PhD position at the Institute of Ecology/University of Innsbruck

We are looking for a highly motivated PhD student to work on an interdisciplinary three-year project funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences investigating the spatio-temporal variability in water availability and demand in the Peruvian Andes (https://agroclim-huaraz.info/).

The PhD candidate is expected to (i) conduct field work in the Cordillera blanca/negra area surrounding Huaraz/Peru in collaboration with local collaborators including micrometeorological flux measurements, proximal sensing and canopy/soil analyses, (ii) analyse satellite remote sensing proxies of crop growth and relate these to trends temperature/precipitation variability, and (iii) use a process-based model (AcquaCrop) to simulate past, current and likely future crop yield and water use in the study area.

Consideration will be given to candidates possessing (i) excellent English oral and written communication skills, who (ii) are willing and able to spend several months in the study area for field work, (iii) have demonstrated experience in at least one of the scientific fields above, and (iv) fulfil the requirements to enrol in the PhD program Biology at the University of Innsbruck. Candidates able to speak Spanish will be given priority – non-Spanish speaking candidates are expected to acquire basic Spanish communications skills within the first few months after starting the position.

The candidate will be embedded in the interdisciplinary research environment of the Biometeorology group (www.biomet.co.at) at the Institute of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck and is expected to become a member in the doctoral program “Alpine Biology and Global Change”. The candidate will closely collaborate with colleagues from the Institute of Atmospheric- and Cryospheric Sciences at the University of Innsbruck, Agroscope in Switzerland and colleagues in Huaraz.

The position is available from May 2019 onwards and is funded at 75 % for a period of three years according to Austrian regulations for PhD students (annual gross salary: ca. 29 500 Euro).

Applications should include (i) a Curriculum vitae, (ii) a letter of motivation and (iii) names/email addresses of three references and should be addressed to Prof. Georg Wohlfahrt (georg.wohlfahrt@uibk.ac.at).