Post-doctoral fellow position in marine biogeochemistry

Role of diazotrophs in the biological carbon pump (ERC HOPE Project)

Position open to contract workers for 18 months

The structure you will join

The Institut de recherche pour le d veloppement (IRD) is a leading scientific authority on major development issues and an internationally recognized multidisciplinary organization. It is a French public institution under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. For more than 75 years, it has been carrying out original research, expertise, training and knowledge-sharing activities for the benefit of territories and countries that make basic science and innovation one of the main drivers of their development. Nearly 40% of the Institute's staff are posted abroad and overseas.
 

The assignment structure within the IRD will be the MIO (Institut M diterran en d'Oc anologie), a research laboratory in Oceanography of the Universities of Aix Marseille, Toulon, CNRS and IRD. The MIO is integrated in the OSU Pytheas. Its objectives are to better understand the oceanic system and its evolution in response to global change. It constitutes a pole of competence in biogeochemistry, microbiology, ecology, biodiversity, fisheries, and physical and chemical oceanography. Its frameworks are the world ocean, its interfaces with the continent, the atmosphere and the sediment. The MIO has more than 240 people including a hundred researchers (CNRS, IRD) and university professors, about sixty engineers and technicians, more than 50 PhD students and an administrative team at the service of research.

An attractive mission

You will work on the ERC HOPE project (PI: Sophie Bonnet, DR1 IRD), in particular on Work Package 1 (WP1. PARTICLE FORMATION: determine how different diazotrophs (UCYN, filamentous) aggregate, sink and are remineralized). You will be in charge of conducting the laboratory experiments and analyses associated with this WP, in collaboration with the researchers and engineers working on the project. 

Your mission will consist in the study of 2 main processes: (1) the physical aggregation and particle sinking, which will be studied using an innovative sedimentation column developed in the framework of the HOPE project (SOCRATE : Simulated OCean wateR column with AutomaTEd sampling), and (2) the remineralization of diazotrophs during their fall, which will be studied thanks to a coupling of approaches simulating the fall of particles in the water column (rolling tanks and PArticle Sinking Simulator (PASS) system) present within the 'Experimental Cultures' platform at M I.O.

The experiments will be carried out in 2 contrasting conditions and on 2 main sites: (1) in mono- or multispecies cultures of diazotrophs from the IRD/M.I.O. 'Diazotroph Culture Collection'. These experiments will be carried out the first year on the M.I.O. site in Marseille, and (2) with a natural planktonic assemblage under conditions of diazotroph blooms (contrasting if possible) at the IRD Center in Noumea, where M.I.O. is represented You will spend 6 months on site to conduct these experiments in the 2nd year.

You will be in charge of the co-design of the experiments, their scientific and logistic preparation, the realization of the experiments, all in collaboration with the researchers and engineers of the HOPE team, the analysis of the samples, the results and the co-publication of the results. 

The profile we are looking for

You have a PhD in Oceanography, with a background in marine biogeochemistry, and skills in microbiology, phytoplankton and bacterial cultures, stock and flux measurements of biogenic elements. Skills in microscopy (epifluorescence, confocal, SEM) and image processing software (Fiji) would be a plus. You have strong written, numerical, and verbal communication skills and are able to translate complex ideas into accessible concepts. Finally, you are fluent in English, both written and spoken. You are curious, dynamic and rigorous with a taste for the unknown/innovation. You have a good sense of organization with an eye for detail as well as a liking for teamwork.
 

The following documents (in one pdf file) must be submitted with the application: 
- Cover letter
- Curriculum vitae (including a list of publications and the names of two references)
 

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