry of the PETM ocean

This PDF will extend the modified Harvardton-­Bear model (Boudreau et al., 2010, GBC, 24, GB4010, doi:10.1029/2009GB003654) to the changes in carbonate chemistry and compensation during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).

PhD opportunity: modelling diversity of foraminifera in the global ocean

Supervisors: Fanny Monteiro, Daniela Schmidt, Andy Ridgwell

Models are essential in filling the gap in ocean observations and at determining the global influence of climate on the marine ecosystem. Foraminifera are important organisms in the marine environment, both ecologically and as a major carbonate producer (Schmidt et al., 2006), but typically are not represented in ocean models. A few recent studies have started to include foraminifera in biogeochemical models, but they have a limited number of foraminifer types which do not necessarily represent the real ecosystem (Fraile et al., 2009; Lombard et al., 2009). An innovative approach for modelling marine ecosystems is the Darwin model (Follows et al., 2007; Monteiro et al., 2010; Follows and Dutkiewicz, 2011; Monteiro et al., 2011) which has not been applied to foraminifera.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) postdoctoral fellowships

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) offers postdoctoral fellowships that provide an excellent opportunity for successful applicants to interact with a strong, diverse group of researchers throughout the Smithsonian Institution. Fellowship information can be found at http://www.serc.si.edu/pro_training/fellowships/postdoc.aspx. The deadline is January 15. The fellowships are highly competitive and the application process involves developing a proposal with a SERC Senior or Research Scientist.

Carbon dioxide uptake and carbonate chemistry in UK shelf waters (PhD project)

Project Description

The problem: Net uptake of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) by the oceans and shelf seas reduces the increase of atmospheric CO2 and consequent global warming, but also promotes ocean acidification. The North Sea constitutes an important net CO2 sink with large spatial and seasonal variation (Thomas et al. 2004). Seasonal stratification and off-shelf transport of carbon-rich subsurface water are key mechanisms in the North Sea continental carbon pump (Thomas et al. 2004). Other processes may affect the efficiency of the continental shelf pump, for example cooling (Tsunogai et al. 1999) and carbon overconsumption (Bozec et al. 2006). Large year-to-year variation has been observed in North Atlantic CO2 uptake (Watson et al. 2009). As the Northern North Sea exchanges large volumes of water with the North Atlantic Ocean, it is likely that the North Sea CO2 sink equally has large year-to-year variation. The role of other UK shelf seas in the atmospheric CO2 budget is less well quantified. There is a clear need for long-term, accurate observations of carbonate chemistry and data synthesis of such observations for UK shelf waters. A new surface ocean CO2 synthesis product, the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (www.socat.info/) (Pfeil et al. 2012), enables systematic study of variation of CO2 air-sea transfer in UK shelf waters.

Assistant professor in marine chemistry

We invite applications for a tenure-eligible Assistant Professor position in the School of Marine Science, VIMS. The position will begin in summer 2013.

Qualifications
The successful candidate will hold an earned doctorate (Ph.D.) at the time of the appointment in Marine Chemistry, Chemical Oceanography, Environmental Chemistry, or a related discipline. Candidates must have a strong publication record commensurate with experience, and demonstrated potential to establish an active research program and provide excellent graduate student teaching and mentoring. Candidates with research interests in any area of marine chemistry will be considered. Potential areas of interest include:

• ocean acidification, inorganic carbon geochemistry, and air-sea exchange processes
• effects of climate change in marine and estuarine waters including areas pertinent to biological resources
• chemical characterization of organic macromolecules, natural products, toxins, etc.
• metabolomics, proteonomics