Postdoc Position/Research Assistant, Team leader "Mesoscale-Microscale Modelling in Energy Meteorology"

Postdoc Position/Research Assistant, Team leader "Mesoscale-Microscale Modelling in Energy Meteorology"

Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg

Oldenburg, Germany

Your tasks

To increase the efficiency and reliability of wind energy production, it is crucial to simulate atmospheric processes across various scales. As wind energy expands, particularly offshore, understanding larger-scale atmospheric interactions becomes critical, e.g. for mitigating negative wake impacts on a regional scale. At the same time, knowledge of the local turbulent flow remains important for accurately resolving smaller-scale atmospheric interactions with individual wind turbines.

In addition to enhanced knowledge, the wind energy community requires validated, accelerated workflows that capture relevant physical flow features. This can significantly reduce uncertainty in the calculation of wake effects at large scales. This is particularly relevant for the German situation, with the most densely planned offshore wind farm clusters in the world.

You will lead the team »Mesoscale-Microscale Modelling« with PhD candidates and Postdocs contributing to the further development of atmospheric modelling tools that can cover all scales from the meso- to the microscale, while focusing on meso-scale effects, e.g.,

• improving mesoscale models for simulating the near-coastal marine atmospheric boundary layer, with its challenging heterogeneous surface conditions that are also strongly time-varying;
• developing an AI-based method to refine information from mesoscale simulations of the atmosphere into high-spatial-resolution information on wind and wave conditions in the German Bight;
• developing and validating wind farm parameterisations in meso-scale models;
• investigating the effects of innovative wind turbine and wind farm designs on the regional scale and on the energy system;
• fundamentally increasing the accuracy of flow simulations for offshore wind energy applications by coupling atmospheric and oceanic models.

Further tasks include:

• contributing to the conceptualisation, acquisition and management of third-party funded projects;
• active participation in the planning and implementation of teaching;
• co-supervising PhD candidates, Bachelor's and Master's students;
• presenting scientific results at international conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.

Your profile

Requirements for employment include:

• PhD degree in Meteorology, Physical or Geophysical Sciences, Mechanical Engineering or in a similar field;
• Qualifying university degree (diploma or master's) in Meteorology, Geophysical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Oceanography, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or in a similar field;
• profound knowledge in boundary-layer physics and the analysis of turbulence resolving measurement data;
• profound knowledge in either mesoscale modelling (preferably in WRF) or atmospheric large-eddy simulations;
• publication track record in international scientific journals and conferences;
• fluency in communicating and reporting in English.

Desired qualifications:

• experience in modelling the interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and wind energy systems;
• experience in the analysis of meteorological measurements, e.g. lidar;
• coordination of research projects;
• experience in project acquisition;
• German writing and communication skills.