2022年2月23日水曜日

Interested in how the Earth system works?  I have a #PostDoc opening available in my group, applying thermodynamics, max. power, and optimality to Earth system science. @MPI_BGC – Earthsystem.org

Interested in how the Earth system works?  I have a #PostDoc opening available in my group, applying thermodynamics, max. power, and optimality to Earth system science. @MPI_BGC – Earthsystem.org

Interested in how the Earth system works?  I have a #PostDoc opening available in my group, applying thermodynamics, max. power, and optimality to Earth system science. @MPI_BGC

The position is in my research group, which focuses on how the Earth functions as a whole system, the role of life within it, and what a sustainable human future might look like. We take a unique Earth system approach that focuses on thermodynamics, energy conversions, and limits/optimality such as maximum power.

We are seeking a motivated and interested person to help us further develop this approach, evaluate it using observational data, and/or compare it to climate model results. More details are provided in the formal job announcement, which you can find here. More background information in this post.

A holistic view of how energy is converted within the Earth system. Updated after Kleidon (2010).

Why is thermodynamics something really cool?  Actually, when I was a student many years ago, I was always a bit intimidated by thermodynamics, being so abstract and mathematically intense.  But, as it turns out, one does not need much of it to get basic insights for Earth system science.  Most importantly, it not just provides a fundamental direction and limits to energy conversions (and different forms of energy are behind practically all Earth system processes), it actually also allows us to do climatology and climate change science on the back of an envelope!  So we do not need and rely on complicated, incomprehensible climate models to figure out what is going to happen with global warming.  Yet, we can use GCM simulations to compare our outcomes to.  If you want to see what we have already done, check out our recent publications on our home page or our blogposts here on this blog.

Do you have more questions? If something is unclear, or you want some feedback, or there is a timing issue or concern, or are unable to submit your application by the deadline, just let me know.  My contact details are summarized here.

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