Post-doctoral position – LEGOS

A 2-year post-doctoral post is available at LEGOS (Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales) in Toulouse. The post is associated with the theoretical part of the TEASAO project and will be open for 2 years with a possibility of extension (up to one additional year). The scientists involved in this part of the project are Yves Morel, LEGOS; Peter Haynes, (DAMTP, Cambridge); Alexandre Paci, CNRM-GAME; Francis Auclair, LA; Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, LA.

Interested candidates are invited to email Yves Morel (yves.morel@legos.obs-mip.fr) and Peter Haynes (phh1@cam.ac.uk) including a CV and names and contact details of 2 referees. Questions and requests for further information are welcome. There is no formal deadline for applications but we hope to make a decision on appointment in September.

The selected candidate is expected to begin as soon as possible in fall 2016, but about 2 months are generally necessary for the recruitment administrative procedure. The salary depends on the research experience of the candidate and ranges from about 2000 euros to 2600 euros.

General description of the work to be achieved:

Conduct theoretical studies on vertical redistribution of passive or reactive tracers by turbulence in geophysical fluids. Establish a scientific protocol to address the scientific problem based on non-hydrostatic numerical modelling, starting with the development of Kelvin Helmholtz instability. Study of other types of turbulence (breaking of internal waves, convection, etc.) is possible according to work progress. Participation in educational activities based on laboratory experiments is also planned.

Required Skills:

• Expertise in mixing processes and non-hydrostatic numerical modelling.
• Knowledge of geophysical fluid dynamics.
• Excellent knowledge of programming in FORTRAN.
• Knowledge of software such as Matlab for postprocessing of data and production of synthetic results and plots.
• Creativity, enthusiasm for science and research, and ability to work within a team.

The TEASAO project:

The “Turbulence Effects on Active Species in Atmosphere and Ocean” (TEASAO) project is a project funded by Toulouse IDEX. It includes participation from Peter Haynes, University of Cambridge (UK), as a Visiting Professor.

The general context of the TEASAO project is the understanding and modelling of the effect of small-scale turbulence and vertical mixing on the evolution of chemical or biological species in both the ocean and the atmosphere and its integrated effect at larger scales. This has strong relevance for societal problems such as fresh water resources, air or water quality, pollution development and spreading, primary ocean production (plankton) and fisheries.

Many of the outstanding scientific questions in this area are common to both ocean and atmosphere, and the rationale for the TEASAO project is that there is much to be gained by the atmosphere and ocean scientific communities in Toulouse from exploiting this commonality. The project is built with an original combination of theoretical to applied studies.

One scientific goal of the TEASAO project is thus to build a common framework to address the theoretical aspects of the evolution of active tracers in turbulent stratified flows, in particular the evolution of their distribution along density classes. Data and more realistic applications will be provided by specific studies for the ocean (plankton growth along an upwelling front) and for the atmosphere (the interaction between turbulence, mixing and microphysics on different scales in the tropical tropopause layer).