Two Ph.D. studentships in peatland ecosystem modeling

 Two fully-funded Ph.D. students are available at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, to further develop and apply the McGill Wetland Model (MWM), which has coupled with Holocene Peatland Model (HPM), a cohort peatland model that can dynamically model the peat properties of each peat cohort, and incorporated the microbial dynamics and N, P cycling in peatlands, to fully assess the responses of northern peatlands to climate change, human disturbances and restoration.

Ph.D. 1: This student will develop a new soil/surface hydrology module in MWM that is fully coupled with the carbon (C) dynamics of peatlands to simulate soil temperature and moisture, and water table depth, which are the key hydrological variables in peatlands to regulate the C cycling and are likely to change with climate change and human disturbances.

Ph.D. 2: This student will further develop MWM to examine how peatland mining/drainage and restoration affects carbon storage and C cycling (including carbon dioxide and methane) using MWM. 

You are required to have: excellent oral and written communication skills in English; appropriate academic background, for example, in soil science, ecology, earth system science, physical geography, hydrology, biogeochemistry, forestry ecology, and micrometerology, and other suitable subjects; strong numerical analytical skills; experience with process-based ecosystem modeling; a good understanding of peatland/wetland biogeochemistry, wetland/peatland hydrology and biophysical drivers of peatland/wetland processes; experience in computer programming (for example, Fortran, or C, C++) preferred. You are required to write high-quality manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication in the high impact journals, presentation in international/national conferences, and other requirement for a Ph.D. degree.

The positions will remain open until filled.

 If you are interested, please send a letter of motivation/research statement, evidence of English Proficiency (if required for international students), up-to-date curriculum vitae, unofficial transcripts, and a copy of any publication (if available) to Dr. Jianghua Wu at jwu@grenfell.mun.ca with subject "PhD-Hydrology modeling" if you are interested in Ph.D. 1; or with subject “PhD-Carbon modeling” if you are interested in Ph.D.2. Only the potentially selected candidates will be contacted for further discussions. Please see more details about Dr. Wu's group at https://fac.grenfell.mun.ca/jwu/SitePages/Home.aspx