Job Offer

24 April 2012

Full time research position on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate interactions.

Location:
Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
(UPS/OMP UMR 5560, CNRS and Université de Toulouse).

Environment:
The Laboratoire d'Aérologie is one of the 8 entities of Observatoire Midi Pyrénées (OMP) which is the Universe, Space, Earth and Environment Sciences department of the Université Paul Sabatier (UPS). One of the main objectives of OMP is recording and using long-term observations for Earth and Universe, through the development and use of in-situ and space instrumentation, numerical modelling and databases.
Human resources of OMP: 360 researchers (including lecturers, astronomers and physicists); 325 engineers, technicians, administration staff, and more than 200 graduate students and post-doc fellows.
For details see: http://www.obs-mip.fr
The vacancy is in the group «Ozone et Précurseurs» of the Laboratoire d’Aérologie (http://www.aero.obs-mip.fr). lead by Céline Mari (Celine.Mari@aero.obs-mip.fr). The main research activity of this group is based on photochemistry of the troposphere and lower stratosphere, and more precisely on the budget of ozone at global scale (natural and anthropogenic production, transport, fluxes at the interfaces) and its time evolution (interannual variability and trends). This group is using the MOZAIC-IAGOS data base (Measurements of Ozone, Water Vapour, Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Oxides by Airbus In-service Aircraft – In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System, http://www.iagos.fr) and the French community research model Meso-NH (http://mesonh.aero.obs-mip.fr/mesonh/) and its chemical component. This group is a Principal Investigator of several European projects. IAGOS (EU-FP7, http://www.iagos.org) has the objective to build an European research infrastructure based on the use of airliners to perform atmospheric observations. The group is responsible for one main instrument (Package 1, including ozone and carbon monoxide measurements) and for the relationships with scientific and institutional users. This group is also involved in MACC (EU-FP7, http://www.gmes-atmosphere.eu/) , which has the objective to build the GMES Atmospheric Service. Its responsibility in the latter project is to evaluate the quality of model forecasts for air quality and atmospheric composition at global scale using MOZAIC and IAGOS observations.

Main duties:
The vacancy is in the MOZAIC-IAGOS team (contact: Valerie.Thouret@aero.obs-mip.fr ), which is responsible of this long-term observing system and of the development/improvement of the IAGOS central database. The position includes two parts:

• Research activity (around 75% of the time) on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Interactions. We will consider all propositions in this topic as long as they reinforce the use of the MOZAIC-IAGOS data.
  
• A so-called «community task» (around 25% of the time) dedicated to the development and promotion of the IAGOS central database.

• Content and quality of the long-term observing system:
  • Quality control and accuracy of airborne in-situ O3 and CO data.
  • Metadata
  • Add-on values products included in the database
• Scientific coordination of the long-term observing system through the following actions:
  • Help for users
  • Take part and/or organise workshops and conferences
  • Take part to the editing/update of the IAGOS website
  • Ensure and promote the use of the IAGOS data by the GMES Atmospheric Service

Qualifications:
A PhD in atmospheric sciences, meteorology, physics, mathematics, or a related subject is required; a minimum of 2 years experience in data analysis and/or global modelling after the PhD is mandatory.
Good programming skills in MATLAB (and/or IDL) are essential; skills in FORTRAN-90 and UNIX scripting will be appreciated.
The working languages of LA/OMP are French and English. Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and a good knowledge of French would also be appreciated. Interviews will be conducted in English or French.

Remuneration:
Typically within the range of 2400 € to 3500 € net per month, depending upon qualifications, experience, and personal situation.

Starting date:
1 September 2012, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Length of contract:
Two years for initial contract, with the possibility of renewal.

Application:
The application form consists in:

• a detailed CV, including at least two letters of recommendation from previous supervisors or co-workers
• a research project (2-3 pages max)
• a description of your skills and willingness for the “community task” dedicated to the IAGOS database development and promotion (1 page max)

Closing date:
Completed applications must reach the MOZAIC-IAGOS Secretariat not later than 30 August 2012. Interviews will be organized afterwards accordingly to the different selected candidates.

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