Postdoc Researcher - High-resolution simulations of urban plumes

Your job

Are you interested in how satellites may help to monitor greenhouse-gas emissions from cities? Are you a skilled modeler with keen interest in applying modern computers tools to pressing environmental challenges? Then this may be the perfect opportunity for you.

The Meteorology and Air Quality group of Wageningen University & Research is looking for a Postdoc researcher to develop high-resolution modelling tools to simulate plumes from cities and power plants.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will contribute to the European project Carbon Atmospheric Tracer Research to Improve Numerical schemes and Evaluation (CATRINE). This project is focused on the evaluation and the improvement of atmospheric modeling systems used in atmospheric CO2  inversions. You will study the atmospheric dynamics of CO2 and reactive species like NO2 at high resolution (10-m to 300-m resolution) emitted from large metropolitan areas, from industrial sites, and from power plants to support the development of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).

Within CATRINE you will contribute to model intercomparisons. You will be responsible for Large Eddy Simulations of the well-instrumented cities Paris, Zurich, Munich, Rotterdam, and Indianapolis and will compare the simulations to the available surface and satellite observations. Next to CO2 simulations, you will simulate co-emitted compounds like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, which are well-observed by satellite instruments.
Your duties and responsibilities include:

• further developing the MicroHH Large Eddy Simulation tool;
• evaluating  the impact of large-scale forcing on the high-resolution model simulations;
• working on the computational efficiency of the LES code to test the impact of chemistry and plume rise.

You will work here

The research will be conducted at the

Meteorology and Air Quality group (MAQ)

of Wageningen University & Research and will be conducted by an international team including the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne (URCA), and the University of Helsinki. You will be supervised by prof. dr. Marten Krol, Professor/Chair Air Quality and Atmospheric Chemistry.

Your qualities

You have:

• a PhD in atmospheric sciences, meteorology, or fluid dynamics;
• excellent programming skills, preferably in python and C++ ;
• advanced skills in atmospheric modeling, Large Eddy Simulation and / or fluid dynamics;
• good communication skills in English (CEFR C1 level).

You  are:

• a team player with excellent time management skills;
• capable of interpreting measurement data;
• experienced in multidisciplinary team-based activities with the ability to effectively communicate with colleagues and with staff from the project partners.

You can see that there are plenty of challenges ahead of you. These challenges can also be seen as development opportunities. So if you do not yet have the track-record required in the vacancy, but do have solid work experience, we would also like to invite you to apply.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment . A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more,  per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 3.226 and € 5.090 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the

Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU)

  (scale 10).

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Sandra van Ee, by email: [email protected]  

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, Corporate Recruiter, by email: [email protected] .

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including 4 March 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews soon after the closing date. The intended starting date is from 1 June 2024.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment .

We are

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

With its roughly 30 branch­es, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen’s unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

These are the points our employees list as good reasons to come work at WUR: read the 5 reasons to come work at WUR
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.