PhD Position in African Precipitation Variability from Raindrop to Continental Scales

Do you want to improve weather forecasts and climate projections for Equatorial East Africa, a region facing frequent floods, landslides, and droughts? Then this PhD position may be something for you!

PhD Position in African Precipitation Variability from Raindrop to Continental Scales

Job description

The project African convective systems in a changing climate (ANVIL), funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Flemish Research Council (FWO), aims to address critical uncertainties in our understanding of rainfall systems over Equatorial East Africa (EEA) and how they may change in the future. It is a collaborative project between TU Delft, KU Leuven and Ghent University.

The successful PhD applicant will be involved in the work package African precipitation variability from raindrop to continental scales, led by TU Delft. This work package leverages new observational capabilities (from disdrometers, rain gauges, radars, satellites and commercial microwave links) to study EEA precipitation variability from the smallest (raindrop) to the largest (near-continental) scales. This will provide an evaluation benchmark for the cloud and precipitation-modelling efforts in ANVIL’s other work packages.

Concretely, the successful PhD applicant will work on:

1. Parameterizing rainfall variability from the micro-γ to the meso-β scale
2. Lagrangian properties of EEA rainfall for the period 1979–2025
3. Eulerian properties of EEA rainfall for the period 1979–2025
4. Statistical rainfall analysis of EEA rainfall under warming, urbanisation and aerosol scenarios

This will provide unprecedented insights into factors affecting African rainfall and identify key areas for future model development.

Job requirements

A completed MSc in hydrology, atmospheric sciences, remote sensing, (environmental) physics, civil engineering, environmental engineering or related field and affinity with the application of remote sensing and numerical models in the field of weather and water. Strong quantitative and communication skills (written and oral) are a prerequisite, as well as a motivation to work with (BSc and MSc) students.

TU Delft

Delft University of Technology is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society.

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.