POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER with topic Arctic treeline – climate changes and ecotone responses @ Faculty of Science- University of Helsinki

Description: The position is financed by the Academy of Finland and it is a subproject of a larger consortium called Impacts of climate change on Arctic environment, ecosystem services and society (CLICHE).The aim of the project is to use the key palaeoecological data combined with modeling and remote sensing approaches for investigating the long-term trends of the Arctic tree-line in northern Europe (Fennoscandia and Russia). Special weight is given to reconstructing the Holocene shifts of the northern margin of the Boreal conifer forest, associated changes in the biomass of the conifer forest and the tundra, and the resulting changes of the Arctic albedo. The project aims to use novel approaches for estimating vegetation cover (also in terms of biomass) and to integrate the data with dynamic vegetation modeling to explore the biomass and carbon dynamics that are linked to the treeline changes. The project is strongly connected to other on-going international programs and collaboration.
Tiem Period: 3 years, depending on the date the post-doc will start.
Stipend:  The starting monthly salary will be 3 100–3 200 E..
Qualifications: The candidate is expected to have a PhD or equal in earth sciences (geology, geography) or relevant biological or ecological sciences. The candidate is expected to have a good idea of the main methods, issues, and concepts of palaeoecology and ecology or plant geography and basic skills of computing, including basic GIS techniques and ability or potential to learn to use the dynamic vegetation models and basic C++ programming. The candidate must be motivated, committed and internationally oriented. The project will include fieldwork in the treeline region of northern Europe.
Requirements: Applications must include curriculum vitae, list of publications, brief letter explaining the motivation for applying for the position, as well as a description of future goals. Please include name and contact information of two referee persons in the application and send your application to the address geo-office@helsinki.fi. The deadline for applications is 25.1.2011 at 3.45 pm local time.
Contact: Heikki Seppä, Professor of Quaternary Geology,Department of Geosciences and Geography, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358-9-191 50820 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting    +358-9-191 50820      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
E-mail: heikki.seppa@helsinki.fi
Helsinki 21 December 2010
Deadline- Jan 25, 2011
For more details click here: www.helsinki.fi/university
Homepage: http://www.helsinki.fi/science/palaeoclim/