Post-doctoral position in regional modeling of the mineral dust cycle (24 months)
The position is funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, in the framework of the DRUMS (DeseRt dUst Modeling : performance and Sensitivity evaluation) research project (collaboration LISA, Créteil; Numtech Society, Clermont-Ferrand; Laboratoire de Météorogie Dynamique (LMD), Palaiseau). This position involves the application of the Chemistry and Transport Model CHIMERE (Menut et al., 2013) for the simulation of the mineral dust cycle.
The researcher will study the sensitivity to the main external forcings of regional simulations performed with the CHIMERE model over a large domain centered on the North of Africa. The sensitivity to meteorological forcing will be based on meteorological products provided by the most recognized international meteorological centers (ECMWF and US NCEP). The benefit provided by the use of the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model to downscale the meteorological forcing will also be evaluated. The evaluation will be done both in analysis and forecasting modes in order to quantify the uncertainties on the dust simulations induced by the uncertainties of the forecast. A specific attention will be paid to the influence of the parameters that control the dust emission and deposition fluxes, i.e. the surface wind speed and the precipitation. The inter-comparison of the simulations will first focus on the main terms of the dust mass budget: the total dust emission and deposition mass and the average dust life time. A second step will concern the spatial pattern (location and extension) of the dust emission and deposition fluxes, and the dust transport patterns. The final step will focus on the temporal pattern (seasonal variations, frequency of dust events etc.). For each step, the comparison will concern both the absolute targeted value (emission or deposition flux, concentration, AOD) and their spatial gradient for the different simulated dust sizes.
The model is developed and runs on Linux platforms. The main development language is FORTRAN while the processing of outputs is done with scripting languages (Python) or with R. The research group maintains its own Linux cluster, but also uses other HPC facilities, at the CCRT (Centre de Calcul Recherche et Technologie; CEA).
The LISA is internationally recognized in the field of mineral dust emission, transport and deposition modeling. The LISA has a strong track record in developing parameterizations of the dust emissions and deposition, their inclusion in the CHIMERE model and the application of the CHIMERE model for comparison with observations. The LISA has also a strong experience in observations and measurement campaigns on tropospheric aerosols.
The position will be in the modeling group of LISA, located at the University Paris Est - Créteil, for a period of 24 months in 2014/2015. The salary is determined according to the salary grids of the University and depends on the candidate's experience.
Requirements for the position include: a PhD degree in geosciences; a bachelors or Masters degree in a numerical scientific area, such as physics, engineering or mathematics; documented other qualifications in natural sciences; documented programming skills and experience in the Fortran and programming languages. Knowledge on aerosol science is advantageous. The applicant should have fluency in French or English.