We are seeking a motivated and innovative researcher to join Professor Schuster’s group in advancing the knowledge of the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle. The successful candidate will contribute to the collection, integration, interoperability, and analyses of observations centered on marine carbon cycle variability and its drivers.
The ocean is a powerful contributor to Earth’s climate regulation. It is now absorbing about a quarter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions—besides substantial amounts of heat—every year. Thus, it is one of the key players in moderating atmospheric CO2 and heat buildup and hence the change of climate. However, rising oceanic CO2 levels also significantly alter ocean chemistry and impact critical ecosystem services.
Determining these changes requires sustained, long-term high-quality in-situ observations, enabling impactful observation-based analyses informing forecasting ocean and climate models. Meeting these challenges, within the European HORIZON EUROPE projects GEORGE and TRICUSO, we are advancing technological developments, ocean observations, data integration and analyses through the leading European ocean observing research infrastructures ICOS, EMSO, Euro-Argo, and EMBRC.
This exciting role builds on our research group’s experience and supports international efforts in designing a scientifically robust, feasible, and sustainable observational strategy to monitor oceanic CO2 uptake with improved confidence. Any future observational network utilizes a range of instrument/sensor technologies, deployed on different platforms, and measuring multiple variables required to track oceanic CO2 uptake and the drivers of its variability.
Your role’s contributions will include:
- Developing numerical tools to routinely
- assess the current observational capacity, from scientific products, financial, technological, logistical, and personnel demands, to data gaps, redundancies, and resilience;
- define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of observational datasets;
- identify dynamic biogeochemical ocean regimes and their shifting spatial and temporal boundaries;
- optimize and update observational strategies for maximum scientific value within feasible and sustainable constraints.
- Supporting technological development and validation, and cataloguing observational capabilities and opportunities.
- Ensuring high data integrity through applying robust and rigorous quality control protocols.
Beyond identifying a scientifically optimum observational network, you will contribute to shaping an observational strategy that is not only scientifically robust and resilient, but technologically viable, financially and logistically realistic, established and maintained by skilled personnel within a well-trained workforce.
Salary: Starting salary for Fellowship level will be from £42,882 at Grade F (sp34). The starting salary for the Associate level will be from £33,482 on Grade E (sp25) both are depending on qualifications and experience.
Application deadline: August 17, 2025
