Climate change is already affecting the way we as a society experience the weather. More extremes in temperature, rainfall and wind means we need to adapt ourselves and our cities to the changing climate. While the Urban Heat Island is a well-known driver of heat stress, urban climate processes related to water are less explored, especially the water vapour content of the air. Water vapour is a driving component of heat stress, since it influences the human ability to cool down through sweating. Given that climate adaptation measures in cities often go towards blue-green solutions (water and vegetation), it is important to quantify how these adaptation measures will affect the local urban atmosphere, and impact people's lives. There are many unanswered questions regarding the importance and the time evolution of urban water vapour, and how to make use of urban blue and green spaces to combat (future) heat stress.

These examples showcase the need to better quantity and understand the variability of urban water vapour, in both time and space. This PhD position will focus on first gaining insight into the urban distribution of water vapour: what are local sources and sinks, does urban morphology play a role in its distribution, and at what scale does what process dominate the water vapour quantities? Envisioned steps would be:

• Using high-density observations, combining crowdsourcing (personal weather stations) and urban networks to gain insight in the distribution of water vapour in time and space in the urban microclimate
• Investigating the influence of the urban morphology as well as the importance of the climatological setting, to determine what drives urban water vapour distribution at the local as well as larger scale.
• Using a combination of field observations & (conceptual) models to distinguish the effect of urban water vapour on outdoor heat stress, in both ‘traditional’ and climate-adaptation related settings.

You will be supervised by Dr. Arjan Droste and Prof. Dr. Remko Uijlenhoet. This position will be part of the TU Delft Climate Action Programme, allowing for cross-faculty collaboration and exchange of ideas.

• Relevant Master degree in Meteorology, Hydrology, Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, or Engineering.
• Experience with scientific programming, statistics, data analysis.
• Good pro-active communication skills and ability to work well in a team.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €2.770,- per month in the first year to €3.539,- in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

From 1 September next, a salary increase of 3.7% applies due to a Collective Agreement amendment, followed by an additional 1% increase on 1 January 2025. In addition, most employees employed on 1 September 2024 will receive a one-off payment of €300 gross based on full-time employment.

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Civil Engineering & Geosciences

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences.

For more information about this position, please contact Arjan Droste, a.m.droste@tudelft.nl