JGU Mainz, GU Frankfurt, TU Darmstadt, LMU Munich, MPIC Mainz, FZ Jülich and DLR

Participating institutions are

• JGU - Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
• GUF - Goethe University Frankfurt/Main
• TUDa - Technical University Darmstadt
• LMU - Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
• MPIC - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry Mainz
• FZJ - Forschungszentrum Jülich
• DLR - German Aerospace Center

Homepage: https://www.ipa.uni-mainz.de/

We would like to announce several PhD and Postdoc job opportunities within the second funding phase of the German Collaborative Research Centre

„The Tropopause Region in a Changing Atmosphere - TPChange“

The topics range from laboratory to field measurements, complex theoretical projects, especially with aerosol-chemical and dynamical topics, as well as their embedment in Earth system modelling on different scales.

The research programme

We investigate the tropopause region at 9–18 km altitude, the critical transition zone between troposphere and stratosphere that governs global atmospheric circulation and climate. Here, water vapor, ozone, and aerosols interact dynamically: water vapor modulates vertical temperature
gradients, altering large-scale circulation patterns, which in turn redistribute these constituents and affect ice clouds. Surface weather is tightly coupled to processes in this altitude region.

Despite its climatic significance, these feedback mechanisms remain poorly quantified, introducing major uncertainties in climate projections under global change. TPChange therefore targets precise mechanistic understanding of tropopause processes and their climate system impacts.

Phase I (2021-2025) established foundational process-level insights; Phase II (2026-2029) will integrate these into climate models to rigorously assess how climate change impacts the tropopause region and, consequently, Earth’s climate system.

Find out more about the specific job offers and application procedure at: https://tpchange.de/open-positions/

We are looking forward to your application!