27-101: Fire Weather and Atmospheric Composition Modeler

Colorado State University•Boulder, CO

10d•$85,000 - $90,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University (CSU) is seeking a full-time Research Scientist to conduct collaborative research with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) in Boulder, CO. This position is within NOAA/OAR/GSL's Earth Prediction Advancement Division (EPAD), specifically the Fire Weather and Atmospheric Composition Branch (FWACB). CIRA is a research organization focused on interdisciplinary atmospheric sciences, leveraging advances in engineering and computer science. GSL provides environmental observation, prediction, computer, visualization, and information systems for the National Weather Service and the nation. The FWACB leads the development of regional and global aerosol and air quality forecast models, including WRF-Chem and the operational HRRR-Smoke model. Currently, GSL/EPAD is developing and testing new aerosol and fire weather forecasting models coupled to the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS), known as cheMPAS-Fire, for operational implementation. This full-time, two-year funded position (with renewal contingent on performance and funding) involves designing and developing fire weather and atmospheric composition capabilities for convection-allowing coupled meteorology-chemistry models. The role requires collaboration with scientists and software developers to design, develop, test, and refine fire spread, fire-weather interactions, and atmospheric composition representation in these models. A key responsibility is transitioning new modeling capabilities to NOAA's Unified Forecast System (UFS). The modeler will also contribute to connecting the MPAS-based UFS with the Community Fire Behavior Model (CFBM) to improve fire spread prediction, enhance fuel loading and moisture datasets, conduct sensitivity simulations, and evaluate the model against observations. The position reports to the CIRA Associate Director.

Requirements

Ph.D. in atmospheric science or related physical or environmental science discipline. Applicants must successfully complete their Ph.D. defense before the starting date.
At least 3 years of experience with air quality models (e.g. WRF-Chem)
Experience in modeling wildfires and smoke transport
Experience in computer programming for model output and observational data analysis (especially Python or other language)
Experience working with satellite data
Excellent communication skills in English, as evidenced by a clear, concise cover letter.

Nice To Haves

Ability to work both independently and in a team environment
At least two first author publications in atmospheric sciences

Responsibilities

Contribute to the connection of the CFBM to the MPAS-based UFS
Conduct fire spread simulations with the cheMPAS-Fire model with CFBM for different wildfire cases
Implement and test new parameterizations for gas/aerosol chemistry in the MPAS-based RRFS-Smoke and cheMPAS-Fire models
Conduct fire emission inversions using ground-based and satellite observations of atmospheric constituents
Evaluate the model simulations using atmospheric data from NOAA’s field campaigns, in-situ and remote sensing monitoring networks and satellites (e.g. TEMPO, PACE)
Participate in developer meetings, contribute to project reports, and assist stakeholders
Present research findings in peer-reviewed publications and conferences