Water, Energy and Carbon Cycle Scientist

I. JOB SUMMARY

Main Topic: Physical Geography
Secondary Topic: Meteorology, Atmospheric sciences, Climatology

Overview:  Water, energy and carbon cycle scientists analyze variety of hydrology, surface energy balance and carbon cycle satellite data to study atmospheric and ecological phenomenon such as evapotranspiration, precipitation, ground water storage, net radiation and vegetation productivity. They use data gathered from different NASA programs such as GRACE, CERES, GPM, MODIS, ECOSTRESS. They also use reanalysis data and land surface model output for their study. Impacts of climate change on Earth’s energy balance is one of the major topics these scientists focus upon and hence they can collaborate with wide range of academics from different fields such as geologists, physicists, environmental scientists and human geographers. The following are examples of astronomer job titles:

Earth System Scientists: Earth system scientist study various Earth systems to understand, predict, and respond to human-caused and natural environmental changes at local to global scales. They consider the interactions and feedback between different energy fluxes and processes within different atmospheric layers, namely, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and magnet Therefore, Earth system scientists are from a wide range of natural and social sciences, including ecology, economics, geography, geology, glaciology, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, paleontology, sociology, and space science, physicists and hydrologists.

Water, energy and carbon cycle scientists merge satellite data, observation and land surface model to study the link between energy, carbon and terrestrial water cycles, land use and vegetation at regional and global scales. They also monitor, analyze and quantify climate change related fluctuations in Earth's energy, water and carbon cycles by using data from different sources.

Geographers at work:  Physical geographers, Meteorologists, Geologist

Recommended College Courses: Physical geography, Geographic Information Science, Climatology, Cartography, Geology

Skills: Creative with strong scientific background. Programming skills (Matlab, Python, or similar) and be familiar with processing big data. Satellite data and land surface models skills.

Occupation Group: Life, Physical and Social Science

Learn more about Water, Energy and Carbon Cycle Scientist: https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/division/earth-science/carbon-cycle-and-ecosystems/