It is well known that an important effort is required in order to ameliorate and reinforce the
reliability in modeling the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the dispersion of pollutants.
Assessments of toxicity can be in serious error when they are based solely on averaged
concentrations and it is required to control at least the variance (see, e.g., R. Sykes in
Lectures in Air Pollution Modeling, 1988). Due to resolution limitations, the models used by
the organizations that are in charge of the air quality prediction and monitoring do not
access the turbulent spatial and temporal scales of atmospheric flows. It is thus impossible
for them to quantify the amplitude of fluctuations, whence an important need for designing
accurate models. The goal of the proposed work is to improve the description of general
mechanisms that are important sources of large fluctuations in concentration field:
• the nature of the carrier turbulent flow (homogeneity, isotropy, mean shear)
• the inertia of the transported particles
• the type of source emitting pollutants.
Answering such questions is among the objective of a European Research Council grant
hosted both by the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, and by the Max Planck
Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany (for more details, see
http://www.oca.eu/atmoflex/).
The project:
This project aims at developing and exploiting experiments on the dispersion and
concentration of pollutants. The first step will be to use tracking techniques in order to
measure tracer dispersion in various flows. These experiments will be the Lagrangian
counterpart to those performed for temperature in Z. Warhaft's group in Cornell (see Ann.
Rev. Fluid Mech. 32, 203, 2000). This stage will be a prerequisite to attack the problem of
the dispersion of heavy particles. The project will be completed by the exploration of the
effect of the source on dispersion. This work will be done in close connection with analytical
and numerical studies carried out in Nice.
The project will be jointly supervised by Dr. J. Bec from the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
and by Prof. E. Bodenschatz from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self
Organization. The doctoral student will spend around 2/3 of his/her PhD in France and 1/3
in Germany. Such a conjuncture will represent for him/her a unique opportunity to develop
simultaneously theoretical/numerical and experimental skills in an international context.
Starting date: no later than Nov. 1, 2011.
The PHD position is offered for three year and is funded by a European ERC grant through the CNRS.
Requirements:
Candidates should have or about to have a Masters degree in Physics and be highly
qualified. Interest in experimental physics and computational capabilities are essential.
Because of the transnational nature of this project, the candidate is expected to have good
English skills.
Enquiries to J. Bec on +33-4-92 00 31 19, e-mail: jeremie.bec@oca.eu
Closing date for receiving applications: September 15, 2011.
Applicants should send their CV, motivations, with possibly reference letters to J. Bec by
e-mail: jeremie.bec@oca.eu