Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) is a research university in the Netherlands with around 23,000 students. It was established in 1880 and has since then expanded and presently consists of fifteen faculties employing about 300 professors and 3,300 academic and non-academic staff.
The Department of Earth Sciences, within the Faculty of Sciences of VUA, has the mission to develop a knowledge base for qualitative understanding of the Earth as an integrated dynamic system. The research and graduate student teaching in the Faculty of Earth and Life Science (Cluster Earth and Climate) is focused on hydrological processes, terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry, and climate system variability at decadal-to-millennial scales. In close collaboration with Systems Ecology, the Earth and Climate Cluster hosts a Carbon Cycle group, studying the changes and evolution of terrestrial, coastal and ocean environments and its key biogeochemical cycles (C, N) and water. They combine experimental knowledge of these biogeochemical processes with modelling of the earth system.
The cluster has been active in permafrost ecosystem carbon cycle and biogeochemical research in the Arctic since 2002; with long-term field research ongoing at the Kytalyk site in Northeast Siberia. They are a leader in Arctic aquatic biogeochemistry, ecohydrology, greenhouse gas balance of ecosystems, permafrost geomorphology and wetland dynamics with leading scientists Prof. A. J. Dolman, and Dr. van Huissteden, and associate prof. J. E. Vonk. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has been involved in >130 FP7 projects, was a WP leader in PAGE21, was involved in several EU funded projects such as GEOCARBON, and Marie Curie Training Networks (e.g. Greencycles), and recently became a host of the ERC-starting grant THAWSOME (Vonk).
Main tasks in the project
VUA is responsible for (i) leading WP2 Coastal permafrost, which involves five partner institutions (VUA, AWI, IGOT, MPG, GFZ), (ii) executing and coordinating research within tasks 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.5, and (iii) communication and exchange of WP2 with other WPs. She is also a member of the Executive Committee in which she will coordinate the Physical Science Activities (WP2-WP6).
VUA staff involved in Nunataryuk
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Lead of WP2
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PhD student in WP2 |
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