Emprego

Postdoctoral or PhD position available: Ice-sheet modelling and coupling to mass-balance models, University of Laplan, Finland

A 3-year research position (postdoc or PhD) is available at the University of Lapland,Rovaniemi, Finland in collaboration with the Computer Science Centre in Helsinki, Finlandas well as the Universities of Oslo, Norway and Uppsala, Sweden.The candidate will work on the topic “Coupled climate and ice dynamics of theNordaustlandet ice caps” within the Nordic Centre of Excellence “SVALI” (www.ncoesvali.org). 

Starting date is 1.5.2011 or as soon as possible in 2011 upon agreement. 

The PhD (or Postdoc) will be supervised by Prof. John Moore (Arctic Centre; BNU, Beijing,China). The position will be located at the Arctic Centre, Rovaniemi and guided by Dr.Martina Schäfer with support from CSC (Dr. Thomas Zwinger).The position will involve a longer stay in Oslo (Dr. Thomas Schuler) and shorter stay(s) inUppsala (Dr. Björn Claremar) as well as Espoo (Dr. Thomas Zwinger).Based on the performance of the candidate, an extension for a 4th year in the case of aPhD on external funds is possible. The possibility is given to enrich the curriculum throughthe SVALI graduate school.Annual salary during the 3 years financed through SVALI is about 27700€ for a PhD and34600€ for a Postdoc in 2011 with a slight increase in the following years including usualsocial benefits.The PhD degree will be awarded from the University of Oulu (Finland) or Helsinki(Finland). 

Objectives and main tasks:

Three- year position as part of the SVALI Nordic Centre of Excellence.The task is to model dynamics of the Nordaustlandet ice caps in Svalbard using the finiteelement suite ELMER developed at the CSC, Espoo. This Full Stokes ice-flow model willbe applied to the Austfonna ice cap, similar to an already existing application forVestfonna. Coupling between the ice flow and mass balance models will be required,prognostic runs for scenarios of future climate performed.In a latter step, CFD simulations of blowing snow, driven by down-scaled climate data toimprove the mass-balance distribution may be conducted (optional). 

The Top-level Research Initiative:

The position is announced as a part of the project "Stability and Variations of Arctic LandIce" (SVALI) under the Top-level Research Initiative (TRI,http://www.toppforskningsinitiativet.org) which is a major Nordic collaborative venture forstudies of climate, energy and the environment. SVALI is a Nordic Centre of Excellencewithin the TRI sub-programme "Interaction between Climate Change and the Cryosphere"(ICCC) which aims to improve our understanding of stability, variations and dynamics ofthe cryosphere.

The general aims of SVALI are: to quantify the current and future melt-rate of land-basedice in the Arctic and North-Atlantic region, to assess the consequences of decreasing landice volume on sea level and ocean circulation, and to assess the societal consequences ofcurrent and future glacier variations. SVALI positions are announced internationally byopen calls. An important element of the TRI programme is to enhance mobility of scientistswithin the Nordic countries and internationally. When candidates are regarded as havingsimilar scientific qualifications, the candidate from another country than the institutionmaking the call will be given priority. 

Applications:

Candidates should have a recent Master or PhD in cryospheric sciences, geo-sciences,applied mathematics, physics, computational fluid and/or solid dynamics, or a related fieldwith a strong background in continuum mechanics. Experience in Unix/Linux, C++, Fortranand Matlab or similar high-level scripting languages is highly desirable. Excellent writtenand spoken English is a basic requirement. Close cooperation is required with differentgroups, demanding that the candidate will spend some time at associated institutions. Thismeans that the person should be free to spend time in several locations.

An application consists of a cover letter describing your interest in the position, a CV andcontact details of three referees (telephone numbers and email address) sent as pdf-filesby email to John Moore ( Este endereço de e-mail está protegido contra spam bots, pelo que o JavaScript terá de estar activado para que possa visualizar o endereço de e-mail ). Review of applications will begin February 1, 2011 and continue until the position is filled.