JOB OFFERS

Announcement of one PhD position at the Transient Plasmas in Planetary Atmospheres group (TRAPPA) 

Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucia (IAA - CSIC)

(Granada, SPAIN) 

We announce one PhD (doctoral) position within the TRansient Plasmas in Planetary Atmospheres (TRAPPA) group (www.grupotrappa.iaa.es) at the IAA - CSIC (www.iaa.es) in Granada and within the context of the granted project "CONTRIBUCIÓN DEL IAA A ASIM: EXPERIMENTOS, OBSERVACIONES DESDE SUELO, ANÁLISIS DE DATOS Y MODELIZACIÓN" with Ref. ESP2022-136348NB-C31. 

This PhD position is to investigate atmospheric electricity phenomena in the new era of geostationary lightning detection, focussing on the chemical role of lightning in the atmosphere.

We offer a fulltime employment as a PhD (doctoral) student for 3 years (with possible extension of 1 year). The starting date of the contract is negotiable but ideally it would be September 16, 2025. The PhD candidate to be recruited by our group will be employed with full social security coverage. 

The gross salary is 1600 EUR per month (with 14 annual payments). We look for highly motivated students that hold a Master degree in physics, applied mathematics and/or engineering and demonstrate a high level of accomplishment and excellence in previous academic experience. 

IMPORTANT: If you are interested but do not have yet your master (but plan to have by early September 2025) you can still apply. However, note that, in order to be hired, you need to be registered (by early September 2025) as a doctoral student of the University of Granada, Spain.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: July 10, 2025

PhD Project 

Analysis of MTG-I1/-S1 data to study atmospheric chemical pollution by  lightning 

Contact: Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez (vazquez@iaa.es)

DESCRIPTION:

The candidate will combine optical measurements of lightning and clouds reported by, respectively, the Lightning Imager (LI) and the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI), onboard the new Meteosat Third Generation (MTG-Imager 1), ground-based lightning measurements from VLF/LF lightning networks and Lightning Mapping Arrays (LMA), and chemical measurements from several instruments onboard the MTG-Sounder 1, such as the, the Infrared Sounder (IRS) and the high-resolution Ultraviolet–Visible–Near-Infrared (UVN) sounder. In addition, the candidate will also use the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) to investigate the physical and chemical processes associated with these measurements and their regional / global impact on the atmospheric chemistry. 

The candidate's research will combine modeling tools with space- and ground-based measurements to investigate regional / global atmospheric chemical pollution. Use of data from the Atmospheric Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) succesfully launched April 2, 2018 and installed at the Insternational Space Station (ISS) will also be needed. ASIM is a space mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) in which Spain has a significant participation (co-PI level). 

TASKS:

• Develop new methods to quantify the lightning-produced nitrogen oxides by using cloud and chemical  measurements from the MTG instruments.

• Investigate the chemical role of lightning and corona discharges in the atmosphere at a regional scale by using the WRF model in combination with ground and space-based measurements.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• MASTER degree in physics, applied mathematics and/or engineering and demonstrate a high level of accomplishment  

    and excellence in her/his previous academic experience. 

• The candidate should have very good programming (Python, Fortran) and mathematical skills and high interest in data analysis. In addition, suitable candidates   for this position are expected to have an excellent command of English and good academic writing and presentation skills. In the selection process, special consideration will be given to candidates with some demonstrable experience with data analysis.

• Some experience in the scientific exploitation of satellite measurements will be positively considered.

• Some experience in atmospheric transport and chemistry modeling will be positively considered.

• We seek a flexible, highly motivated and proactive person.

• Very good written and spoken English is essential (at C1 level).

The most significant part of this PhD (doctoral) project will consist of the analysis of MTG data recorded by the Lightning Imager (LI), Flexible Combined Instrument (FCI) of MTG-I1 and the Infrared Sounder (IRS) and the high-resolution Ultraviolet–Visible–Near-Infrared (UVN) of MTG-S1, and modeling. The principal goal of this PhD project is to perform scientific data analysis able to extract new physical / chemical correlations between lightning activity and regional / global chemical pollution due to lightning.