Emprego

PERMASENSE: Quantitative exploitation of distributed environmental measurements in high-mountain areas

PhD studentship

Glaciology, Geomorphodynamics and Geochrolology
Department of Geography
University of Zurich, Switzerland

Surface processes in cold mountains are laterally highly variable and often investigated using spatially-distributed measurements and models. However, the full exploitation of distributed environmental measurements and models is often hindered by imperfect data (measurement errors, gaps, changing protocols, spatial autocorrelation effects) and a lack of methods and tools.

In this project, such methods and tools to support the quantitative utilization of distributed measurement data sets and models will be developed. Research is mostly (but not exclusively) tied to the mountain cryosphere and especially permafrost.

The research can be conceptualized along three main axes:

(1) Data checking and correction
How can invalid or missing measurements be detected and possibly corrected in different data sets? A wealth of existing data from PermaSense and the Swiss Permafrost Monitoring PERMOS are available to the project.

(2) Extraction of higher-level data including quality parameters.
How can higher-level information be extracted from imperfect and incomplete data sets? How can the corresponding uncertainty be estimated?

(3) Combination of spatially-distributed measurements and models.
How can distributed measurements and distributed model be combined? How can we move from individual point validation of a spatial model to a spatially-distributed quantitative estimate of model quality?

Within the NCCR-MICS (www.mics.org) project PermaSense, this PhD candidate will also be responsible for the conceptual design of the data management backend (based on existing SwissExperiment infrastructure) and interface with project partners at the ETH Zurich, the EPF Lausanne and the University of Basel.