Working within a large EU project, the you will do research leading to a PhD thesis with a focus on improving seasonal predictability of impact relevant weather extremes over the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean region is widely acknowledged as a climate change hotspot, experiencing accelerated warming compared to global averages and upward trends in extreme weather including drought. Current state-of-the-art climate models struggle to accurately predict these extremes, which has significant repercussions for various socio-economic sectors (health, agriculture, water resource management, ecology, and tourism). Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) methods offer promising avenues to address these challenges.
You will become part of the Climate Extremes research group (climateextremes.eu) within the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). Together with colleagues at IVM, the Netherlands eScience center, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and other (inter)national partners, you will apply innovative AI methods to extensive climate datasets, encompassing both observations and climate models. The primary objective is to enhance seasonal predictability in the Mediterranean region, a critical step in developing effective early warning systems tailored to various impact sectors of interest. You are expected to write peer-reviewed papers as partial fulfilment of the PhD thesis, to participate in international conferences and regular project meetings in the eastern Mediterranean, and to assist in some limited teaching activities.
This research is part of the EU-funded project PREVENT (Improved predictability of Mediterranean extremes from seasonal to decadal timescales), conducted at the IVM at VU Amsterdam. PREVENT leverages the expertise of a research consortium comprising nine universities and research institutes, uniting specialists in climate modelling, impact modelling, machine learning, and statistics, with local stakeholders in the Mediterranean. The ultimate goal of this research is to enhance short- to medium-term adaptation decision-making through improved seasonal and decadal predictions in a changing climate, thereby enhancing resilience in both societies and ecosystems.
Your duties - analysing large observational and climate model data sets
- applying machine learning methods, including explainable ai, to these datasets to improve seasonal forecasts of impact relevant weather extremes
- collaborate with climate and AI experts to interpret findings and optimize results
- writing a PhD thesis consisting of 3 or 4 scientific papers
- working with colleagues of the project consortium, contributing to project reporting, attending project meetings in Mediterranean
- assisting in some limited teaching activities at IVM