Recently-approved funding in the Climate Science for Service Partnership (CSSP) Brazil at Leeds presents an opportunity for a skilled crop modeller.

Agriculture is one of the main sectors in the Brazilian economy. Climate change projections in Brazil indicate that higher average temperatures and reduced rainfall in many regions are expected to increase the number of areas under high risk for crop production, with potential food security and socioeconomic impacts. “Developing impacts modelling capability and understanding - Agricultural crop modelling and application” is a two-year project starting in April 2019, part of CSSP-Brazil. The project is led by the University of Leeds in partnership with the Met Office and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) in the UK; and with the Centre for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN) and the University of São Paulo in Brazil. The research team includes expertise in soil, crop, meteorological and hydrological measurements and modelling.

We are seeking a crop modeller to improve and apply the JULES-Crop model in current and future climate scenarios in two of Brazil’s main crops, maize and sugarcane, making use of an extensive network of soil moisture sensors and agronomic experiments. The assessment of climate-related food and bioenergy crop production impacts will help inform adaptation decisions and policies, and has clear links to other focus areas of CSSP-Brazil such as mitigation strategies, land use change dynamics and carbon cycling.

You will have a PhD (or be close to obtaining) in crop/plant science, soil science, environmental science or a closely allied discipline and have a strong background in agronomy, crop physiology and phenology, and experience with process-based crop modelling.

As part of the role you may be required to participate in workshops/research visits in Brazil and we anticipate approximately four visits over the appointment, each around 2 weeks in duration.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr Marcelo Galdos, University Academic Fellow

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 9102, email: m.galdos@leeds.ac.uk