Job KNMI (The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) - PhD position (Climate research and Seismology)

Climate change is an important research issue. KNMI is developing a new global climate model, EC-Earth, in cooperation with European partners, which will be used to study the future climate and to investigate causes of climate change by assessing the strength of feedback mechanisms in the climate system.

An important and open question is to what degree climate change is being amplified in the Arctic, and what the governing mechanisms are. In this project this will be investigated using the climate model EC-Earth. First the model will be validated against snow and sea ice observations. Lateron sensitivity experiments will be performed to assess the relative contributions of the relevant mechanisms to Arctic amplification. This will be done for the past decennia as well as for the coming century. The candidate will help to improve the model, if necessary, and will perform and
interpret the required sensitivity experiments. The candidate will be working in the Global Climate Department of KNMI, under the supervision of dr. R. Bintanja. This research is part of the NWO-funded project QUASI. This will involve cooperation with Wageningen University (prof. dr. B. Holtslag) where also a PhD student is working on this project. The intention is that the research will result in a doctoral degree (PhD).

The candidate has a graduate degree in atmospheric sciences or similar, and has experience with (complex) numerical models. Knowledge of the Linux operating system and Fortran is highly desirable, as well as analyses and visualisation software. Your use of English is good (speaking and writing), and you are a teamplayer.

The estimated PhD starting salary is €1.934,18 per month gross the first year and increases to €2.571,64 gross in the fourth year. The selected candidate will be placed in the Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (SWO) KNMI. Duration of the contract will be for a period of 4 years.

KNMI is the national institute for weather, climate research and seismology. It disseminates weather information to the public at large, the government, aviation and the shipping industry in the interest of safety, the economy and a sustainable environment. To gain insight into long-term developments, KNMI conducts research on climate change. Making the knowledge, data and information on hand at KNMI accessible is one core activity. KNMI is an agency of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat). KNMI’s duties are set forth in KNMI Act (Wet op het KNMI).

Additional information about the job can be obtained from dr. R. Bintanja, telephone number: +31-(0)30-2206499, e-mail: bintanja@knmi.nl