Research Assistant or Research Associate in
Land Surface Modelling and Soil Moisture Scaling

Job number: ACAD101068
Queen's School of Engineering
Fixed term contract staff
Full time
Salary £31,342-£35,256 (Assistant Grade I) £35,256 - £39,685 (Associate Grade J)

A postdoctoral position is available within the Department of Civil Engineering to evaluate the performance of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) in reproducing soil moisture dynamics and key land-atmosphere interactions in the UK at hyper-spatial resolution in combination with novel cosmic-ray soil moisture technology and remote sensing products. A PhD in meteorology/hydrology or related disciplines (e.g. environmental science) with an interest in land-atmosphere interactions, numerical modeling, remote sensing, and data assimilation is essential.

This fixed term post is part of the NERC-funded project AMUSED (A MUlti-scale Soil moisture-Evapotranspiration Dynamics study) whose ultimate goal is to identify the spatiotemporal scale-dependency of key dominant processes that control changes in soil moisture and land-atmosphere interactions. AMUSED will employ new innovative technology for soil moisture monitoring using cosmic-rays sensors in combination with land surface modeling, satellite remote sensing, and data assimilation methods. Some fieldwork will take place, especially at the initial stages of the project to deploy and install/calibrate cosmic-ray soil moisture sensors. For more information about AMUSED, please visit http://www.bris.ac.uk/cabot/news/2014/502.html.

You will have experience using land surface models (e.g., JULES, CLM, Noah, VIC) to predict soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions, some programming knowledge (e.g., Fortran or C) and experience with Linux operating system, demonstrated ability to publish peer-reviewed papers, effective written and oral communication skills, willingness to work in a team, in an academic research environment, and development collaborative links.

You will ideally have knowledge of hydrometeorology, land-atmosphere interactions, data assimilation and/or remote sensing, and some previous experience with fieldwork activities.

This post is offered on a full time fixed term contract for 30 months in the first instance.

Interviews are expected to take place in late October 2014.

For informal inquiries, please contact Dr Rafael Rosolem, Lecturer in Water and Environmental Engineering, rafael.rosolem@bristol.ac.uk

The successful applicant for this vacancy may be appointed either on a fixed term or a permanent contract depending on the extent of their previous relevant research experience, in line with the University's Fixed Term Contract Agreement. Further information can be found at www.bristol.ac.uk/hr/ftc/

The University of Bristol is committed to equality and we value the diversity of our staff and students.

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Closing date for applications 12 October 2014