PhD fellowship in climate research and modelling with focus on drought

PhD fellowship in climate research and modelling with focus on drought Deadline: October 22, 2023

The Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth group (PICE) at the Niels Bohr Institute invites applicants for a PhD fellowship in climate research and modelling with focus on drought, starting 15 December 2023 at the latest. The project will be performed as a collaboration between the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI) and the National Centre for Climate Research (NCKF) at the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI). The university enrolment will take place at the Science PhD School, University of Copenhagen.

The main focus will be on improved understanding and representation of soil moisture and surface hydrology in the regional climate model Harmonie-Climate, which is used in several European countries. Also, observation-based research as well as research on impacts and mitigation of climate change related drought would be relevant.

About the position The overarching theme for the project is improved understanding and modelling of drought and related heat waves in a changing climate. The main geographical focus will be on Denmark and Europe, although, to understand mechanisms and processes it is expected to be necessary to analyse data from other areas as well, using in situ observed data, satellite data and data from global models. Furthermore, since climate change impact and adaptation will be gradually more and more relevant, possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboratory research activities with other institutions in Denmark and abroad will be highly relevant.

You will be involved in model development, performing climate change experiments and in analysis of model output and observations, investigating methods to define relevant metrics relevant to drought and how such metrics are influenced by climate change. You will look into the surface description implemented in Harmonie-Climate and possibly perform sensitivity studies running the model with varying parameters and/or algorithms.

You will be working in a stimulating research environment as part of a team in the NCKF and together with other researchers at DMI, being part of our international research collaboration within the Harmonie-Climate consortium.

Principal university supervisor will be prof. Eigil Kaas ([email protected] / [email protected]) and external supervisor will be senior researcher Ole Bøssing Christensen ([email protected]).

About DMI and NCKF The PhD project will be funded by NCKF (in Danish: Nationalt Center for Klimaforskning) at the Danish Meteorological Institute, DMI. The Niels Bohr Institute will be the employer.

NCKF is a department at DMI conducting climate research for the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands). It brings together climate knowledge to form the basis for green transition and climate adaptation. The activities include assessments of observed and future climate change of the physical climate system with focus on the Arctic, Greenland and on extreme weather and ocean conditions around Denmark. The research carried out in the department is based on both global and regional modelling as well as observations from remote sensing, in-situ measurements and fieldwork.

NCKF employs approximately 75 staff members - most of whom are climate researches including PhD students, junior and senior scientists. The department also includes a smaller group of project managers, administrative staff and generalists who work in close collaborate with colleagues in the other DMI departments. NCKF has a strong international profile, which is also reflected in the many nationalities employed and in the use of both English and Danish as working languages.

Specific qualifications for this PhD project The applicant should hold the following specific qualifications, and the general qualifications listed further down:

• Have finalised a natural science based education, preferably in physics, geophysics, meteorology, fluid dynamics, computational science or similar.
• Good computing skills, including the knowledge of UNIX/Linux environments and programming in Fortran, Python or similar.
• Experience with high-performance computing is an advantage.
• Good problem-solving skills and interest to work as part of a team.
• Proficiency in English and good communication skills are relevant.

The Danish PhD programme

General qualifications needed for the regular PhD programme in Denmark To be eligible for the regular PhD programme, you must have completed a degree programme, equivalent to a Danish master’s degree (180 ECTS/3 FTE BSc + 120 ECTS/2 FTE MSc) related to the subject area of the project. For information of eligibility of completed programmes, see General assessments for specific countries and Assessment database .

Terms of employment in the regular programme Employment and enrolment as PhD fellow is full time and for maximum 3 years. However, maternity/paternity leave, or documented long-term illness will normally be accepted as valid reason for an extension.

Employment is conditional upon your successful enrolment as a PhD student at the PhD School at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen. This requires submission and acceptance of an application for the specific project formulated by the applicant.

Terms of appointment and payment according to the agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. The position is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

Responsibilities and tasks for a PhD student in Denmark

• Carry through an independent research project under supervision
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approx. 30 ECTS / ½ FTE
• Participate in active research environments, including a stay at another research institution, preferably abroad
• Teaching and knowledge dissemination activities
• Write scientific papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Write and defend a PhD thesis on the basis of your project

Application deadline: The deadline for applications is 22th October 2023, 23:59 GMT+2.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by two unbiased expert assessors, one from NCKF and one from the Niels Bohr Institute. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessors will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above-mentioned qualifications, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessors will conclude whether each applicant is qualified. The assessed applicants will have a one week – after the deadline - opportunity to comment on their assessment.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 46 (13th – 17th November 2023).

The start date and enrolment date is 15 December 2023 at the latest.

Employment The University of Copenhagen and NCKF/DMI wishes to reflect the surrounding community. Thus, we invite all regardless of, e.g., age, gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation to apply for the position.

The successful candidate will be offered office space at both NBI and NCKF/DMI. The distance between the two institutes is quite short: a 4 minute bicycle ride on good bike paths.

Questions For specific information about this PhD fellowship, please contact the principal supervisor, Eigil Kaas ([email protected] or [email protected], phone: +45 26 14 93 02).

General information about PhD study at the Faculty of SCIENCE is available at the PhD School’s website: www.science.ku.dk/phd/

Kilde: Jobnet.dk