Free Education for PhD scholarship in “Retrieval of water vapour content from GPS occultation measurements at Denmark"

A three-year PhD scholarship is available at DTU-Space, with start date May 1st 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Apply before: 15.04.2008 at 12:00 (noon)

The PhD position is funded by The Technical University of Denmark as part of a collaborative agreement with Technical University Münich. The study concerns two missions planned for the International Space Station. One is “The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor” (ASIM) for observations of extreme thunderstorms and their influence on the atmosphere. ASIM is led by DTU-Space in collaboration with Terma. The other is “Atomic Clock …” ACES with participation of Technical University Münich. ASIM includes a number of optical instruments to observe electrical discharges in the stratosphere and mesosphere and cloud parameters. The ACES payload includes a GPS receiver. The instruments are to be mounted on two external platforms on ESA’s Columbus module in 1012.

Strong thunderstorms of the tropics pump water vapor high in the atmosphere, at times even into the stratosphere. As water vapour is an efficient greenhouse gas it is important to understand its circulation in the atmosphere. The purpose of the study is to develop tools to extract atmospheric density, temperature and water vapor from the GPS signal received by ACES. As a GPS satellite rises over the horizon, its signal is affected by the changing refractive index with altitude. From the signal properties, it is possible to extract information on the atmospheric density, temperature and water content from 500 m altitude and into the stratosphere.

The candidate should have a master’s degree and a solid background in mathematics and signal processing. The project is in collaboration with the Danish Meteorological Institute and the Technical University Münich. The PhD study will be under the DTU-Space PhD network “Space Science and Technology” (see www.space.dtu.dk or www.space-phd.dk).

It is expected that the applicant fulfils the general requirement for enrolling as a PhD student at DTU, see http://www.dtu.dk/English/education/Phd_Education.aspx. The salary is according to the current rules for ph.d. students at Danish universities.

The PhD study vil be based on the DTU-Space “south” office, Juliane Maries Vej 30, close to downtown Copenhagen. The ph.d. student will organizationally be under the Department of Solar System Physics, and work in close cooperation with other studens involved in GPS studies.

Further information may be obtained from Department Chair Torsten Neubert, neubert@space.dtu.dk, tel. +45-3532 57231.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Applications must include a curriculum vitae and documentation of a completed master’s degree and grades, and must be received no later than April 15, 2008 at noon, at

DTU Space
Att.: Simon Ekholm
Juliane Mariesvej 30
DK-2100 København Ø.
Denmark

http://www.dtu.dk/English/About_DTU/vacancies.aspx?guid=22392855