University Assistant (prae doc)

We offer a PhD (“prae-doctoral”) position in the field of inverse modelling of greenhouse gases. The position will be embedded in the research group of Prof. Andreas Stohl on atmospheric transport modelling and will be part of the Vienna Network for Atmospheric Research (VINAR), a collaboration between the University of Vienna and the Austrian National Weather Service ZAMG (Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik).

The starting date can be as early as 1 February 2022. The announcement is made for four years, whereby the employment relationship is initially limited to 1,5 years and is automatically extended to a total of four years, unless the employer submits a declaration of non-renewal after a maximum of 12 months.

Greenhouse gases are emitted by a variety of sources, both natural and anthropogenic. Countries are obliged to report their emissions to UNFCCC, for which they estimate these emissions using so-called bottom-up methods based on, e.g., energy statistics, or land use changes. However, such estimates especially for fluxes from natural lands, are highly uncertain and need independent verification.

The doctoral student will develop inverse methods that allow constraining the greenhouse gas fluxes based on atmospheric observation data, a transport model and prior emission information. The work shall use the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART (see www.flexpart.eu ), which is being developed in our group, and may build on the inversion framework FLEXINVERT (https://flexinvert.nilu.no/ ), also used in our group. While our past work has focussed on the use of ground-based observations, the doctoral student shall also develop new methods that are suitable for the use of the large greenhouse gas observation data sets produced by forthcoming satellite missions, thus facilitating unprecedented high-resolution emission estimates.

This position will be part of the Vienna Network for Atmospheric Research (VINAR), a collaboration between the University of Vienna and ZAMG (https://vinar.univie.ac.at/ ). The student will have access to data and models used at ZAMG and the research will be conducted in close collaboration with ZAMG.

Besides research, the successful candidate is also expected to participate in teaching and the supervision of students. Financial support is available for attending international meetings and visiting international research partners.

Participation in research, teaching and administration:
• Development and application of inverse methods for determining greenhouse gas fluxes;
• Scientific publications and presentations;
• Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement;
• Support of collaboration activities in the Vienna Network for Atmospheric Research;
• We expect the successful candidate to sign a doctoral thesis agreement within 12 months. Participation in research, teaching and administration:
• Development and application of inverse methods for determining greenhouse gas fluxes;
• Scientific publications and presentations;
• Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement;
• Support of collaboration activities in the Vienna Network for Atmospheric Research;
• We expect the successful candidate to sign a doctoral thesis agreement within 12 months.