The Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division at Berkeley Lab seeks a postdoctoral researcher to combine observational synthesis, ecological theory, and numerical models to explore the dynamics of tropical forests responding and feeding back to climate. You will be part of the NGEE-Tropics project (https://ngee-tropics.lbl.gov), a long-term, DOE-funded effort to bring together observational and theoretical approaches to build, inform, and test the representation of tropical forests within Earth system models. NGEE-Tropics aims to fill the critical gaps in knowledge of tropical forest-climate system interactions, and works on cutting edge advancements in model predictions of tropical forest responses to a changing climate over the 21st Century.

We invite outstanding early career scientists to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship focused on Amazon Vegetation Dynamics. In this exciting role, you will investigate processes associated with the large-scale structure and function of tropical forests, and how these are governed by plant traits as represented with a vegetation demography model.  A central focus of this work is the study of mechanistic process-level controls on forest dynamics, including processes such as nutrient cycling and plant hydraulics, and how ecosystems respond to moisture and temperature stress, as well as anthropogenic and natural disturbances. This opportunity is highly integrative, involving a vegetation demography model, which will be tested against large and diverse datasets across the Amazon, including tower-based eddy covariance fluxes, forest census data, and remote sensing. The research will also include experiments with the model to explore the coupling of vegetation dynamics and ecosystem function under multiple scenarios of climate and land use. 

What You Will Do:

• Run and test the ELM-FATES (E3SM Land Model configured to include the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator) against multiple observational datasets at site to regional scales
• Apply ecological and plant physiological theory to explore mechanistic process controls and plant trait variation on ecosystem structure and the large-scale exchange of carbon, water and energy for Amazon forests
• Analyze complex datasets with the NGEE-Tropics data team, including eddy covariance, forest census, plant ecophysiology, remote sensing, land use/land cover change
• Investigate land-atmosphere feedbacks at time scales ranging from hourly to centennial, including under a wide range of climate and land use change scenarios
• Publish results in high-quality journals and contribute to proposals involving tropical biosphere-atmosphere interactions.
• Participate and present results in meetings and conferences

What is Required:

• PhD in relevant field (e.g. climate science, ecology, plant physiology, forestry, geography)
• Strong background in data intensive processing and analysis using open-source code (e.g., Python, R)
• Expertise on code documentation and reproducibility, and collaborative open science platforms (e.g., GitHub, Jupyter Notebook, R Markdown)
• An ability to understand and write land surface model code (e.g., FORTRAN) and interest in the application and testing of state-of-the-art land-surface models and/or Earth system models
• Solid background in ecological, plant physiological, and biogeochemical theory
• Record of publishing research in peer-reviewed journals
• Desire to work within an integrated, multi-institution team whose activities span from field research to Earth system model development
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Desired Qualifications:

• We particularly encourage applicants with field experience or other backgrounds working in tropical forests
• Availability to travel for meetings at partner institutions

For full consideration, please apply by February 22, 2023. This position will remain open until filled. 

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Notes:

• This is a full-time 2 year, postdoctoral appointment with the possibility of renewal based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds and ongoing operational needs. You must have less than 3 years of paid postdoctoral experience. Salary for Postdoctoral positions depends on years of experience post-degree.
• This position is represented by a union for collective bargaining purposes.

• The monthly salary range for this position is $6,431.00 - $7,887.00 and is expected to start at $7,074.00 or above. Postdoctoral positions are paid on a step schedule per union contract and salaries will be predetermined based on postdoctoral step rates. Each step represents one full year of completed post-Ph.D. postdoctoral and/or related research experience.
• For questions related to the position, feel free to reach out to Charlie Koven at cdkoven@lbl.gov

• This position may be subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.
• Work may be performed on-site, hybrid, full-time telework or remote modes. Work must be performed within the United States.

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