PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline date 08 Jan 2024. Applications are no longer being accepted for this project
Project Overview
To explore and quantify production of the coldest waters encircling Antarctica. Antarctica’s cold and dense waters go on to fill the deepest 40% of the ocean, but lack adequate observation. This project aims to address fundamental questions about the variability and downstream change of Antarctic waters.
Project Description
Extremely cold waters are created on the shelf seas around Antarctica. These waters flow northwards to fill the deepest 40% of the ocean, where they affect ocean circulation and health as well as sea level rise. Despite their significance, the seas and ocean around Antarctica remain relatively under-observed. As a result, many fundamental questions remain unanswered. Why does the amount of cold water vary with time? How do changes that happen close to Antarctica evolve downstream? This project will design and test an observing system that is best-placed to answer these questions.
The project has three main objectives:
- Review and compilation of legacy observations and monitoring systems (e.g. moorings, repeat hydrographic sections, and satellites) including a cost-benefit analysis of different instrumentation. This analysis will set a baseline for what is already known and identify limitations in the current observational network.
- Design an observing system to address these limitations, then test using models. Testing will be performed using state-of-the-art model output and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs). In this way, the candidate will be able to estimate the impact of the observing system.
- Determine the skill of the observing system for monitoring and detecting change (e.g. the minimum period and set of variables needed to detect variability).
Your conclusions will underpin future strategic planning for a Southern Ocean observing system. In doing so, you will contribute to assessing Antarctica’s role in ongoing changing climate.
An example of an observing system close to Antarctica. This figure shows the long-term vision of SOOS (Southern Ocean Observing System) which is an international effort to promote sustained, integrated and multidisciplinary observations of the Southern Ocean.
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered and hosted at the University of Southampton. Specific training will
include:
- Understanding ocean dynamics and processes.
- Processing and analysis of multi-disciplinary observational datasets (including but not limited to, mooring, repeat hydrographic sections, satellite).
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- Analysis and interrogation of model data sets, including using Observing System Simulation Experiments.
- Communicating and disseminating scientific results, especially their significance.
- Programming within python, jupyter notebooks, and high-performance computing
- Opportunities to:
o take part in fieldwork, including a research voyage in the Southern Ocean.
o visit co-supervisor at Australia National University, Australia.
attend national and international conferences to disseminate the candidate’s results, as well as broaden their scientific network.
