The Department of Geosciences at Boise State University currently has an open graduate research assistantship (GRA) starting summer or fall 2016 to study the response of northern peatland ecosystems to increased temperature and elevated atmospheric CO2 with remote sensing. This project is supported by DOE’s SPRUCE experiment. This exciting project will provide the student an opportunity to better understand how a changing climate will affect the vulnerable boreal peatland forest while gaining skills and methods to monitor changes with lidar and optical remote sensing. Seasonal repeat measurements with remote sensing will be made to monitor leaf area, aboveground biomass, canopy heights, and ground inflation/deflation at the SPRUCE experiment. A canopy transmittance model will also be developed. The GRA will have the opportunity to interact with SPRUCE collaborators, present at national meetings, and become part of the Boise State University Boise Center Aerospace Laboratory (BCAL) remote sensing team.
We seek a highly qualified student with a strong quantitative science background and eagerness to utilize geospatial tools for ecosystem science. The ideal candidate will have a recent MS degree is ecology, forestry or equivalent nature resources discipline, strong statistics, programming, and geospatial skills. The GRA provides a full PhD stipend, health insurance, and tuition for Boise State University. Boise State is Idaho’s largest university and is a metropolitan research university of distinction situated in the capitol of Idaho. To apply: email a 2-page CV, unofficial transcripts, along with a cover letter explaining your interest to Dr. Nancy Glenn (nancygl...@boisestate.edu). For more information on BCAL: http://bcal.boisestate.edu/ and the DOE SPRUCE experiment: http://mnspruce.ornl.gov/project/overview
