Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU

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The Global Change Program (GCP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a grant and/or cooperative agreement opportunity to a faculty scientist at a university affiliated with the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) who has the ability to conduct research in topics related to linked geologic and biogeochemical processes in dryland ecosystem dynamics that meet the goals of the Global Change Program. The long-term goals of the Global Change Program are described in several guiding documents: • Develop a fundamental understanding of processes that govern interactions among climate, earth surface processes, and …. terrestrial ecosystems, from the Earth Surface Dynamics Five-Year Plan for FY 2006-2010 • Global change effects on ecosystems and linkages among water, soils, biota, and land use (Research Focus Area 2 of Goal 1, from the USGS Global Change Science Strategy 2009-2014) The opportunity would be conducted under the GCP-funded project, “Effects of climatic variability and land use on American drylands” (Drylands Project) http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/info/sw/ The project goal most relevant to this required research is: • Examine interactions among geologic, hydrologic, biologic, land use and atmospheric processes in drylands to (i) understand contemporary physical and ecological landscapes; (ii) determine how physical and ecological processes interact to influence ecosystem dynamics; and (iii) document how sediment (soil) erosion and deposition by wind and water over time is affected by climatic variability and by geologic, physiographic, and land-use setting.

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