The University of Bremen at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences within the Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean Floor - Earth's Uncharted Interface" is seeking to fill - subject to the approval of funds – starting on January 1, 2026 at the earliest, 1 position as Research Associate (Doctoral Candidate) (f/m/d) within the Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean Floor - Earth's Uncharted Interface"
German Salary Scale 13 TV-L/TVöD (depending on the project partner)
International applications are expressly encouraged. The Cluster of Excellence is a joint project of the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg and a consortium of five partner institutions: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Constructor University and the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg - Institute for Advanced Study.
Funded by the German Excellence Strategy, the cluster quantifies exchange processes at the ocean floor and investigates their role in the Earth system. The cluster's research portfolio consists of projects that (i) decipher the processes that control the transport of biogenic particles to the ocean floor under changing climate conditions, (ii) balance the transfer of carbon and other elements between the ocean floor and seawater, (iii) investigate how ecosystems on the ocean floor react to environmental changes and (iv) develop scenarios for a "warmer world" from climate archives on the ocean floor with the help of climate models.
Further information about the Cluster of Excellence can be found at Along these central research topics, the Cluster offers a structured training for doctoral students in an interdisciplinary framework of marine biogeochemistry, marine geosciences, marine (micro)biology and (paleo)climatology.
The program offers rich opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration across different disciplines of marine sciences, including research stays at partner institutions. Further details on the training program can be found at .
Project Description: The project will employ state-of-the-art methods (e.g. convergent cross mapping, transfer entropy) from non-linear dynamics and network analysis to infer causality in model simulations. Model experiments for the project will be available. Initially, the project will focus on self-sustained oscillations of the large-scale ocean overturning circulation. For this part of the project, output from climate models as well as from marine ecosystem models will be used. Modalities: The doctoral project will be supervised by Bernd Blasius (University of Oldenburg) and Michael Schulz (University of Bremen). Main Tasks: Scientific research in the field of applied mathematics and non-linear system dynamics, Analysis of numerical model experiments, writing of scientific publications, and participation in international conferences.
Heiko Pälike ( speaker-exc-oceanfloor@uni-bremen.Questions about the project can be addressed to Bernd Blasius ( bernd.blasius@uni-oldenburg.Place of employment and remuneration (TV-L or TVöD) depend on the partner institutions where the project is located.
A secure salary and statutory health and social insurance.
In the Cluster of Excellence, doctoral researchers are mentored by a team of experienced scientists and benefit from a large international network of doctoral researchers.
In addition, 30 days of vacation are standard with us.
Our health management offers you, e.g., discounted company fitness programs, as well as internal health-promoting offers (e.g. health courses).
Please send your application with your complete and informative documents, quoting the reference number A257-25, by 12.12.2025 as a single PDF file by unencrypted electronic mail to: office-exc-oceanfloor@uni-bremen.