Researcher in modeling of aerosols, cold clouds and climate (PA2024/543)

Researcher in Modeling of aerosols, cold clouds and climate

Subject description

Climate modelling is within the general field of geobiosphere science and is an aspect of physical geography and ecosystem science. 

Overview

Clouds largely determine the Earth’s radiation budget and hence also the climate.  Any changes in their properties, which depend on aerosol conditions of chemistry and loading, can reinforce or offset any climate change.   In fact, most of the uncertainty about how much global warming will occur in future, for a given emissions scenario of greenhouse gases, is linked to issues of how to represent clouds in numerical climate models.

Most of the volume of the troposphere is subzero. There any clouds at least partly consist of ice. There has been controversy about initiation of ice in clouds, especially regarding the identity of aerosol species (‘ice nuclei’) initiating the first ice and whether their action is appreciably time dependent.

This project aims to simulate the effects from time-dependent activity of ice nucleus aerosols and to investigate the climate impact from anthropogenic changes in their loadings..  We have represented ice initiation in the cloud schemes of a global model using more accurate treatment of microphysical processes, informed by our lab data. This is part of a collaboration between atmospheric modelers in Sweden at Lund, in USA and in Norway at Oslo.

A researcher position for one year is to be filled in the project. 

Work duties

The main duties will involve doing research by numerical modelling.  The researcher will further develop some microphysics schemes in the stratiform and convective cloud parameterizations of a global model. Satellite and other observations will be collected to verify the accuracy of the global model developments. Impacts on the global climate from anthropogenic changes in ice-nucleating aerosols are to be evaluated.

This will involve coding with FORTRAN 90 in a linux environment.  The work will be performed in a team of atmospheric modellers at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science. 

Qualification requirements

Researchers with a background in numerical modeling and knowledge of mesoscale meteorology are encouraged to apply.

 Applicants must have:

• PhD degree in meteorology
• BSc in physics or equivalent
• Oral and written proficiency in English.
• Programming language experience in a linux environments, with the Fortran languages
• Experience with graphics packages (e.g. matlab).

Assessment criteria and other qualifications

Documented knowledge, preferably from his / her university education in:

• mathematics, especially differential equations;
• numerical methods and computer programming; and
• physical meteorology, especially cloud microphysics, including the initiation and growth of ice particles).

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment

The employment is for one year. At the end of the year, the results should be summarized in a written report.

The position will start on 15 June 2024 or at a mutually agreed date and last for one year.  The employment will be full-time (100% FTE).

Enquiries about the position can be made to Vaughan Phillips ([email protected]).

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English and be compiled into a PDF-file containing:

• résumé/CV, including a list of publications,
• a general description of past research and future research interests (no more than three pages),
• contact information of at least two references,
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate, and other certificates/grades that you wish to be considered.

Welcome to apply!