[Grad-postdoc-assn] PhD position available September 2017 at University of Waterloo (Canada)

[Paula Fisher]

Funded PhD project on the measurement of terrestrial snow using a
space-based instrument suite
Department of Geography & Environmental Management,
University of Waterloo, Canada

We invite applications for a PhD position in the Department of Geography
and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo, Canada. This
position is part of a three-year collaborative research project with
Environment and Climate Change Canada and the University of Toronto,
recently funded by the Canadian Space Agency, to investigate the use of
space-based instruments to quantify snowfall and snow cover over land and
sea ice. The anticipated start date for the position is September 2017.

**\Project background and scope of work/**
In an era of rapid changes to snow processes, such as rapidly retreating
snow margins, thinning snow on sea ice, and changes to the character of
cold-region precipitation, incorporation of accurate observational data
related to snow processes into Earth System Models (ESMs) has become more
critical for advancing quantitative prediction of climate variability and
change.  This project focuses on Canada’s Arctic and SubArctic, and uses
data from the Cloud Profiling Radar Instrument of the NASA/CSA CloudSat
Satellite (launched in 2006), to which Canada is contributing
significantly.  The successful candidate will work to characterize
space-based observations of snow falling on land, using a diverse range of
available atmospheric and surface-derived measurement products. This novel
application of observational data will then be applied toward our
longer-term goal of improving the representation of snow, and
snow-processes, in Earth System Models (ESMs).
        The candidate will first characterize the uncertainty of snowfall
measurements over land, using observational networks principally located
within Canada, to distinguish between snowfall in the atmosphere and snow
on land. Next, a process based evaluation of snowfall evolution in ESMs
will be conducted, based on the experience of sampling and characterizing
the space-based data. The final objective is to apply the improved
observational and model characterization gained to questions of climate
variability and change. This includes evolving snow event extremes in
Canada’s North, the changing thickness and seasonal cycle of snow, and
process evaluation of snowfall in climate simulations.
        The project benefits from close collaborations with colleagues at
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the University of Toronto,
the University of Waterloo’s Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change
(IC3), and the Canadian Sea Ice and Snow Evolution (CanSISE) network (
www.cansise.ca). As such, the successful applicant will have the
opportunity to interact and share knowledge with a team of world leaders in
the fields of snow observation and modelling, and to spend time visting at
ECCC.

**\Essential qualifications, skills, and desirable qualities/**
The successful applicant will hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a
physical science, mathematics, or engineering, discipline related to the
field of environmental remote sensing. Knowledge of remote sensing
techniques (particularly related to passive or active microwave satellite
sensors), cloud physics, seasonal snow and/or snow processes, would be a
distinct advantage. This project requires extensive programming and
development of data analysis tools in a Linux environment, and familiarity
with one or more scientific programming languages, such as Fortran, Matlab,
Python, or C++, would be highly beneficial.  The successful applicant will
possess excellent academic qualifications, be intellectually inquisitive,
an independent thinker and writer, eager to collaborate, and capable of
communicating their results, orally and in writing, to a broad range of
audiences.

**\Contact information and deadline/**
Informal enquiries about the position should be directed to the advisor and
principal investigator Dr Christopher Fletcher (<chris.fletcher at uwaterloo.ca
>). For more information about Dr Fletcher's research group, see <
http://env-web3.uwaterloo.ca/c5fletch/>. For further details about the PhD
programme in Geography at University of Waterloo see <
https://uwaterloo.ca/waterloo-laurier-graduate-program-in-
geography/graduate-programs/doctor-philosophy-phd-program>. Potential
applicants are encouraged to respond quickly. A review of applicants will
begin immediately, and short-listed applicants will be contacted to arrange
telephone/Skype interviews beginning in late-April 2017.
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