M.S. or Ph.D. Assistantship – Environmental controls on estuarine air-sea CO2 fluxes

We are seeking an M.S. or Ph.D.applicant either through The University of North Carolina’s Marine Sciences (http://www.marine.unc.edu) or Environmental Sciences and Engineering programs (http://www.sph.unc.edu/envr) beginning in the summer or fall of 2008. The graduate student will be involved in an interdisciplinary project to quantify air-sea CO2 fluxes in the nation’s 2nd largest estuary, North Carolina’s Neuse River-Pamlico Sound, and to evaluate and quantify environmental controls (climatic events, hydrology, nutrient dynamics, food web structure, etc.) upon those fluxes. This is a NSF-funded collaborative effort between researchers at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences (Hans Paerl and Mike Wetz; http://www.unc.edu/ims/paerllab) and Oregon State University’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (Burke Hales).

Applicants should be self-motivated, have strong quantitative skills, and have training in chemistry AND ecology or marine science. Strong engineering and/or technical skills will be viewed as a plus, as will computer (i.e., MatLab, Labview usage, etc.) skills. This project will involve extensive field work.

Funding (stipend, tuition) will be available for three years. Interested individuals should provide the following materials: 1) a brief cover letter describing your background, research interests and career goals, 2) a resume/CV, 3) unofficial transcripts, and if available, 4) GRE or TOEFL scores. Please send materials to Drs. Mike Wetz (wetz@email.unc.edu) and Hans Paerl (hpaerl@email.unc.edu) by November 15, 2007. Upon reviewing the applicant pool, we will ask select applicant(s) to apply to the respective UNC graduate program to be considered for admission to UNC.