[Denmark] PhD scholarship: Remote Sensing of Precipitation in Mountainous Areas
PhD scholarship: Remote Sensing of Precipitation in Mountainous Areas
Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship related to remote sensing of precipitation in areas of complex topography. The PhD position will be co-funded by the Danish Council for Strategic Research and Geographic Resource Analysis and Science Ltd. (GRAS). The PhD will be part of the multi-disciplinary research project; HYdrological Modelling for Assessing Climate Change Impacts at differeNT Scales (HYACINTS, www.hyacints.dk). The successful candidate will be employed by GRAS and enrolled at theDepartment of Geography and Geology (DGG), University of Copenhagen.
Project description
HYACINTS will develop new methodologies and tools to enable easier and more accurate use of regional scale climate and hydrological models to address local scale water resource problems. One of the work packages deals specifically with hydrological change. When working in catchments with poor data availability typically found in third world countries remote sensing data are often the best data source both with respect to precipitation and evapotranspiration. However, a serious problem when using remote sensing based precipitation data is that these data are only available at large spatial and temporal scales, typically daily values at 25 km resolutions. In mountainous areas the precipitation is controlled by orographic effects resulting in large spatial variations in actual rainfall intensity within the resolution of the remote sensing image. To enable the use of hydrological models to assess hydrological change in areas of poor data availability the study will investigate the use of new remotely sensed data products for topography and precipitation. The aim of the PhD study will be to develop a methodology for downscaling precipitation estimates derived from remote sensing in areas with significant orographic effects based on digital elevation models and a limited number of ground rainfall stations. Close collaboration with project partners such as DHI, DMI, GEUS and Alectia Aqua will be important.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in engineering, geophysics, physical geography or similar
- Experience with remote sensing (preferably related to water resources) and geostatistics
- Proficiency in programming
- Ability to work independently, to plan and carry out complicated tasks, and to be a part of a large, dynamic project group
- Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken
Terms of employment
The position is for a fixed duration of three years. We are offering an exciting position in an international and innovative environment where the successful candidate will be working closely with the academic staff at GRAS. In addition, the candidate will be affiliated with the research group in Water Resources and Earth Observation at DGG.
Application
Applicants are requested to submit a short description of qualifications related to the project along with a one page project proposal, CV, diplomas and transcripts, list of publications, list of references, and evidence of English language proficiency. Please send your application including appendices in one single pdf file to jobs@gras.ku.dk. The deadline for applying is 20 June, 2008 and the successful candidate will be expected to start 1 September, 2008.
Further information
Please contact GRAS Director Mikael Kamp Sørensen (mks@gras.ku.dk, +45 35 32 41 75) or
Associate Professor Inge Sandholt (is@geo.ku.dk) for further information about the PhD project. More information about HYACINTS can be found at www.hyacints.dk.
About GRAS
GRAS is a research and consulting division created in October 2000 jointly by the University of
Copenhagen and DHI – Water & Environment. The main areas of expertise are within marine
environmental assessment and monitoring, natural resource management and Geographic
Information Systems (GIS). GRAS is a not-for-profit company; generated revenue is used for further
research and development. More information is available at www.gras.ku.dk.
