PhD in Dendroclimatology 100% (f/m/d)

The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL is part of the ETH Domain. Approximately 600 people work on the sustainable use and protection of the environment and on the handling of natural hazards.

You will be part of a project investigating inter-hemispheric temperature inconsistencies that are evident when comparing climate proxies and model simulations over the past millennium. Reducing such uncertainties is crucial for understanding and assessing late Holocene climate history and thus the efficacy of climate model projections. In this project we we will mainly focus on more detailed explorations of proxy records, in particular tree rings to potentially solve this puzzle. In this context, you will contribute to the establishment and analysis of state-of-the-art millennial tree-ring chronologies based on quantitative wood anatomy (QWA) from both hemispheres. You will be responsible for a subset of regions in this project and screen the QWA chronologies for high-frequency temperature signals and their ability to capture extreme events. You will reconstruct temperature variations over the past millennium including the Medieval Climate Anomaly, the Little Ice Age and the current warm period. While field and lab work will be involved, the focus will be on data analysis, publication of results and general project management.

You will be part of a very enthusiastic and ambitious international project team that includes leading experts in the field. The position will be based at WSL as part of the Dendrosciences group, a top address for tree-ring research with experienced researchers and technicians, state-of-the-art laboratories and a dynamic, stimulating and international working environment. You will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Climate Sciences of the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) at the University of Bern.

You have a Master's degree in climatology, physical geography, forest ecology, biology or equivalent. You should have excellent analytical and statistical skills in time series analysis, preferably in dendroclimatology. Ideally, you are proficient in programming and handling of large datasets, and have experience with tree-ring methods. You are able to efficiently expand and acquire knowledge in topics relevant to the project. You have a proficient command of written and spoken English, are able to work in a structured, efficient and independent manner, and have a high level of team spirit and have good internal and external communication skills. Furthermore, you have a good level of fitness to carry out field work in remote locations.

Please send your complete application to Stefania Pe, Human Resources WSL, by uploading the requested documents through our webpage. Applications via email will not be considered. Georg von Arx (phone +41-44-739 23 16, georg.vonarx@wsl.ch) and Jesper Björklund (jesper.bjoerklund@wsl.ch) will be happy to answer any questions or offer further information. The WSL strives to increase the proportion of women in its employment, which is why qualified women are particularly called upon to apply for this position.