Global Climate Model Diagnostics and Evaluation: At the Intersection of Models and Satellite Data

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific opportunity focuses on evaluating, diagnosing, and understanding critical physical processes using models and observations to improve general circulation models (GCMs). The research involves using NASA satellite data (e.g., CERES, CALIPSO, CloudSAT, and MODIS) to evaluate GCMs on timescales from the diurnal cycle to interannual variability and on spatial scales from local to global. Specific research areas include interactions between polar clouds, sea ice, and poleward heat transport, the representation of extratropical cyclones and mid-latitude cloud feedbacks, and evaluating GCM diurnal cycle representation and the effects on climate state and its evolution. This postdoctoral fellowship is located at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.