PhD: Impacts of Climate Change on Pollen Season and Distribution in the Alpine Region

April 23, 2008

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Ph.D. position at the Technical University Munich, Germany: Impacts of Climate Change on Pollen Season and Distribution in the Alpine Region
Description
Recent climate change has been influencing the timing, duration and intensity of the pollen season in the northern hemisphere, which is one major observed climate change impact on human health. Together with the ZAUM – Center for Allergy and Environment (Group: Environmental Dermatology and Allergology, TUM / HelmholtzZentrum Munich), the Chair of Ecoclimatology will study at the Environmental Research Station Schnee¬fernerhaus the influence of high altitude climate on allergenic diseases. Our project component covers the meteorological / biological part concerning pollen season and pollen distribution.
The objectives of the PhD project are to investigate the effects of climate change on plant distribution, timing of flowering and pollen shedding of allergenic plants and their interactions via long-range transport. To achieve this, main tasks will be to
•   modelling of pollen shedding and analysis of long-range transport by backward trajectories (FLEXPART a particle dispersion model) in close cooperation with Dr. Andreas Stohl, NILU
•   phenological and vegetational survey in the Garmisch / Schneefernerhaus / Zugspitze region for identification of local emissions
•   temporal and spatial analysis of long-term phenological, meteorological and pollen data provided by the German Meteorological Service, the German Pollen Network and the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (The Federal Environment Agency / Umweltbundesamt)
The position is within the Chair of Ecoclimatology, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University University, Germany. Freising is a pleasant university town in southern Germany, 35 km from Munich and can be easily reached by train and via Munich airport.
Necessary qualifications
The ideal candidate will have a M.Sc. or equivalent qualification in a relevant natural science discipline (e.g., Environmental Science, Physics, Meteorology, Physical Geography, Biology). Interest and experience in statistics, modelling and documented skills in computer programming (FORTRAN, LINUX/UNIX work station) are an essential requirement. Excellent oral and written English and German communication skills are an advantage.
The position is available for a maximum of three years (TVL 13 / 2).
Documents
Please send your application via E-Mail to fleischner@forst.wzw.tum.de including
(1) Short letter of motivation
(2) C.V. including detailed description of programming skills, and names and contacts of two referees
Review of applications will begin on Apr-24-2008 and will continue until the position is filled. For questions regarding the position please contact: menzel@forst.tu-muenchen.de