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Atmospheric Sedimentation of Non-Spherical Dust Particles: Developing knowledge for improvement of models

Dust-DN doctoral network – DC4

University of Reading

Supervisors: Chris Westbrook, Claire Ryder and Konrad Kandler

The Dust-DN doctoral network

Atmospheric dust or mineral dust (or simply “dust”) is a major atmospheric aerosol, and it gives us one of the most visible and detectable aspects of transboundary transport of atmospheric constituents, impacting visibility, radiation and climate. What is less evident are its quantitative impacts on health, transportation and energy production. Atmospheric dust is not fully understood at the fundamental level (microphysical properties, dust emissions, source regions) and hence atmospheric models fail to fully reproduce its impacts. Moreover, dust observations using ground-based instrumentation, remote sensing and aircraft are abundant, but not evenly distributed; in particular they are missing near the major dust sources. Moreover, the techniques are still under development, with each giving a different picture of a phenomenon with multiple facets. For example, it is now known that super-coarse and giant dust particles have gone undetected for a long time due to limitations in the measurement and modelling tools that have been in use for decades, and this misdetection alters the understanding and the prediction of a number of processes. Finally, dust affects the environment, society, and several economic sectors, with impacts on the transportation and energy sectors for example, the nature and cost of which is not fully understood and quantified. Several methodologies exist to study mineral dust, each giving its own differing picture of a complex phenomenon: numerical modelling, remote sensing, in-situ observations, laboratory research.

We establish the Dust Doctoral Network (Dust-DN), in order to address gaps in the understanding of dust and its impacts by linking the different disciplines and methods. The aim is to train a team of early career scientists into overcoming compartmentalism in this field of science, and into developing a multi-disciplinary approach to mineral dust. Dust-DN will set up a network of academic and non-academic partners working on different aspects of dust research, and will coordinate a program of doctoral projects that will enhance knowledge across a broad range of fundamental, but linked, components of the atmospheric dust life cycle and its impacts. The projects will span across the disciplines of atmospheric sciences (dust processes, modelling, and remote sensing), geology (dust emissions and source regions), as well as the impacts on society and economic sectors. The knowledge will be shared among participating institutions and the wider public and scientific community. Common activities will be held, so as to enhance the network among the partner institutions and among the doctoral researchers, delivering an ambitious advanced training program for capacity building.

The Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading

The Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading is leading the way in understanding and tackling the world’s environmental challenges in weather, climate and Earth observation. Our pioneering research informs how governments, organisations, industries and communities respond to complex issues such as climate change, ozone depletion, atmospheric pollution and space weather.

We are a thriving community of over 200 academics and research scientists and more than 150 students. The University of Reading is ranked 5th in the world for Atmospheric Science. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) our research environment was classified as world leading. We ranked 3rd in the UK for research power in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, while 100% of our research impact has been classed as world leading or internationally excellent. The status of our dynamic and productive research environment is reflected in the long-standing presence of staff from the UK Met Office, and major elements of the NERC funded National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). We work closely with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the headquarters of which are moving onto the University of Reading campus.

The University of Reading has a dedicated Doctoral and Researcher College which supports PhD students throughout their studies and coordinates local training. The Department of Meteorology hosts several doctoral training programmes, including SCENARIO (Science of the Environment), AFESP (Advancing the Frontiers of Earth System Prediction) delivered in partnership with the ECMWF, UK Met Office and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and Mathematics for Future Climate, resulting in a large cohort of around 50 PhD students with extensive training and career development activities.

The doctoral project

Doctoral Candidate 4 (DC4) – “Atmospheric Sedimentation of Non-Spherical Dust Particles: Developing knowledge for improvement of models”

Enrolled in the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology PhD programme in “Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate”.

Supervisors: Dr Chris Westbrook (University of Reading), Dr Claire Ryder (University of Reading), Dr Konrad Kandler (TUDa)

In-situ observations of dust show that super-coarse (diameter > 10 microns) and giant (diameter > 63 microns) are prevalent in dusty regions of the planet and have a significant impact on the climate through radiative, cloud microphysics and biogeochemical interactions. However, recent work shows that models are unable to represent transport of these super-coarse dust particles without significant adjustments to particle sedimentation velocity, for which there is currently no viable physical explanation. 

In this studentship the student will perform lab experiments with a particle settling tank to improve our understanding of how non-spherical dust particles of various shapes and sizes fall through the atmosphere. The student will create a bank of ‘atmospheric analogues’ of dust particles made from a 3D printer of realistic sizes and shapes, from simple to complex. These will be informed by the creation of a database of dust size and shape properties, using data from airborne campaigns and also from using stereogram analysis from filter samples. The student will then perform laboratory experiments with the analogues in a glycerine tank, where the fluid density and particle size are adjusted to retain dynamic similarity to the atmosphere at realistic Reynolds numbers for the atmosphere. The results will be assessed for the impact of dust shape and size on settling velocity and fall orientation. These results are expected to provide information for dust transport models on realistic adjustments to settling velocity which may occur as a result of dust non-sphericity, impacting dust lifetime in models. 

The student will be based at the University of Reading, and will undertake a 5 month secondment to TUDa (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany) to develop design inputs of 3D dust analogues using stereogrammetry. Additional secondments include 3 weeks at the National Observatory of Athens, Greece, (Dr Mallios) for knowledge exchange of the results to model simulations and 2 weeks to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany (Dr Klose) for application of results to climate modelling.

