Descripción
Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is an internationally networked aquatic research institute within the ETH Domain (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology). Eawag conducts research, education and expert consulting to achieve the dual goals of meeting direct human needs for water and maintaining the function and integrity of aquatic ecosystems. The Department of Surface Waters \\- Research and Management (\[SURF\](\< \>)), in Dübendorf (ZH), has a vacancy for a Master's thesis in Reconstructing methanotrophic bacteria communities during the Holocene of an alpine lake (m/f/d) \*\*Background:\*\* Methane\\-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) plays a key role in regulating methane emissions from lakes, yet their past community dynamics under changing environmental and climate conditions remain poorly constrained. Our group studies MOB communities in alpine and peri\\-alpine lakes using a combination of lipid biomarker analysis and molecular biology tools. We are now looking for a motivated master's student to apply this approach to a 12\\-meter\\-long sediment core retrieved from the alpine Lac de Taney (VS). \*\*Project description:\*\* This MSc project will reconstruct MOB community composition and dynamics in the Lac de Taney sediment record using specific bacterial lipid biomarkers known as bacteriohopanepolyols (BHP), alongside complementary proxies ( , TOC, XRF elemental abundances) and relate these findings to the broader evolution of the lake's biogeochemistry during the Holocene. The Sedimentology Group is part of the Department of Surface Waters and is headed by Prof. Nathalie Dubois, Head of the Department of Surface Waters. The project offers the possibility to shape the specific research questions together, depending on the student's interests. \*\*What you will do\*\* \* Process and subsample the Lac de Taney sediment core (\\\~50 samples) \* Extract and analyze lipid biomarkers via UHPLC\\-Orbitrap\\-HRMS \* Perform DNA extr