Guide to Atmospheric Postgraduate Study - Introduction

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The Institute

The Institute of Atmosphere and Environment is situated in the University of Edinburgh's Science and Engineering Campus on the south side of the city. Through multi-disciplinary collaborations and an on-going successful seminar series, the institute maintains a stimulating and challenging work environment. In addition to formal training and supervision, students interested in atmospheric study can widen their interest by attending the regular Edinburgh meetings of the Scottish Branch of the Royal Meteorological Society. The institute also has a tradition of accepting a diverse range of students and researchers from many countries.

With a national and international reputation in several fields, the Institute prides itself with its strong research background. Several research groups cover a wide range of study including: using large-scale climate models to offer a bridge between weather forecasting and long term climate variations, studying acid rain and high surface pollution events which are especially important to the upland areas of Scotland, using 'data assimilation' theory to look for better ways of bringing observations and computational models of the atmosphere and oceans together, and undertaking ocean circulation modeling with nationally and internationally coordinated programmes.

Finally, there is a major emphasis on observational and modeling studies of the 'middle' atmosphere (stratosphere and mesosphere) with satellite data and detailed computer simulation being used to investigate the chemistry and dynamics of ozone and other trace atmospheric constituents. To this end, the Institute is directly involved in supporting several national and international projects related to the above research including EOS (Earth Observing System); UARS (the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite); UGAMP (the UK Universities' Global Atmospheric Modeling Programme) and MAST (investigating the circulation of the Mediterranean Sea and the global ocean).

The Institute currently has four academic staff and around ten full-time post-doctoral researchers plus a similar number of PhD students working in the above areas and it is expected that students will find research projects related to these interests.

Studentships

Two PhD studentships are generally available annually, usually from the Natural Environment Research Council, (NERC). Topics will normally follow the main interests of the academic staff, listed below. Students who have their own funding can also undertake projects on topics to be agreed with the Institute.

Courses in Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Physics, Atmospheric Dynamics, Atmospheric Modelling, Computing Techniques, Project Planning, and Written and Oral Presentation Skills will be undertaken from our Honours and MSc programmes as appropriate. Thesis supervision is overseen by a Thesis Committee in addition to the formal supervisors. Besides the academic study of their chosen subject, postgraduate students can obtain broader experience by attending selected courses, helping in the undergraduate teaching, attending our regular series of colloquia in the Institute and by participating in our annual conference.