NASA Postdoctoral Program - Tropical meteorology, cloud and precipitation variability

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 research in tropical meteorology, cloud and precipitation variability within the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The research explores how clouds, convection and precipitation on Earth are organized by variations in water vapor, radiative feedbacks, and circulations, ranging from shallow cumuli to hurricanes and basin-scale equatorial waves. This variability offers a lens through which to test assumptions used in global climate and weather models. The GMAO develops the GEOS modeling system, used for near-real-time weather forecasts, seasonal prediction, and reanalysis production. Tools include single column modeling, large eddy simulation, global cloud-resolving simulations, and a wide range of satellite observations. Potential research topics include cloud radiative feedbacks, convection or precipitation-humidity relationships, size distributions of precipitation or cloud features, convectively coupled equatorial waves or the MJO including the influence of the maritime continent, gross moist stability or other cloud/convection diagnostics, and the diurnal cycle of convection. This opportunity is closed to Senior Fellows who are 5 years or more past their PhD.