Dec 7, 2006

PhD position, Meteorological Institute, University of Bonn

The Department of Meteorology at the University of Bonn, Germany invites applications for a PhD position in meteorology. This position is within the project Transregio (Collaborative Research Centre (Transregio/ SFB 32) on Patterns in Soil-Vegetation- Atmosphere Systems: monitoring, modelling, and data assimilation) funded by the German Science Foundation and it is available for three-year period (starting early next year). We will begin considering applications from January 15, 2007.

Research theme: A high-resolution multi-scale space-time precipitation model from direct measurements and remote sensing.

The project section will detect and monitor structures of rain fields covering spatial scales from tens of metres to hundreds of kilometres and temporal scales from minutes to months. Up- and down-scaling space-time models will be developed, which are constrained by observed surface precipitation information, and which will explicitly account for spatial and temporal structures of precipitation events. The model will assimilate uncertain and sparse surface precipitation estimates reaching from an X-band Doppler radar with polarisation diversity to conventional rain gauges.

The general space-time data-based precipitation model will allow for a variety of error structures, spatial and temporal resolutions associated with the different data sources. The numerical solution of the associated data assimilation problem will be performed by efficient multilevel and multigrid methods. The model will be applied to an area covering at least the Rur and Erft catchment. Backbone data source of the model will be the a new Bonn Polarimetric- X-band radar (to be installed early next year).

The bordering C-band
Doppler radars (Essen, Frankfurt, Neuheilenbach) of the German Weather Service (DWD) will be used to improve the radar estimate especially in the more Western and Northern regions of the catchments. Different measurements (rain gauges, mini radars, micro rain radar, microwave links, weather radar) and existing precipitation data sets will be merged in the model and high temporal resolution precipitation models on the point scale will resolve the smallest scales. It is expected that such a data set will be beneficial for both better understanding the precipitation processes and for hydro-meteorologica l modelling.

A complete .pdf of the proposal is available at
http://www.meteo. uni-bonn. de/mitarbeiter/ battaglia/ projects. html

PhD work description and requirements: the PhD student will work at the set up of the X-band polarimetric radar and at the characterization of temporal and spatial structure of precipitation and at the development of up/downscaling schemes.

This work requires good computing skills and background in physics, meteorology, and/or atmospheric sciences. Any knowledge/skill in radar meteorology, statistical
down/up-scaling and/or data assimilation methodologies, hydrometeorology,
will be an advantage.

Salary: 50% Bat IIa

Send cover letter and supporting documents (CV and documentation of your academic record including a list of publications, a short description of research interests, and possibly letters of recommendation) to Dr. Alessandro Battaglia, Meteorological
Institute, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 20, 53121 Bonn, Germany or to batta@uni-bonn. de.

Informal enquiries about this post may be made to Dr. Alessandro Battaglia (mailto:batta@uni-bonn. de), see also the Mesoscale and

Remote sensing group web pages at
http://www.meteo. uni-bonn. de/forschung/ gruppen/femmag/ index.html

Alessandro Battaglia, PhD
Meteorologisches Institut der Universität Bonn
Auf dem Hügel 20 53121 Bonn
Phone: ++49 (228) 73-5779
Fax: ++49 (228) 73-5188
http://www.meteo. uni-bonn. de/mitarbeiter/ battaglia/ index.html

[sursa beasiswa]