Job description: Research scientist / Postdoctoral fellowship in assessment of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems functioning for the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Inter-comparison Project (ISIMIP)
In the ISIpedia project of the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) co-funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR)
We are looking for a motivated research scientist interested in the interpretation of global terrestrial biosphere model results for the ISIMIP assessment of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems functioning known as the ‘biome sector’ of ISIMIP
Comprehensive information about the impacts of climate change is essential for decision makers when considering response options. The “ISIpedia open inter-sectoral impacts encyclopedia” project will act as a hub for multi-model, policy-relevant, climate-impact simulations and assessment and is an example of a prototype stakeholder-driven climate service to assist stakeholders to respond to evolving climate-change scenarios. ISIpedia is financed through the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS), with ANR financing the French contribution.
Many of the climate change impacts are related to terrestrial vegetation productivity, carbon stocks, natural vegetation changes and land use impacts including the widespread cultivation of second-generation bioenergy crops projected by socio-economic models for intensive mitigation scenarios. Dr. Philippe Ciais (Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l’environnement, France) and Dr. Christopher Reyer (Postdam Institute for Climate impacts, Germany) act as coordinators for the global biome sector within the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, www.isimip.org) which is strongly linked to ISIpedia.
The research scientist will support the ISIpedia activities in terms of generating sector-specific as well as cross-sectoral analyses (hence interacting with other ISIMIP sectors such as agriculture, water or human health), synthesis and assessment of climate impacts with focus on terrestrial carbon cycle and vegetation productivity related issues. More specifically, the research scientist will support i) development of a simulation protocol and input data for ISIMIP3 simulation phase, ii) generation of model quality indicators, iii) development of climate impact emulators, iv) analysis of ISIMIP3 results for scientific publications and the ISIpedia climate impact synthesis as well as v) contributions to cross-sectoral workshops.
Candidates should hold a PhD in ecosystem modeling, mathematics, remote-sensing or earth-system science, strong skills in computer science, strong writing skills, and very good spoken and written English and demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
The fellowship will be hosted at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE) in the south-west of Paris for a fixed-term period of up to 36 months.
How to apply:
Applications to be emailed to Philippe Ciais (philippe.ciais_at_lsce.ipsl.fr), Jinfeng Chang (jinfeng.chang_at_locean-ipsl.upmc.fr), Nicolas Viovy (nicolas.viovy_at_lsce.ipsl.fr) and Bertrand Guenet (bertrand.guenet_at_lsce.ipsl.fr), should include: (1) a curriculum vitae including most important recent publications, (2) statement of motivation (see above) and (3) names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of at least two references. The position is available from November 1st and will remain open until filled with review of applications and interviews. Salary follows national directives and is adjusted for work experience.
