GCZSC - Professor in Greenhouse Gases

Organisation/Company MOHAMMED VI POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY Research Field Physics Environmental science Geosciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 18 Feb 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country Morocco Type of Contract Permanent Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Area of specialization:

Critical Zone is the “heterogeneous, near-surface environment in which complex interactions involving rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms regulate the natural habitat and determine availability of life-sustaining resources”. Its limits are defined as ranging from the top of the canopy down to the bottom of the aquifer. The successful applicant to this position will join the Global Critical Zone Science Chair to develop and conduct a research program in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions measurement and behavior in the critical zone, with a particular focus on developing robust and implementable monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems to allow us to track the impact of agricultural practices on organic carbon sequestration in the soils and emissions of H2O, N2O, CO2, and CH4 from the soils.

The applicant must have a good understanding of atmospheric chemistry and physics to understand GHG reactions and flows to be able to quantify them. The applicant will also need to implement and manage high-tower sites to model GHG flows in native forests and agricultural fields. The applicant must have a good understanding about sensors, satellites, drones, and new technologies that will allow us to measure GHG emissions in a more reliable and affordable way.

There is a particular interest to link this work with organic C sequestration in the soils, microbial communities’ variability, C use efficiency, and other aspects related to soil health and the impact of agricultural practices (including 4

Rs) into controlling C, N, and P biogeochemical cycling. The successful candidate should develop a wide range of expertise, mainly in GHG emissions quantification and modeling, and to support bridging this knowledge into policies and field management practices that will allow us to build more sustainable agricultural systems and to improve ecosystem services.

The Global Critical Zone Science Chair at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) invites applications for a full-time professor position in GHG emissions quantification and modeling (open rank). The successful applicant will conduct research aiming to understand the impact of different conservation agricultural practices, including 4

Rs, on GHG emissions. The research should guide us on our task to design sustainable cropping systems that will lower GHG emissions and sequester organic carbon in the soils. Besides quantifying the impact of different practices, the research should help us combining the right practices in the different cropping systems around the world to ensure low GHG emissions and soil organic carbon sequestration, making agriculture a tool for climate action.

This should pave the way to create reliable certifications, including carbon credits but also sustainability certifications that will generate value to the farmers.

Due to the influence of the Northern Hemisphere (cool and temperate climates) where plant biomass growth is limited by N, there is a consensus that N (C/N) has a strong control over C sequestration as soil organic matter worldwide. However, as P is the most limiting nutrient for plant biomass production particularly in the Tropical Belt of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, there is growing evidence of its control over several biogeochemical cycles, particularly those related to the formation of soil organic matter and the release of CO2, N2O, and CH4 mediated by the microorganisms.

The research program should reflect the need of understand better the role of P (particularly P limitation) on GHG emissions and soil organic carbon. The applicant must have great modeling expertise to…