Postdoc Position: Arctic Methane Emission

Warming Arctic lakes are releasing more methane, driven by shifts in microbial activity and rising inputs of organic matter and glacial dust. Join the CLIMET project as a Postdoc researcher to uncover how these changes shape methane cycling from gene to ecosystem in Greenland’s lakes.

Methane emissions from warming Arctic lakes contribute to an important climatic feedback loop, with warmer waters emitting more methane. Microorganisms play a key role in these emissions, and the recent increase in atmospheric methane is likely related to an imbalance between microbial production and degradation. Linked to warming, the terrestrial input of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to Arctic lakes has increased, as well as the influx of glacial dust, containing rare earth elements (REE). These inputs change lake ecosystems, and may directly and indirectly affect their methane cycling. The CLIMET project team will map the impact of DOM and REE-containing glacial dust on the Arctic methane cycle from the genes involved to the impact on methane emission from Greenland's lakes.

Using field and lab experiments, you will determine how DOM and dust treatments influence lake food webs and CH4 cycling at the ecosystem scale in lakes around Kangerlussuaq. The work will involve organising and executing a sampling campaign in West-Greenland (May-September 2026), including the collection of water, gas and sediment samples and the operation of sensors and automated devices to collect limnological, atmospheric and geographical data. You will design and set up field and lab experiments to test the impact of various drivers of in-lake methane cycling. In both field and lab settings you will measure and analyse greenhouse gas emission using field gas analysers, bubble traps, gas chromatographs, and GC-MS.

To address the impact of DOM and dust on various aspects of methane cycling, you will also map microbial community composition and its drivers using multivariate statistics. Working as a postdoctoral researcher in this project, you will closely collaborate with different members of the project team and work alongside microbiologists conducting molecular analyses (qPCR, metagenomics, transcriptomics), limnologists conducting lake surveys, and paleo-limnologists conducting sediment core analyses. You will establish connections with the local community to co-create a mutual research or outreach project.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of one year with a possibility for extension of three years.
• Your salary within salary scale 10 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The Department of Ecology is a dynamic, collaborative, and interdisciplinary team. We are a young and ambitious group of ecologists committed to preserving and promoting biodiversity and ecosystem health. Our department brings together aquatic and terrestrial ecologists who focus on plants, animals and microorganisms, and their interactions in a changing world. We are dedicated to conducting timely and innovative research that addresses both scientific and societal challenges.

You will be based at Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands) and be part of a multidisciplinary team (Radboud University, NIOO-KNAW (Wageningen), Utrecht University), and you will closely cooperate with 3 other postdoctoral researchers, 3 PhD candidates, and a technician on this project. There will be training opportunities, including those offered by Radboud University, the Graduate School for Production Ecology & Resource Conservation (PE&RC) (Wageningen), and cohort-building activities offered by the
CLIMETconsortium.

The Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES) is committed to equality of opportunity, fairness and inclusivity, striving to be a place where everyone belongs and creativity and innovation are fostered. We welcome applications from individuals of all genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, abilities and backgrounds, and particularly encourage those from underrepresented groups to apply.