Mineral dust is a global player in the earth system and dominant contributor to the global atmospheric aerosol burden. Although inevitably for understanding the earth system, numerical simulations of the atmospheric dust cycle show uncertainties. This PhD project aims at investigating and quantifying the role of desert pavements on the emission and deposition of mineral dust aerosol. Emission and deposition control the atmospheric dust concentration, which ultimately determines the magnitude of the dust feedbacks in the Earth system. It is funded in the framework of the DFG-Project “Desert Pavements: Assessing their Modulating Role in the Atmospheric Dust Cycle” (PIs: Prof. Schepanski / FU Berlin and Prof. Brenning / Uni Jena) and offers the opportunity to advance our knowledge of the modulating role of desert pavements in the atmospheric dust cycle, which ultimately offers the chance to improve the performance of aerosol models in the southern Hemisphere.

Job description:
The position is available from 1 May 2025 for 3 years and is aimed at future PhD students who would like to work in their research on the exciting topic of "Dust in the Atmosphere", linking cutting-edge model development with the study of the role of dust in the Earth system. The position is based at the Institute of Meteorology in Prof. Schepanski’s working group.

The central research topic of the future position holder is the further development of the mineral dust module in a global aerosol-atmosphere model as well as the investigation of the role of desert pavements on the emission and deposition of desert dust aerosol. The research is of interdisciplinary nature and in collaboration with the work in Prof. Brenning’s group / Jena.

Requirements:
Successfully completed Master degree in meteorology, geosciences, atmospheric physics, environmental sciences, physics or a comparable sub-field of physical geosciences.

Desirable:
Programming experience and experience with UNIX/Linux-based computer environments. Very good written and spoken English skills are also desirable. Interest in interdisciplinary research.