PhD Candidate Position in Paleolimnology: Long-term effects of climate change on lake carbon cycling

We are currently recruiting a PhD student to join our team at the Forest Research Institute of the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT). The student will take on a research project investigating the long-term effects of climate-driven changes in forest cover and composition on carbon dynamics in boreal and subarctic lakes.

Northern forest ecosystems are greatly affected by climate change. Accelerated warming is altering plant growth, habitat availability, and the cycling of carbon and nutrients across the landscape. Satellite observations indicate recent greening of northern forests and browning of lakes, suggesting elevated amounts of carbon in lakes. However, because of the remote nature of much of the boreal forest, our understanding of changes in lake ecosystems, especially over longer timescales, is severely limited. Lake sediments provide a natural archive of how forests and lakes have changed over the past decades to thousands of years. This project will use lake sediment records to study the long-term impacts of climate change on water quality and carbon cycling in remote northern lakes.

The student will work under the supervision of Professor Carsten Meyer-Jacob at UQAT and Dr. Sébastien Joannin at the Université de Montpellier. The project includes field work and lab work, and will involve several geochemical and spectroscopic techniques, as well as pollen and satellite image analyses.

This is a fully funded 3-year position with an anticipated start date in Fall 2024 or Winter 2025. Further details on the PhD program at UQAT (Doctorate in Environmental Sciences) are available at https://www.uqat.ca/etudes/irf/doctorat-en-sciences-de-environnement-secteur-forets/.

Start Date: Winter 2025

Financial Support: Scholarship of 24,000$ per year for 3 years

Requirements:

- MSc degree or equivalent in Biology, Earth or Environmental Sciences, or related fields

- Field and lab work experience

- Ability to communicate in written and spoken English

- Ability to work independently and in teams

- Motivated to learn and passionate about environmental change and solving environmental issues

- Experience in paleolimnology, paleoecology, aquatic ecology, and/or biogeochemistry are advantageous