Internal Research Fellow (PostDoc) in EO for Atmospheric Science

You will report to the Head of the Science Section in the Data Applications Division of the Science, Applications & Climate Department of the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes. You will work in close cooperation with other Directorate staff.

The Division is a dynamic R&D team leading research & development activities, in partnership with European and international industry and academia, aimed at advancing science, developing novel applications, supporting industrial growth and contributing to establishing a European ecosystem of exploitation platforms to maximise the impact of European missions on society.

Overview of proposed field of research 

ESA, together with the scientific community, is actively engaged in a number of scientific project development activities in the research field of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics aimed at:

•    developing innovative methods, algorithms and products to improve capacity to observe and monitor the atmosphere;
•    enhancing knowledge of potential ozone hole recovery including analysis of species in ozone chemistry;
•    advancing capacity to better characterise elements of air pollution, including extensive use of data from ground-based instruments, e.g. Pandora, aerosol LIDAR;
•    developing multi-mission joint products to support understanding of cloud and aerosol interaction;
•    exploring innovative methods to estimate different components of the atmospheric part in the hydrological cycle;
•    improving knowledge of greenhouse gas flux inversions, specifically CH4 and CO2.

The availability of Copernicus Sentinel-5p data, their synergies with Earth Explorers (e.g. Aeolus) and other data (including ground-based remote sensing) as well as exploitation of long-term EO data archives are opening up new frontiers for science and research in this field. 

Specifically, the exploitation of atmospheric dynamics datasets in the context of improving the retrieval quality of algorithms for chemical species is to be investigated.

You will be involved in three main activities:

1)    Supporting the scientific development, definition and technical supervision of science projects, carried out by external teams of experts and scientists, addressing mainly scientific product development activities for Copernicus Sentinel-5p and the Aeolus mission.
2)    Supporting ESA’s interface and dialogue with the relevant scientific communities, including international science groups such as SPARC and IGAC. Further supporting dialogue with partner organisations such as Eumetsat and ECMWF.
3)    Carrying out dedicated research focusing on the scientific exploitation of European and other EO missions with a special focus on fostering new methods, algorithms, products and innovative science results for aerosols and greenhouse gas concentrations.

You will also participate in setting up an Earth Science research area at ESRIN as a hub to attract young talent and  world-class senior scientists and experts worldwide to work together to advance EO research and Earth system science. 

You will also contribute to the ESA Atmosphere Science cluster aimed at promoting networking, collaborative research and fostering international collaboration in this area. The cluster involves various ESA-funded projects, scientists and activities bringing together various expertise, data and resources synergistically, thereby ensuring that the end-result is greater than the sum of the parts. With this approach, ESA wants to contribute to establishing a stronger European atmospheric research area in close collaboration with European and international partners.
 

You must have completed PhD (or equivalent) studies in atmospheric chemistry or dynamics, physics, engineering or Earth science with research experience and peer-reviewed publications in relevant topics for the fields of research proposed.

You should have experience in research on aerosol optical properties and trace gases, the use of related satellite and ground-based data and dedicated calibration/validation activities.

Experience with software development in the field of research, but also in a broader context, will be an asset.

You should have good analytical and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment autonomously.

Applicants must be fluent in English and/or French, the working languages of the Agency. Good proficiency in English is required.