Vacancies at the IMAU

Postdoc position

Postdoc position in the Field of Climate Dynamics (1.0 FTE)

We are looking for a postdoc with an interest in climate dynamics to join the Horizon-Europe project Climtip (climate tipping points: uncertainty-aware quantification of earth system tipping potential from observations and models and assessment of associated climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts), within a large European consortium.

Your research will focus on two subjects:

  • the efficient determination of tipping behaviour in Earth System Models (ESMs), particularly on how to identify multi-stable regimes in these models; and
  • on the application of rare event techniques to tipping in ESMs. One key goal here is to develop techniques to efficiently determine transition pathways using advanced Machine Learning techniques. Additionally, the application of these techniques will be extended to more detailed climate models, in determining transition probabilities of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the Subpolar Gyre. Read more.
PhD position

PhD Position in the Field of Physical Oceanography

To date, the characterisation of centennial climate variability as well as our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is very limited, and efforts towards improving the representation of centennial variability in climate models are sparse. In this PhD position, you will help us understand the mechanisms of centennial variability in the global ocean.

Both geological reconstructions and model simulations indicate that the large-scale ocean circulation, and more specifically the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), likely plays an important role in centennial variability. We currently lack a spatio-temporal description of centennial AMOC variability and lack a mechanistic understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms of this variability. Such an understanding is key to interpret the observed climate variations over the last centuries, to better interpret recent and ongoing changes, and  to improve climate model projections by including an evidence-based representation of internal variability on all relevant time scales. Read more.