High-resolution climate and hydrology projections for the Rocky Mountains

Our group at Cornell University is looking for a Postdoctoral Associate to investigate downscaled climate projections from the CESM2 Large Ensemble.

The overarching motivation is to assess the time and warming level at which snow-related hydrology metrics in the Rocky Mountains emerge from their historical variability, as well as better understand associated uncertainties. The results will inform stakeholders about when existing infrastructure and water management strategies are likely to become inadequate given their design based on historical expectations of climate variability. 

The postdoctoral researcher will be supervised by Prof. Flavio Lehner and also work with Dr. Keith Musselman’s group at the University of Colorado Boulder. The effort will analyze and integrate observational and climate model datasets, specifically CESM2 Large Ensemble simulations downscaled with WRF. There will be further collaborations with Dr. Julie Vano from the Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI), who will facilitate disemination of the results to a wide range of stakeholders.

The position is funded by NSF and is based at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. There will be support for conferences and travel to collaborate in-person with project partners in Boulder and AGCI. The successful candidate would join an active community of postdocs and personal development opportunities at Cornell (see https://postdocs.cornell.edu/).

For full consideration, please submit a letter of application, a current curriculum vitae, a diversity statement of how, through research, teaching and/or service, the candidate can contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion in support of Cornell’s mission of “any person… any study” via email to Flavio Lehner (flavio.lehner@cornell.edu). For any questions about the position, please also contact Flavio Lehner.

Only references for short-listed candidates will be contacted.  Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Responsibilities

• Downscale CESM2 Large Ensemble simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model
• Investigate both CESM2 and WRF-downscaled climate projections over critical watersheds of the Western U.S.
• Interface with project partners on scientific results and exchanging data
• Publish results in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals
• Present results at conferences and seminars

Minimum qualifications

• PhD in atmospheric science or related field
• Experience with running and analyzing WRF
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Proficiency in Python or other data analysis software
• Ability and desire to pursue research both independently and as part of a team

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with HPC environments
• Experience with downscaling climate information more generally
• Ability and desire to create clear and compelling visualizations