About me
A summary of how I did arrived heere
About me
Short summary
I am an atmospheric and snow scientist working at the Snow Processes group at WSL Institute for the Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF). My research is highly multidisciplinary. My main focus are extreme weather events in Antarctica and their attribution to Climate Change and all their related impacts on the snow and firn.
Research Bio
I obtained a 5-year BSc+MSc in Environmental Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). At that time I discovered the existence of a new master degree in Meteorology at the University of Barcelona (UB), which I enroled after my degree. Once I finished my master, I presented to the competitive exams and won a civil servant position in the Spanish Meteorological Service (AEMET) in 2010. Meanwhile, I coursed the 1st and 2nd year of the BSc in Physical Sciences at the UAB and UNED and in 2013 I started my PhD in Physics on “Precipitation and Mesoscale Circulations in Complex Orographic Areas” at the UB, directed by Prof. Bech. During my PhD I participated in the ATMOUNT project analyzing remote-sensing observations of precipitation and snow. All these activites can be considered my "hobby", since I combined them with my work as weather forecaster in AEMET.
In 2015, I got the great oportunity to join to the Antarctic Group of AEMET to participate in Antarctic campaings and do some research with the data recorded in our stations. I participated in two Antarctic Campaigns (2016-17, 2017-18) as a weather forecaster at the Spanish Juan Carlos I station. During that time I got involved in the MICROAIRPOLAR project, a highly multidisciplinary project that combines biology, ecology, meteorology and mathematics for a common goal: understand how microorganisms arribe to Antarctica by the air and move around. This project let me participate in a third campign around the Antarctic Peninsula (2018-19), this time as a scientist. On my Antarctic duties I also provided weather forecasts to the Windsled expeditions in Greenland and Antarctica, and I was co-IP of the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) endorsed MAWS project.
In 2019 I finally defended my PhD dissertation. With this doctoral thesis I won the IEC Eduard Fontserè award for the best physics thesis. I continued working as weather forecaster in AEMET until 2020, when I requested the position of head of the instrumentation and systems section of the Catalonia Delegation. There I managed a small team of 3-5 people to maintain all the instrumentation of AEMET in the catalan territory.
However, during my PhD and my activities in Antarctica I learnt that I enjoyed so much doing research and in 2022 I presented to a postdoc position at the Snow Processes Group leaded by Prof. Lehning at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos, Switzerland. Now, my postdoc is already finished by I continue contract there as a scientific staff conducting research on climate sensitivity of atmosphere and snow using both observations and high-resolution atmosphere-snow coupled models (CRYOWRF).
CV
Current Positions
2025 - Scientist, Snow Processes Group, WSL Institute for the Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), Davos, CH
Past jobs
2022 - 2024 Postdoc, Snow Processes Group, WSL Institute for the Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), Davos, CH
2020 - 2022 Head of Section of Infrastructure, Systems and Instrumentation in the regional office of the Spanish Meteorological Institute (AEMET) in Catalonia, Barcelona, ES
2011 - 2020 Weather Forecaster in the regional office of the Spanish Meteorological Institute (AEMET) in Catalonia, Barcelona, ES
Education
2019 PhD in Physics, Universitat de Barcelona. Supervisor : Prof. Joan Bech. Excellent cum laude.
2013 MSc in Meteorology, Universitat de Barcelona
2008 BSc in Environmental Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Projects
2025 - 2027 M. Lehning & S. González-Herrero. Climate sensitivity of snow in Antarctica using models of different complexity. CSCS – s1329. Computation: 121,000 nh. CH. Role: Co-IP
2024 - 2025 M. Lehning & S. González-Herrero. Climate sensitivity of snow in Antarctica. CSCS - s1308. Computation: 76,000 nh. CH. Role: Co-PI
2023 - 2024 M. Lehning & S. González-Herrero. Sensitivity of blowing snow sublimation on different climatic conditions in mountainous regions - present and future. CSCS - s1248. Computation: 67,192 nh. CH. Role: Co-PI
2023 - 2027 M. Lehning: Large-Scale Influence of Small-Scale Snow Processes. SNSF – 215406. 1,136,269 CHF. CH. Role: Postdoc
2021 - 2025 A. Quesada & A. Justel: MICROAIRPOLAR2: Biogeography, Transport and Adaptation of Polar Microorganisms. MCI - PID2020-116520RB-I00. 308,500 €. ES. Role: Work Package leader
2017 - 2019 A. Quesada & A. Justel: MICROAIRPOLAR: Understanding the succession of antarctic microbial communities from deglaciated soils using new methods for Big Data. MCI - PID2020-116520RB-I00. 231,110 €. ES. Role: Work Package leader
Teaching
2020 - 2022 Lecturer in the BSc of Logistics, Escola Universitaria Mediterrani, Barcelona, ES
Students
Awards
Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) Award of the Science and Technology Section Eduard Fontserè for the best PhD thesis in Physics (4000 €)
Field Experience
2022 - Field campaigns in different high mountain regions (Alps and Pamir) to install and maintain automatic weather station and develop glaciological campaigns
2024 - 2025 Field campaign in Princess Elizabeth (Antarctica) to install instruments along a 30m Tall Tower to measure the vertical distribution of blowing snow and turbulent fluxes
2018 - 2019 Field campaign with the vessel Hesperides along the Antarctic Peninsula and camp in Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island) to measure airborne microorganisms.
2017 - 2018 Weather Forecaster in the Spanish Juan Carlos I station in Livingston Island (Antarctica)
2016 - 2017 Weather Forecaster in the Spanish Juan Carlos I station in Livingston Island (Antarctica)
Peer recognition
2026 - Elected Swiss National Representative in the Physical Science Group of SCAR
2025 - Elected member in the Contact Group for Weather and Climate Extremes in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Extremes Platform
2024 - Elected member of the Scientific Steering Group of Climate and Cryosphere (CliC), a core project of the World Climate Research Project (WCRP) in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to promote research into cryowphere and its interactions with the global climate system
2021 - 2024 Elected member of the Polar Expert Group of the EU-PolarNet2 on Polar Climate Systems for implementing European Polar research internationally, by specifying overarching priorities, research needs and specific actions
2020 - 2023 Elected President of APECS-Spain
2020 Invited presentation at the “SCAR Antarctic Science: Global connections” Workshop
Membership
Swiss Society for Meteorology (SSM)
European Geosciences Union
International Commission on Polar Meteorology
International Glaciological Society