Post-Doctoral Research Assistant position at the Department of Meteorology of the University of Reading (UK)
Applications are invited for a 2-year postdoctoral position to investigate aerosol radiative forcing of the Earth system. The aim of this work is to provide support for model-based quantifications of aerosol radiative forcing by obtaining statistics of natural aerosol distributions and anthropogenic perturbations. The work combines analysis of aerosol remote sensing products with global climate modelling: the exact balance between the two activities will be determined by your skills and interests.
The context for the project is the change in our view of the natural and pre-industrial atmosphere, which has moved to an atmosphere where aerosols are more abundant than previously thought. This change has two consequences. First, anthropogenic perturbations may not be as large and frequent as previously considered. Second, the natural atmosphere becomes a large source of uncertainty when quantifying aerosol radiative forcing. Using a variety of aerosol and cloud remote sensing products, you will characterise aerosol properties in the natural and perturbed atmosphere to quantify how often the natural aerosol background is perturbed, and how strongly. You will then use a state-of-the-art numerical model of the global Earth System to reproduce the observed statistics, and quantify the corresponding aerosol radiative forcing.
More information, including further particulars and link to the online application form, can be found on the University of Reading website.