Post doctoral researcher in Modeling of Aerosols, Cold Clouds and Climate - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
The chief reason for scientific uncertainty about how much climate change will occur for a given scenario of future emissions of greenhouse gases is that clouds are especially challenging to represent in numerical models.  Clouds affect the Earth’s radiation budget and changes in their properties can reinforce or offset any ongoing climate change.

Most of the volume of the troposphere is subzero.  There any clouds contain 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 represent lab observations of ice initiation in a cloud model and to investigate the effects from activity of ice nucleus aerosols on the cloud-scale.

The project is part of a larger collaboration between experimentalists and atmospheric modellers in Sweden at Lund, in USA and in Norway at Oslo.

Work duties
The main duties involved in a post-doctoral posistion is to conduct research. The work will involve numerical modelling. The researcher will develop microphysics schemes in a global model so as to treat various mechanisms of ice initiation. Satellite and other observations of clouds will be collected  so as to verify the accuracy of the global model developments.   Impacts on the climate from changes in ice-nucleating aerosols from anthropogenic emissions will be evaluated.

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

Qualification requirements
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Requirements:

• The applicant must have a PhD degree in meteorology (e.g. climate science)
• Experience of FORTRAN in UNIX environment

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English
• The PhD must have involved numerical modelling

It is desirable to have documented knowledge from their university education in:

• Mathematics, especially differential equations
• Numerical methods and/or computer programming
• Cloud physics

It will be advantageous if the applicant is experienced with modeling of either clouds or climate.

In the application, applicants should provide evidence of how they meet these requirements.

Assessment criteria and other qualifications
This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research
• Documented ability to write computer programs

Knowledge and experience in the areas noted above, such as cloud physics and modelling of either clouds or climate

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
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated 4 September 2008.

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