PhD in remote sensing of forest microclimates

20.03.2023, Wissenschaftliches Personal

The Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group focuses on understanding the impacts of global change on forest ecosystems. We are searching for a fully funded, 3-year PhD student (m/f/d) starting in May 2022 for the project “Quantifying changes in forest structure and their impact on microclimate across spatial and temporal scales by integrating ground- and satellite-based remote sensing” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

About the position

The Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management (EDFM) Group is one of Europe’s leading research groups in the field of ecosystem dynamics and forest management. Within the a DFG project titled “Quantifying changes in forest structure and their impact on microclimate across spatial and temporal scales by integrating ground- and satellite-based remote sensing” the EDFM group is piloting new, cutting-edge approaches for using remotely sensed data on forest structure to identify mechanistic drivers of microclimatic conditions. The project is a collaborative project with Ghent University (CAVElab lead by Prof. Dr. Kim Calders) and will setup ‘digital twins’ of forests in Germany and Belgium using terrestrial laser scanning. Main tasks will involve field work in Germany (Berchtesgaden National Park) and Belgium (Arville Forests) installing an in-situ measurement network and performing terrestrial laser scans, analyzing microclimate data and their relations to forest structure, and using optical satellite time series for scaling microclimates across space and time. The position moreover includes an active collaboration within an international research network, as well as the presentation and publication of results at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Your qualifications

You have a Master in geography, environmental sciences, geo-ecology, remote sensing/geoinformation or similar and a strong interest in forest ecology and remote sensing. Prior experiences in working with remote sensing data, climate data and programming skills (R or Python) are desired. You enjoy working in an international team and you are keen on developing a key set of research and science communication skills.

Our offer

We offer a part-time (65%) position limited to three years, with a salary based on the Collective Agreement for the Civil Service of the Länder (TV-L E13) and including social security, health insurance and several employee benefits. The position is based at TUM’s School of Life Sciences in Freising, approx. 30 minutes north of Munich. Our team is composed of over twenty researchers from around the world and in different career stages, offering a diverse and multidisciplinary research environment at the frontier of the field. We explicitly encourage international applicants. Further, TUM is committed to equal opportunity and diversity. TUM aims for an increase of the proportion of women, and women are therefore especially encouraged to apply for the position. Applications from people with disabilities / special needs will be considered preferentially.

Your application

If you are interested in working in our team, please send your application together with a CV and as one PDF to the Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group of the Technical University of Munich, attn. Violeta Aramayo, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, no later than 16th of April 2023, email address: [email protected]. Do not hesitate to contact Dr. Cornelius Senf for any questions you may have: [email protected]. If you apply in writing, we request that you submit only copies of official documents, as we cannot return your materials after completion of the application process.
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Kontakt: [email protected]