<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><b>Multi-scale Remote Sensing Retrieval Methods for Carbon Stock Estimates</b></div><div><b>along a Transect from Savannah to Tropical Biomes</b></div><div><br></div><div><i>Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christiane Schmullius</i></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Project description</b></div><div><br></div><div>This PhD project targets to develop a robust methodology to support the</div><div>assessment of carbon stocks and to monitor carbon changes along a</div><div>Savannah-to-rainforest transect in Mexico using in situ measurements and</div><div>remote sensing data. The proposed monitoring tool will facilitate</div><div>quantitative estimations in loss of carbon storage and support the</div><div>selection of terrestrial (e.g. tropical dry forests, shrublands) sites</div><div>for conservation priorities with high value for the national carbon</div><div>budget. For terrestrial products, algorithms and models using high</div><div>spatial resolution satellite data will be trained and calibrated with</div><div>site-specific data. Up-scaling to coarser resolutions is important for</div><div>operational monitoring of intra- and inter-annual processes and can be</div><div>performed using satellite time series data. The products will be jointly</div><div>generated with the local authorities to ensure their use for the</div><div>ecosystem service component carbon stocks, i.e. an objective process of</div><div>providing incentives to land owners, the monitoring of the compliance of</div><div>the obligations, and the budgeting of carbon in the landscape.</div><div><br></div><div>The successful candidate is expected to develop a monitoring strategy</div><div>that takes full advantage of Earth observation data and will lead to a</div><div>system that can be used by the concerned Mexican authorities (CONAFOR,</div><div>CONABIO) for their REDD-programme (Reducing Emissions by avoiding</div><div>Deforestation and Degradation). The monitoring strategy shall exploit</div><div>satellite images from different sensors with a variety of spectral and</div><div>geometrical resolutions in conjunction with the available Mexican</div><div>environmental databases. Further field and laboratory work is planned in</div><div>order to capture state variables of the forest parameters. The</div><div>scientific objective is the development of a new set of retrieval</div><div>algorithms for the upcoming ESA-satellites Sentinel-1 and -2 by</div><div>exploiting synergistic radar-optical interaction mechanisms with the</div><div>surface conditions and by taking advantage of higher temporal repetition</div><div>frequencies and various, higher-resolved geometric resolutions. This</div><div>work is imbedded in the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI) of</div><div>the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). Mexico is one of GEO’s Forest</div><div>Carbon Tracking National Demonstrator countries.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Working group</b></div><div><br></div><div>The Department for Earth Observation at the Friedrich Schiller</div><div>University Jena was established in January 2000 and employs now 18</div><div>remote sensing scientists. Research focuses on land applications ranging</div><div>from operational vegetation mapping (specifically biomass) to crop and</div><div>soil moisture monitoring. The Department is internationally recognized</div><div>for its radar modelling approaches based on interferometry and</div><div>hyper-temporal datasets, large area mapping exercises and exploitation</div><div>of multi-scale radar-optical synergy. Recently, the algorithm workbench</div><div>was extended to deformation mapping with persistent scatterer techniques</div><div>and an optical data assimilation system.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>The Research School</b></div><div><br></div><div>The successful candidate will become a member of the International Max</div><div>Planck Research School for Global Biogeochemical Cycles (IMPRS-gBGC).</div><div>The school provides excellent research possibilities for students to</div><div>obtain a PhD degree in a 3-years graduate program. The elements key to</div><div>life such as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen are continuously</div><div>exchanged among the land, ocean and atmosphere in what are known as</div><div>global biogeochemical cycles. Research in the IMPRS-gBGC discovers how</div><div>these cycles function, how they are interconnected, and how they can</div><div>change with climate or human activity.
In their thesis projects,</div><div>students deal with various crucial aspects of global biogeochemical</div><div>cycles and participate in ongoing research comprising field</div><div>observations, method development, experiments, and modeling. Students</div><div>will also benefit from a three-month external research visit,</div><div>specialised courses in e.g. statistics, Earth observation, modelling and</div><div>analytical techniques, as well as in soft skills and will have ample</div><div>opportunity to develop their personal career networks.
The school is</div><div>thus an excellent starting platform for a successful career in a field</div><div>related to global biogeochemical cycles and Earth System Science.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Requirements</b></div><div><br></div><div>Applications to the IMPRS-gBGC are open to well-motivated and</div><div>highly-qualified students from all countries. For this particular PhD</div><div>project we seek a candidate with completed academic studies (University</div><div>or University of Applied Science, M.Sc. or equivalent) and substantiated</div><div>knowledge in the field of optical and radar remote sensing. The</div><div>candidate should have very good experience in dealing with remote</div><div>sensing software (e.g. PCI Geomatics or ENVI IDL and Gamma) as well as</div><div>R, IDL or Matlab and the processing of large data volumes. High</div><div>competence in advanced radar applications (polarimetry, interferometry)</div><div>for Savannah and/or tropical environments is required.</div><div><br></div><div>Motivation, teamwork capacity, the willingness to enter new subject</div><div>areas (e.g. other programming languages, radar backscattering theory)</div><div>and a keen interest in spatio-temporal and synergistic optical-radar</div><div>retrieval algorithms are a prerequisite for the successful realisation</div><div>of the project. The candidate is expected to carry out the necessary</div><div>technical and theoretical work with a high degree of self-organisation.</div><div>Due to the necessary field work in Mexico, fluency in English and good</div><div>communication skills in Spanish are necessary. The work shall start on</div><div>January 1st, 2014.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>How to apply</b></div><div><br></div><div>Application deadline for these fully funded PhD positions is September</div><div>30, 2013. Top candidates will be invited to take part in our selection</div><div>symposium (December 03-04, 2013).</div><div><br></div><div>>> <b>Apply online: <a href="http://www.imprs-gbgc.de/">www.imprs-gbgc.de</a></b></div><div><br></div><div>After you have been selected The IMPRS-gBGC office will happily assist</div><div>you with your transition to Jena. Successful applicants are expected to</div><div>join us in winter 2013/14 and will receive a comfortable PhD stipend to cover all their</div><div>living expenses. There are no tuition fees. Additional financial support is available for conference visits, </div><div>participation in summer schools and a 3-month research visit to another top lab. </div><div><br></div><div>Handicapped persons with comparable qualifications receive preferential status.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; "><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°</span></div><div>Anna Goerner - coordinator</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">International Max Planck Research School</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>for Global Biogeochemical Cycles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; ">MPI for Biogeochemistry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><div style="margin: 0px; ">Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany</div><div style="margin: 0px; "> </div><div style="margin: 0px; ">phone: +49 3641 576260</div><div style="margin: 0px; ">e-mail: <a href="mailto:anna.goerner@bgc-jena.mpg.de">anna.goerner@bgc-jena.mpg.de</a></div><div><br></div></span></div><div><a href="http://www.imprs-gbgc.de/">http://www.imprs-gbgc.de</a></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/imprs.gbgc">https://www.facebook.com/imprs.gbgc</a></div></div><div><br></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></body></html>