The British Antarctic Survey is inviting applications for a 3-year postdoctoral research position to undertake high-resolution model analysis to investigate dynamical processes in the Southern Ocean.
This position will contribute to a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC): Expose (EXport Pathways Out of the Southern ocean and the Effect on anthropogenic carbon sequestration). Recent studies have placed a particular focus on the Southern Ocean since it has been shown to be a substantial sink of anthropogenic carbon: more than 40% of the global oceanic inventory of anthropogenic CO2 has entered the ocean south of 40S and is stored in mode and intermediate water layers. However, the transport pathways exporting water-masses and carbon out of the Southern Ocean are not well understood, and have been only analyzed in large-scale averages. Recently, it has been demonstrated that these water-masses, which ventilate the Southern Hemisphere thermocline and transport carbon are formed and subducted in specific regions, but the dynamics and the localisation of these pathways have never been studied. This is at odds with the evidence that the export of these water-masses has a strong and direct impact on climate and with the evidence that mode and intermediate pathways are not well represented in climate models, which introduces uncertainty into future predictions. The Expose project will provide a new and quantitative understanding these processes and their impacts on anthropogenic carbon sequestration.
The postdoctoral researcher will focus on studying the dynamics associated with interior pathways ventilating the Southern Ocean and sequestrating anthropogenic carbon using a state-of-the art high-resolution ocean model and its adjoint. The MITgcm-based Southern Ocean reanalysis "Southern State Estimate (SOSE)" (http://sose.ucsd.edu/) will be used to investigate Southern Ocean ventilation, and the adjoint of the model will be run to trace back the pathways taken by water-masses since their last contact with the surface layer. Sensitivity analysis will be run to investigate the critical dynamics at play in setting the Southern Ocean ventilation and their possible change in the future. We particularly seek a researcher with an interest and talent in ocean model analysis and ability in running numerical simulations to develop deeper dynamical understanding of ocean circulation and climate. Direct previous experience of running ocean models will be seen as a significant advantage. The researcher will join a team of scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and will strongly collaborate with project partners at the National Oceanography Centre, and in the USA (Johns Hopkins, Hawaii, Scripps, Colorado State).
Informal requests for further information may be addressed to Dr Jean-Baptiste Sallée (jbsall@bas.ac.uk).
Qualifications: PhD in oceanography, meteorology, climate dynamics, applied mathematics or a relevant scientific discipline or equivalent postgraduate experience
Duration: 3 year fixed term appointment
Salary: Salary will be in the range of £26,180 to £29,410 per annum. We offer a generous benefits package including a defined salary pension scheme, free car parking, flexible working hours and 30 days annual leave.
On-line application forms and further information are available on our website at www.antarctica.ac.uk/employment
These are also available from the Human Resources Section, British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET. Tel: (01223) 221508.
Please quote reference: BAS 102/12
Closing date for receipt of application forms is 31st October 2012
Interviews are to be confirmed.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community. People from ethnic minorities are currently under-represented and their applications are particularly welcome.
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