Postdoc in modelling Greenland and Himalaya precipitation using machine learning

Machine Learning models are increasingly important in the atmospheric sciences. After training, they can emulate model outcomes at a fraction of the computational cost of traditional physical models. However, to achieve reliable results choosing the right methodology and training strategy is a large scientific challenge.

Your job
In this project, we aim to apply deep learning techniques to predict precipitation fields over the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Himalaya in one combined project. For the Greenland Ice Sheet, the focus is on the spatial precipitation distribution on monthly and yearly timescales, for various climate states and ice sheet geometries. As training data, precipitation fields from the regional climate model RACMO will be used, which is a leading model in this field and developed and run within IMAU Ice and Climate research group. The created emulator can be used, for example, to rapidly provide precipitation fields for long-term (millennia) ice sheet simulations with changing geometry. For the Himalaya, the focus is on instantaneous, high-resolution precipitation fields for a static topography. Here, model data from the regional climate model WRF, operated the Mountain Hydrology research group, will be used for training. These data are available at different spatial resolutions, and the aim of the emulator is to downscale precipitation fields to an unprecedented resolution that better resolves the complex Himalayan topography.

Despite the enormous attention machine learning techniques receive nowadays, robustly emulating precipitation fields is an outstanding challenge. In this project, the successful candidate is expected to apply and expand existing knowledge and practices of machine learning techniques to create these novel emulators.

The position is split-up in two interrelated projects. For the first project focussing on Greenland, you will choose, develop and train the machine learning technique to emulate precipitation fields over the ice sheet. Next to that, you will run the regional climate model over Greenland using various ice sheet geometries to create a training dataset that sufficiently constrains the emulator. The results are expected to be published in peer-reviewed literature, and the emulator will be made publicly available to the international research community.

In the second project, a similar path will be taken, except that existing WRF simulations will be used and applied to the Himalaya with a fixed geometry.

This project is ambitious and challenging as precipitation emulation is still a field of active research. The suitable candidate must therefore be able to assess critically which method will work best and which steps needs to be taken to train the emulator so that it provides realistic and robust results.

We are, therefore, looking for a Postdoc with extensive experience with machine learning techniques and an interest in climate science. Within the research groups, you are expected to become the expert in this field. This position is part of the NWO funded EMBRACER project, which provides a large network to get acquainted with the current challenges in climate research and the modelling techniques in climate science.

• A two-year position with the option to extend for one more year;
• a fulltime working week and a gross monthly salary between €3,546 and €5,538 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employmentlaid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

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Utrecht University's Faculty of Geosciences studies the Earth: from the Earth's core to its surface, including man's spatial and material utilisation of the Earth - always with a focus on sustainability and innovation. With more than 3000 students (BSc and MSc) and 700 staff, the faculty is a strong and challenging organisation. The Faculty of Geosciences is organised in four Departments: Earth Sciences, Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Physical Geography, and Sustainable Development.

You will become both member of IMAU, part of the Faculty of Science, as well as the mountain hydrology group within the Faculty of Geosciences.

The Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU) offers a unique research and teaching environment, in which the fundamentals of the climate system are studied. Research is organized in five themes: Atmospheric Dynamics, Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry, Coastal and Shelf Sea Dynamics, Ice and Climate and Oceans and Climate. In 2022, IMAU research quality and impact were qualified as 'world leading' by an international visitation committee. Currently, IMAU employs 18 faculty members and 10 support staff and some 20 Postdocs and 30 PhD students, and offers a friendly, open and international atmosphere.

The Ice and Climate group at IMAU is an inspiring, high-quality and versatile research group focusing on ice sheets, sea level, and climate. The group is world-leading in modelling of the ice sheet surface including firn, and maintains a dedicated network of automatic weather stations. Currently, our research group has 5 staff members, 7 Postdocs and 5 PhD candidates. Within this team, 2 postdocs and a PhD student work currently fulltime with RACMO. For this project, we encourage and provide financial support for visits to conferences, workshops and summer schools, and we promote national and international exchange visits.

The team of the Department of Physical Geography excels in research and education on the BSc, MSc and PhD levels. We research processes, patterns and dynamics of Earth’s systems from the mountains to the sea, and the interaction in between. This knowledge is essential for the sustainable management of our planet and to guarantee the availability of resources for the next generations.

At EMBRACER we work at the very frontiers of knowledge on climate change, Earth’s climate system and climate feedbacks. Within its 10-year research programme, funded by NWO, EMBRACER brings together a wide range of world-leading climate experts with the aim to address existing uncertainties about climate feedbacks at the boundaries between oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere.