Doctoral researcher (f_m_x) - project GHOST

Standort

Potsdam

Remote

Vor Ort

Anstellungsart

Vollzeit, Teilzeit, Befristet/Zeitarbeit

Erfahrung

Junior

Bereich

Forschung & Wissenschaft

Bewerbungsfrist

30.09.2026

Heute

The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences is one of the world's leading institutions in the field of geosciences. As part of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest research organisation, we address global challenges such as natural hazards, climate change and the sustainable use of resources. In doing so, we combine cutting-edge research with social relevance. Our international staff - around 1,200 employees and approx. 500 guests - work in a multidisciplinary way and with a unique infrastructure to research the dynamic processes of the Earth system. Our vision: “Taking the pulse of the Earth to safeguard a habitable planet.”

For section 4.6 Geomorphology (department “Geosystems”), we are looking for a:

Doctoral researcher (f_m_x) - project GHOST

Reference Number 11496

GHOST (DFG-funded project): Loss of organic carbon in the eastern Mediterranean: investigating the elusive “ghost sapropels” and “red intervals”

The GHOST project will focus on elucidating the climatic and oceanic drivers leading to the formation of the enigmatic "ghost sapropels" in Mediterranean sediments during the past 3 million years. Sapropels are organic-rich sediments preserved over geological time, including in the deepest parts of the Mediterranean Sea. Because their formation process involves complex land-ocean linkages and large-scale ocean deoxygenation, they are often considered natural laboratories for understanding the timing and drivers of such processes.

In this project, we will focus on sapropels where the organic carbon is not preserved, called "ghost sapropels". They occur synchronously in the Mediterranean basin and seem paced by Milankovitch cycles, but the driving mechanism remains elusive. This project will exploit national and international collaborations to use multiple isotopic tools and the extraction of specific sedimentary fractions at four ODP sites, as well as numerical models. Through this data-model approach, we will test a set of working hypotheses that will enable us to understand the processes leading to the lack or loss of carbon in ghost sapropels. Ultimately, we aim to assess how the lack or loss of organic carbon in ghost sapropels affected the carbon cycle.