Climate and Environmental Physics is a division of the Physics Institute of the University of Bern. We are committed to understand the processes of Earth System on time scales from seasons to a million years.
Analyses of ice cores, as carried out in our division, reveal a rich spectrum of variations in the concentration of the greenhouse gases CO2, CH4, and N2O from decadal to glacial-interglacial timescales. The plan is to explore and quantify the terrestrial mechanisms contributing to these variations and to use paleo information in combination with modern data for improved understand-ing. Monte Carlo simulations with Latin Hypercube parameter sampling will be applied for proba-bilistic projections and to constrain the C-N cycles, the role of nitrogen limitation for the carbon sink, and CO2-N2O-CH4-climate feedbacks with observations . Simulated emissions will be used in combination with an atmospheric transport matrix to simulate the seasonal cycles of GHGs at different stations worldwide. The PostDoc will further collaborate to set up and analyze simula-tions with the Bern3D-LPX Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity. LPX-Bern results will be provided to the Global Carbon Project, Trends in the land carbon cycle project (TRENDY), and the atmospheric inverse modeling community.
We require a Ph.D. in Physics, Environmental Sciences, or similar disciplines. Experience in numerical modeling, writing skills, and the ability to fruitfully collaborate with others are essential.A fascinating challenge in Earth system science is to understand how the land biosphere influ-ences atmospheric composition and climate. Greenhouse gas sources and sinks in tropical and boreal forests, permafrost soils, wet- and peatlands feed back to the ongoing global warming. We offer the opportunity to further develop and apply the LPX-Bern Dynamic Global Vegetation Model over periods of slow and fast climate change in the past and for future climate projections.