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PHD Project

October 4, 2022

Understanding nitrogen delivery from glaciers to the Arctic Ocean: Do freshwater buffers help or hinder?

Arctic Ocean

Temperatures in the Arctic have been increasing at more than double the global average over the last decades and glacial environments are at the forefront of climate change. Increasing temperatures impact freshwater runoff, as well as the transport of essential nutrients such as nitrogen from Arctic ice caps to the ocean. Rapidly changing nutrient dynamics, however, can be detrimental for coastal ecosystems, fisheries and greenhouse gas budgets. This project aims to establish a vital understanding of nitrogen delivery from glaciers to the Arctic Ocean. In addition to biogeochemical processes in the cryosphere and the ocean, you will also investigate the crucial role of lakes and rivers in mediating nitrogen cycling and potentially disrupting connectivity between glacier source and marine sink.

You will be part of an interdisciplinary team at Lancaster University and HVL Norway with extensive experience in nitrogen biogeochemistry and Arctic research. This project will combine extensive fieldwork on glaciers, freshwater systems and the ocean, as well as cutting edge biogeochemical methods. Working on this PhD, you will become an expert in the rapidly developing field of land-ocean connectivity and ecosystem health in the context of climate change.

Your background should be in Environmental Science, Oceanography, Geography, Chemistry, Biology or a similar discipline and you will have some experience of working in biology or chemistry laboratories. You will have a strong interest in aquatic biogeochemistry (freshwater or marine), nutrient cycling, or glaciology and you are enthusiastic about field studies.

For more information please contact Imke Grefe at i.grefe@lancaster.ac.uk.