Are you passionate about tackling the challenges of a changing climate? Are you fascinated by the rising frequency and intensity of wildfires and eager to grow into a skilled climate scientist? As a PhD candidate in the R&D Satellite Observations department at KNMI, you’ll have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most advanced satellite instruments. You will analyse the global impact of biomass burning smoke and contribute to the development of innovative techniques that enhance our understanding of the atmosphere. Interested?
Why it's important
As the climate warms, longer periods of rain and drought lead to more vegetation growth and more fuel for wildfires. These increasingly intense fires are a growing risk for people and the planet.
At KNMI, we work to protect society by monitoring extreme weather and climate events. As a PhD candidate in the R&D Satellite Observations department, you’ll use state-of-the-art satellite instruments to study the global impact of wildfires on the atmosphere.
What you will do
KNMI leads the world in satellite-based air quality monitoring with TROPOMI, and plays a key role in the new EarthCARE mission, which includes the most advanced space-based lidar ever flown. These instruments offer a unique opportunity to observe smoke particles and their interaction with clouds, a critical but still uncertain factor in climate science, highlighted in the last three IPCC reports.
In this project, you will develop algorithms that combine TROPOMI and EarthCARE data to track wildfires and better understand their role in our changing climate.
Are you a team player?
This research will be carried out in close collaboration with four other PhD candidates based at various Dutch universities (VU, WUR, UU, UT) and a postdoctoral researcher at UU, in partnership with the Dutch space research institute SRON. While you focus on collecting and developing satellite observations of wildfires across the globe, your fellow researchers will use these data to improve climate models, study human influences on fire activity, and examine burned vegetation and the carbon cycle.
Together, you will form a multidisciplinary team that investigates the climatic, ecological, and societal dimensions of wildfires in the context of climate change. An approach that would not be possible through individual research efforts alone.
Are you warming to the idea already?
You will be based at KNMI and supervised by Dr. De Graaf, an expert in aerosol research using satellite instruments, and Prof. Boersma from Wageningen University, who leads a research group in atmospheric composition and heads the consortium. You will regularly meet with your fellow researchers and help organise meetings at KNMI.
You will present your findings at international conferences and publish scientific papers, while also contributing to the work of your colleagues, building your academic network in the process. You thrive in a scientific environment and are equally comfortable explaining your work to a broader audience. Ultimately, you will write and defend your PhD thesis.
Are you inflames?
The "Interdisciplinary Network for Fire Research from Low Earth Orbit Atmospheric Measurements" (INFLAMES) is a major research project funded by the Dutch Space Office. It combines cutting edge satellite data with advanced modelling techniques to uncover how wildfires affect air quality and climate, with a special focus on vegetation both as a fuel source and as a carbon sink in fire affected regions.
Wildfires are powerful natural forces that shape ecosystems, degrade air quality, and influence the climate. Human activities intensify fires through land use changes, accidental ignitions, and droughts driven by climate change. INFLAMES aims to unravel the complex interactions between climate change, vegetation dynamics, and human behaviour and their combined impact on wildfire occurrence and effects.