Vacancy: Joint Research Professorship of SGO and FMI

At the Sodankylä Space Campus, a joint research professorship by Finnish Meteorological Institute and University of Oulu in Atmospheric Research and Imaging Applications is now open for applications.

Application deadline is extended until 14 September 2018.

Sodankylä Space Campus

University of Oulu and Finnish Meteorological Institute jointly invite applications for the position of Professor in Atmospheric Research and Remote Sensing, with emphasis on Space and Imaging Applications. This is a joint Research Professor position between both institutes and is placed at Sodankylä. The position is filled at the level of Assistant Professor/ Associate Professor/ Professor, according to the qualifications and merits of the selected applicant.

The professor will work in the interdisciplinary research programs of the Sodankylä Space Campus and will participate as a supervisor in doctoral programs, related to the fields of sciences driven at the Sodankylä Space Campus.

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO) is a separate research institute of University of Oulu, with a national task of carrying out geophysical measurements and related research. Research is both empirical and theoretical, including development of measurement methods and modelling.  SGO’s research of cosmic rays, magnetospheric physics, ionospheric physics and aeronomy of the middle and upper atmosphere belong to one of the strategic research spearheads of University of Oulu.

Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) operates at Sodankylä the Arctic Space Centre (FMI-ASC), which focuses on the Earth observation research and services, arctic climate change research and the development of weather-related intelligent traffic applications.

FMI and University of Oulu established in 2018 the Sodankylä Space Campus to enforce research co-operation by the two institutes at the Sodankylä Campus, in northern Finland.

FMI-ASC and SGO together operate a globally unique research infrastructure, providing integrated observations of the processes and couplings in the Earth-atmosphere-space system at high latitudes. Research at Sodankylä is carried out together with the wide international research community, based on utilisation and development of this infrastructure.

The new professorship aims to strengthen the joint research profile of the Sodankylä Space Campus targeted to atmospheric research, by applying these data for various applications in an advanced, more effective manner by taking full advantage of novel data inversion and assimilation approaches.

Please refer to the full announcement for more information and use the application form to apply.

Application deadline is extended until 14 September 2018.

Please contact us directly for more information:

Professor Jouni Pulliainen, FMI, +358 50 5895821, jouni.pulliainen (at) fmi.fi
Director Esa Turunen, SGO, +358 50 5663264, esa.turunen (at) sgo.fi

Text: Esa Turunen, SGO; photo: Timo Rantala, SGO.

Sodankylän avaruuskampus

Ilmatieteen laitoksen satelliittivastaanotinantenni.

Ilmatieteen laitos ja Oulun yliopisto ovat sopineet avaruustoiminnan lisäämisestä ja yhteistyön tiivistämisestä Sodankylän avaruuskampuksella, jossa sijaitsevat Ilmatieteen laitoksen Arktinen avaruuskeskus ja Oulun yliopiston erillislaitos Sodankylän geofysiikan observatorio (SGO).
 
Käytännön toimenpiteenä yhteistyön tiivistämiseksi Ilmatieteen laitos ja Oulun yliopisto ovat sopineet uuden yhteisprofessuurin rahoittamisesta Sodankylän avaruuskampukselle vuoden 2018 aikana. Uuden professorin asiantuntemuksella vahvistetaan geoavaruusympäristön ja ilmakehän vuorovaikutusten tutkimusta Suomessa. Professuurilla edistetään Sodankylän avaruuskampuksen mittaus- ja palveluinfrastruktuurin kehitystä ja modernien menetelmien hyödyntämistä esimerkiksi hahmontunnistus- ja inversiotekniikoiden käytössä sää-, ilmakehätutkimus- ja avaruussääsovelluksiin. Professuuri avataan avoimeen kansainväliseen hakuun ja täytetään viiden vuoden määräajaksi tai pysyvästi päätoimisena sijoituspaikkana Sodankylän avaruuskampus.

Lue koko juttu Oulun yliopiston sivulla (linkki).

Vacancy: Post-Doc for Mesospheric Ozone Research / deadline 31st Jul

Postdoctoral position in the Thule Institute’s project “ Mesospheric of Monitoring Ozone” (until end of 2020)

The University of Oulu in Northern Finland, with approximately 16,000 students and 3,000 employees, is an international, multidisciplinary research university with a rich pool of creative and intellectual talent. The strengths of the University include broad, multidisciplinary research interests, a modern research and study environment, and wide cooperation with international research and educational institutes.

The Thule Institute is a strategic focus area unit which promotes multidisciplinary research and innovations through high-quality research projects and doctoral training. The position is a part of the Thule Institute’s new projects centred on the two out of five thematic focus areas of the university: "Creating sustainability through materials and systems" and "Earth and near-space system and environmental change."

The postdoctoral position is open at Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory in the project "Mesospheric Monitoring of Ozone above the Polar Vortex (MeMO)."

Note: the deadline for applying is extended until 31st July 2017 (use link "apply for the job" at the end of the full announcement).

Salary

The salary will be based on the levels 5 – 6 of the demand level chart for university-level teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance will be paid (maximum of 46.3 % of the job-specific component). The salary is thus in practice roughly 3,500€– 4,000€ per month, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience.

Application Procedure

The following documents must be attached to the application:

1. Brief curriculum vitae in English
2. List of publications in international peer-reviewed journals
3. Brief description of research merits
4. Brief (1–2 pages) research and action plan in English
5. Contact information of two or three (2–3) persons who may be asked to give a statement about the candidate

Applications, together with all relevant enclosures, should be submitted using the link "apply for the job" at the end of the full announcement by 31st July 2017.

Ozone Receiver Antenna at Sodankylä.

Project Description

Mesospheric Monitoring of Ozone above the Polar Vortex (MeMO)

The project uses standard TV satellite receivers to monitor the 11.07 GHz emissions of mesospheric ozone, a method pioneered by MIT’s Haystack Observatory. The project will build improved, multi-channel instruments, one of which will monitor the mesosphere above Sodankylä. Others will measure the ozone above the polar vortex and will be placed at schools as part of the scientific outreach of the project.

Using these data we will study the effects of energetic particle precipitation and sudden stratospheric warmings on ozone, as well as ozone climatology. A prototype receiver provides four years of initial data (since autumn 2012).

The position is located at Sodankylä and available immediately or later as per mutual agreement.

Research group: Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory is a highly versatile geophysical observatory north of the Arctic Circle operating various types of measurements at over 20 locations. Measurements of the geomagnetic field as well as radio observations of the upper atmosphere are at the core of SGO’s operations. Within the CHAMOS project, SGO and FMI develop the Sodankylä Ion-Neutral Chemistry (SIC) model for interpreting space weather effects on the lower ionosphere.

Colocated with SGO is the Arctic Research Centre of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI-ARC), which provides a wealth of tropospheric and stratospheric measurements. The observations include ozone measurements using sounding balloons and ground-based spectrometers since the 1980s. FMI researchers are experts in satellite observations of the middle atmosphere.

MeMO is a collaboration between SGO and FMI-ARC, aiming to extend current ozone measurements in altitude and spatial coverage and put them into context of other observations.

Qualification requirements: The successful candidate will have a background in atmospheric physics or chemistry and/or experience in the use of radiometers and/or experience in the use of atmospheric computer models. For the further development of the instrument, experience working with hardware and/or experience in a high-level programming language are highly beneficial. Excellent command of both spoken and written English are essential.

Contact: Dr Thomas Ulich, e-mail: thomas.ulich(at)sgo.fi, tel.: +358405490403.