Two PhD positions in Environmental Science in Stockholm University, Sweden

The Department of Environmental Sciences at Stockholm University is looking for two PhD students in Environmental Science to work on the project "Feedbacks between a changing climate and vegetation: The role of volatile organic compounds and biogenic aerosols (CLIVE)".

The goal of the project is to study a small fraction of the carbon taken up by plants and which is released back into the atmosphere as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The research will focus on better quantification of the current and future climate impact of forests via VOC emissions and their interactions with clouds, aerosols and related feedbacks. 

The two open positions focus on biogenic volatile organic compounds and aerosols. The PhD students will work closely together in the pursuit to answer the following questions:

• What is the composition and magnitude of tropical and boreal forest VOC emissions as a function of CO₂ uptake and environmental conditions such as temperature and precipitation?
• How does evapotranspiration influence VOC emissions in boreal and tropic forests?
• How do boreal forest management practices impact VOC emissions?
• How do tropical and boreal forest VOC emissions under current environmental and CO₂ conditions influence aerosol and cloud formation?

The successful candidates will prepare and participate in field experiments in the boreal forest and tropical rainforest, which will include in-situ observations and controlled experiments using a wide set of instrumentation including mass spectrometers to characterize VOCs and atmospheric aerosol. Longer research stays at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland are possible.

The application deadline is 28 August 2023.

Read the full description of the positions herе.