Assessing Snow Physical Properties and Snow-Vegetation-Permafrost Interactions in Western Greenland
Want to join our teams as a student assistant or for an internship (with the possibility to write a BSc or MSc thesis)?
Related persons
Simone M. Stuenzi (AWI, HU), Julia Boike (AWI, HU), Bill Cable (AWI)
Lars-Hendrik Mewes (SLF)
Possible starting date
Flexible, but ideally as soon as possible
Background
The Arctic plays a significant role in global climate regulation and biodiversity support. However, it is warming at a disproportionate rate of nearly four times higher than the global average. Large parts of the Arctic are covered by tundra, where vegetation plays a crucial role in influencing the thermal and hydrological conditions of the underlying permafrost. This project focuses on the analysis and comparison of snow depths and snow physical properties measurements taken in Blæsedalen Valley on Disko Island in Greenland. The complex interplay of climate, snow, permafrost, and vegetation cover occurs at multiple scales. Given the changing climatic conditions, these interactions might shift, resulting in denser vegetation, altered compositions, or warmer and wetter active layers.
The primary objective of this project is to quantitatively analyze the spatial heterogeneity of snow cover (depth and physical properties) across different vegetation units using data obtained from an expedition in spring 2024, and September campaigns in 2022 and 2023. The findings will be connected to surface temperatures and local, real-time micrometeorological snow cover data, including air temperature, precipitation, and snow depth and soil temperature measurements.
Objectives
• Assembly of a coherent data set of snow cover depth and snow physical properties obtained from spring 2024 field work.
• Assessment of snow cover depth and snow physical properties.
• Optional: Understanding of local heterogeneous vegetation-snow-permafrost interactions.
Methods and Tasks
• Processing and quality control of the data sets from the study area in the Blæsedalen Valley.
• Statistical analysis of vegetation-snow-permafrost-climate interactions.
• Potential assistance with fieldwork in Western Greenland (if funds allow).
Requirements
• Curiosity and interest in snow physics and permafrost landscapes.
• Programming skills, preferably in R, Python, or Matlab.
• Good English skills (oral and written).
• Willingness to participate in weekly group meetings and weekly progress meetings with advisors.
• Sharing of all data and programming scripts.
• Good communication skills (discuss thoughts, ask questions, express needs)
• Students from different disciplines are welcome (soil science, (geo-)physics, geography,
(geo-)informatics, remote sensing, etc.)
Benefits
• Insight into research outside universities
• Learning from various backgrounds in a diverse working group
• Exchange with peers in a friendly and respectful working environment
Further Information
• Location: Potsdam and/or Davos and/or remote
• Hours per month, duration of employment and payment will depend on location and position
Are you interested?
Please send us your application including a cover letter, your CV and a transcript of records (with all documents merged into one PDF file) by e-mail.
Contact:
simone.stuenzi@awi.de, julia.boike@awi.de, lars.mewes@slf.ch, bill.cable@awi.de
