Open positions

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1) Field measurement-based development of ozone dry deposition parameterization in climate and air quality models 

 

Do you like to develop, as a Ph.D. student, a new parameterization for ozone dry deposition in air quality and climate models?!

Tropospheric ozone is a major air pollutant that negatively affects human health and natural and agricultural vegetation, significantly affects climate, and plays a key role in removing other air pollutants from the troposphere. Dry deposition, particularly to vegetation accounts for about 20–25% of ozone removal in the biosphere. This process is currently not well characterized, limiting accurate simulation of key processes by air quality and climate models.

The objective of this research is to develop an improved parametrization of ozone dry deposition rate for air quality and climate models. The research will base on a comprehensive set of advanced micrometeorological measurements. The data will be analyzed using software and codes which are developed by us and by using atmospheric models. The research is funded by the Israel Science Foundation.

 

Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree in exact sciences (Meteorology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, chemistry or Earth Sciences) or engineering

• Computer programming skills (e.g., Python, C, C++, Fortran, etc.)

• Data analysis (statistics, numerical analysis, time series analysis, etc.) skills

• Good writing and oral English skills

• Ability and desire to acquire new skills and learn new theoretical knowledge

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Funding:

A high scholarship (covering more than twice the living expenses, tuition, and accommodation) scholarship is offered for a Ph.D. candidate to join this collaborative project which is funded by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF)

 

Application instructions:

• Résumé/CV, including a list of publications

• A general description of past and future research interests (up to half page)

• Contact information of at least two references

• Copy of the certificates/grades 1st and 2nd degree.

The application should be sent to Dr. Eran Tas, Soil and Water department, Institute of environmental sciences, the Hebrew university (eran.tas@mail.huji.ac.il)

2) PhD students in measurement-based atmospheric modeling of dry ozone deposition mechanisms and regional formation

 

Two PhD students are required for a research project entitled: “Controls and mechanisms of ozone dry deposition in an urban environment: Investigation by direct flux measurements in Beijing”. This research is funded by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and is further aimed at exploring photochemical pollution formation over Beijing.

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The research will include a measurement campaign to quantify the fluxes of ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (using PTR-ToF-MS, eddy covariance and gradient techniques), and will be complemented by source apportionment of the measured concentrations and fluxes and modeling using a mesoscale atmospheric modeling (e.g., WRF/WRF-Chem).

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Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree in exact sciences (Meteorology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Geography, or Earth Sciences) or engineering with a significant component of atmospheric sciences

• Computer programming skills

• Data analysis (statistics, numerical analysis, time series analysis, etc.) skills

• Good writing and oral English skills

 

Advantageous skills:

• Experience in atmospheric modeling, particularly WRF-Chem

• Degree in Atmospheric Science

• Curious and driven person with strong communication and interpersonal skills who is motivated to work in a multi-disciplinary environment

• Experience with GIS

 

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3) MSc & PhD students - air pollution reduction investigation using drone and modeing

This funded study is aimed at developing a new methodology to investigate the effect of forests and shrubberies on air pollution. The research will include both field measurements using a drone and atmospheric modelling. The measurements will be performed in the vicinity of the explored vegetation using a drone which will be equipped with air pollution and meteorological sensers.  

Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree in exact sciences, engineering or physical geography

• Computer programming skills

• Background in atmospheric sciences would be advantageous

 

For application and more details please contact Dr. Eran Tas with an updated CV and a cover letter.

 4) PhD students - WRF simulations

 PhD candidate to perform and analyze WRF simulations, as part of a funded project which focuses on the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum to improve irrigation and fertilization prediction, by improving evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast, combined with remote sensing and soil modelling improvements. In a previous study (https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/hydr/20/5/jhm-d-18-0160_1.xml) we have demonstrated that evapotranspiration forecast can be significantly improved by a bias correction using meteorological measurements. In this project we wish to improve this methodology and use the results as input to a sub-surface water and nutrient flow and transport model to approach the main goal of this study.

 

Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree in exact sciences, engineering or physical geography

• Computer programming skills

• Background in atmospheric sciences and particularly experience in WRF simulations would be advantageous

 

For application and more details please contact Dr. Eran Tas with an updated CV and a cover letter.