Details

The recruited doctoral candidate will be enrolled in the University of Reading’s PhD programme and included in the “Dust Doctoral Network”, which involves highly prestigious research groups on this scientific topic, and which will ensure that the cohort of doctoral candidates is integrated in a dynamic and enthusiastic scientific environment. The doctoral candidate will learn about the consortium partners’ unique facilities and research topics/methods, and will exploit these opportunities for their research. All Dust-DN doctoral candidates will work side-by-side with lead scientists at world-leading institutes, and they will:

  • Take responsibility for the scientific project that they are involved in, and the instruments and/or software required.
  • Collect scientific knowledge through experiments and/or numerical modelling, and data analysis.
  • Develop tailor-made data processing methods.
  • Advance the fields of research in atmospheric dust and/or the related measurement and/or modelling techniques.
  • Participate in the Dust Doctoral Network training and networking activities.
  • Publish research results in scientific peer reviewed journals, and present at conferences and workshops.

Qualification Requirements

  • The candidates are required to have, or expect to complete soon, an excellent undergraduate or master’s degree (or equivalent) in a physical or mathematical science subject (or other natural science discipline) and must not have any kind of PhD degree.
  • Fluency in written and oral English is compulsory. If English is not a first language, in the second step of the application procedure applicants must demonstrate a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, with no less than 5.5 in any individual section
  • Motivation for research on atmospheric dust.
  • Experience or aptitude to develop scientific software (computer-based programming)
  • Demonstrated ability in being a strong team player.
  • Strong international mobility for the purpose of research, training, and dissemination is mandatory.

Preferred Qualifications

Additional appreciated skills and competencies are:

  • Experience of laboratory work
  • Self-motivated with an aptitude for experimentation and problem solving
  • Willingness to liaise with technical staff and other researchers to achieve goals
  • Experience in applying broad scientific knowledge to a range of specific problems or scenarios.
  • Previous research experience and/or previous interest in the atmospheric sciences, meteorology/climate, fluid dynamics or closely related discipline.
  • Experience in scientific written and/or oral communication.
  • Publication record.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Qualifications:  The candidate must hold a title satisfying the admission requirements for a doctoral candidate at the institution where they will be enrolled (see qualification requirements). A doctoral degree in any field is not compatible with these positions.
  • Mobility: Transnational mobility is an essential requirement of MSCA Doctoral Networks. At the time of recruitment, the candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment date. Applicants must be aware that seconding periods are planned for this position as described above. International applicants are welcomed. 

Rights and Responsibilities of Researchers Participating in Marie Skłodwska-Curie Actions
The European Charter for Researchers is a set of general principles and requirements which specify the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of both researchers and the employers and/or funders of researchers. The aim of the Charter is to ensure that the nature of the relationship between researchers and employers or funders is conducive to successful performance in generating, transferring, sharing and disseminating knowledge and technological development and to the career development of the researchers.

It is obligatory for applicants to read and understand the detailed information regarding the rights and responsibilities of researchers engaged in an MSCA Doctoral Network.

The European Charter for researchers can be accessed at: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/european-charter

Employment Contract and Financial Aid

The selected candidate will be appointed under a 36-months full-time employment contract. A competitive financial aid package will be offered to the successful candidate with a gross annual salary of £42,691 (living allowance and mobility allowance). 

It is understood that failure to successfully continue the PhD program will result in immediate cancellation of the employment contract and the financial support provided.

University of Reading Home fees will be covered by the grant and the University of Reading will cover the difference between the Home and International fees. https://www.reading.ac.uk/essentials/Money_matters/Tuition-fees/Fee-Tables.

Start date

A start date will be negotiated with the successful candidate. Ideally start dates would be between 3 February 2025 and June 2025. The candidate must start by early October 2025. The position is full-time (35 hours/week), funded for a period of 36 months.

Application and selection

Application advisory: A pre-screening of the candidates will be made by the Dust-DN consortium as a first step prior to the formal recruitment process. Candidates should submit a CV and motivation letter on the Dust-DN website, together with their university transcripts and the name and contact information of two referees, and indicating up to 3 preferred doctoral projects (in order of preference) amongst the ones advertised within the whole Dust-DN (which includes the one in the present advert). It is very important that the motivation letter should recall each of the qualification requirements and preferred qualifications indicated in this advert, clearly justifying how the candidate is able to meet each of them, and providing evidence. After short-listing, the most suitable candidates will be called for an interview.

Formal recruitment phase: The most highly-ranked applicants interviewed during the application advisory phase will be re-directed for the formal application.

With the submission of the documents, applicants agree that the documents will be shared among all supervisors of the Dust-DN consortium and members of the respective shortlisting and interviewing panels.

Dust-DN respects and supports the compatibility of professional and private life and promotes development opportunities for its cohort of doctoral researchers. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment.

Deadlines:

Applications for the advisory phase must be submitted by 31 August 2024.

Deadline extended to 30 September 2024

Formal applications must be submitted by 30 November 2024.

We reserve the possibility to extend the deadline(s).

Contact Information
For further information, please contact Dr Chris Westbrook (c.d.westbrook@reading.ac.uk).