main topic: The project builds upon previous studies on the relationship between land surface properties and precipitation. For instance, the observational and modeling investigations performed in the framework of the international AMMA project showed that precipitations in semi-arid regions are affected by soil moisture gradients, favoring precipitations on drier land next to moister surfaces. The importance of surface gradients has also been studied over the oceans, demonstrating that precipitations are favored over strong sea surface temperature fronts. Current studies are also indicating that extreme precipitations in urban areas have been
increasing over the last few decades more than in rural areas. These studies indicate that the reasons at the base of the generally observed increase in occurrence and/or intensity of heavy rainfall events might be both related to global climate change and to local land-use change. Discovering under what circumstances one of the two processes dominates is of paramount importance for policymakers and administrators, in order to tackle the problem in the correct way and reduce risks associated with strong meteorological events.
In this project, high-resolution precipitation and land surface properties datasets will be analyzed to investigate the presence of links between land cover and its gradient with extreme precipitations. Based on the results of this data analysis part, a physical hypothesis on the possible mechanisms at play will be formulated, most likely involving surface fluxes, boundary layer dynamics, and stability of the air column. In the second part of the PhD, high-resolution numerical modeling tools will be used to test the hypothesis and study the
sensitivity to large-scale climatic conditions (such as, for instance, sub-tropical vs mid-and high-latitude settings).
The project will be performed in collaboration with the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, where the PhD student is expected to spend 12 months. It is foreseen that a joint PhD agreement will be signed by the two Universities, with the possibility of awarding two PhD degrees.
link of the supervisor's website: https://sites.google.com/unimib.it/pasquero
deadline: open
field: PhD Course in Chemical, Geological and Environmental Sciences
Call for Interest 38th cycle - Curriculum Terrestrial and Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca
contact for requests/applications:
main topic: Tropical cyclones undergo periods of rapid intensification whose dynamics are currently not understood and therefore not correctly forecast. Considering the huge demographic, societal, and economic effects of hurricane and typhoons, it is of paramount importance to study
those events. Recent work indicates that small scale asymmetries embedded in the cyclonic structure can be important in affecting the intensification rate. Using newly developed diagnostics, such as the boundary layer ventilation metric, this study will investigate the role of small scale sea surface temperature features on the evolution of tropical cyclones.
Considering that typically atmospheric models correctly generate the observed distribution of intensification rates of tropical cyclones (although not at the right time and location), aim of this work is to use such models to investigate the links between small scale dynamics and
the evolution of tropical cyclone intensity. To this aim, both CMIP6 and HighResMIP outputs will be analyzed and hypothesis on the relevant processes will be formulated. Convection
permitting numerical simulation will then be run in idealized configurations to test the
hypothesis.
The project will be performed in collaboration with ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria), where the PhD candidate is expected to spend at least 6 months.
supervisor's webpage: https://sites.google.com/unimib.it/pasquero
field: PhD Course in Chemical, Geological and Environmental Sciences
Call for Interest 38th cycle - Curriculum Terrestrial and Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca
contact for application/requests:
Are you expert on remote sensing of atmosphere? Are you interested in improving numerical weather prediction? Then maybe a fellowship at Météo-France/CNRS is a great opportunity for you!
Check out the call below, the application deadline is 15 May 2022!
main topics:
Study the impact of WIVERN Horizontal Line-Of-Sight (HLOS) wind observations in the global Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model ARPEGE of Météo-France.
Ensemble of parallel 4D-Var data assimilation will be run to assess the impact of the future spaceborne Doppler W-band radar WIVERN.
place: Centre National de Recherche Météorologique, Météo-France, Toulouse, France
qualification required: Experience in remote sensing and in numerical modeling is required. Theoretical and/or practical knowledge on data assimilation is desirable. Strong skills in a programming language such as Fortran/Python and in the manipulation of large data volumes are necessary. A PhD in one of the areas of expertise would be an advantage.
application deadline: 15 May 2022
contact persons: Jean-François Mahfouf (
link: http://www.umr-cnrm.fr/IMG/pdf/fiche_poste_wivern_gmap_obs.pdf
Are you interested in numerical models of atmosphere? Are you interested in air pollution in mountainous terrain? Then maybe a position at University of Trento is a great opportunity for you!
Check out the call below, the application deadline is 2 May 2022!
main topics:
Simulate by means of numerical models the atmospheric transport and mixing processes characterizing mountain slopes in connection with thermally driven winds produced by the diurnal cycle of nighttime cooling and daytime heating of the terrain.
A comparative study will be performed on results from simulations of mixing processes, in particular of passive tracers, obtained both with Eulerian and with Lagrangian approaches.
The candidate will work in the framework of project “ASTER – Atmospheric boundary-layer modelling over complex terrain”.
place: University of Trento, Trento, Italy
qualification required: A degree in any discipline, consistent with the research program. Experience in the use of numerical weather prediction modelling and with atmospheric dispersion modelling. Good knowledge of the English language
application deadline: 2 May 2022
link: https://web.unitn.it/files/download/73177/bando_di_pubblicazione.pdf
Are you interested in cloud microphysics? Are you expert on ground-based remote sensing? Then a postdoc position at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research is a great opportunity for you!
Check out the call below, the application deadline is 1 May 2022!
main topics:
Characterization of the transition of the seeded supercooled liquid stratiform clouds into mixed-phase clouds using synergistic, multi-wavelength and polarimetric ground-based remote sensing with scanning radar and lidar.
Several techniques for retrieving aerosol and hydrometeor habits and number concentrations were developed at TROPOS in the last years and shall be deployed in the activities.
Participation at CLOUDLAB in-situ observations.
place: The Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany
qualification required: PhD in in at least one or several of the fields of meteorology, physics, mathematics or electrical or telecommunications engineering. Advanced skills in active remote sensing techniques.
application deadline: 1 May 2022
contact person: Dr. Patric Seifert,
Are you interested in cloud microphysics? Are you expert on numerical models? Then a postdoc position at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research is a great opportunity for you!
Check out the call below, the application deadline is 1 May 2022!
main topics:
Perform cloud-resolving model simulations with the aerosol-sensitive spectral-bin model COSMO-SPECS or similar spectral-bin models.
Radar forward operators (PAMTRA or CRSim) will be used to obtain a closure between the simulations and in-situ and remote-sensing observations of the cloud systems.
place: The Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany
qualification required: PhD in in at least one or several of the fields of meteorology, physics, mathematics or electrical or telecommunications engineering. Advanced skills in cloud-resolved modeling. Very good programming skills in shell and higher programming languages (ideally FORTRAN).
application deadline: 1 May 2022
contact person: Dr. Patric Seifert,
