Date

PhD Position Announcement
"Evidences for the Extreme Climate Variability in the High North Atlantic"
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC)
University of Bergen, Norway

Application Deadline: Monday, 1 October 2007

For further information about NERSC, please go to:
http://www.nersc.no


A three-year PhD position is available at the Nansen Environmental and
Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) in Bergen, Norway. The successful
candidate will work on research projects PAACSIZ, POCAHONTAS, and
NORCLIM, which aim to understand and quantify the main components of the
heat budget over the Nordic Seas, a key region for the temperate climate
of northwestern Europe. The successful candidate will work at NERSC with
extended stays at the Svalbard Science Centre in Spitsbergen, Norway,
and the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Nordic Seas are rich in natural offshore resources (i.e., fisheries
and petroleum) and might play an important role for a new Northern Sea
Route from Europe to Asia. All depend critically on the extent and
variability of the sea ice cover, which is strongly linked with the
region's weather and climate. The area around Svalbard, Spitsbergen, is
one of the most accessible in the Arctic, and therefore has unique
observational coverage that allows detailed study of the observed
extreme climate variability in this area.

The PhD project involves retrieval and analysis of the available
observational data from regular, in situ, and irregular field campaign
measurements with special emphasis on the lower atmosphere-upper ocean
data and their correlation to the large-scale circulation of the
ocean-atmosphere system. The analysis aims to quantify the vertical heat
budget in the region and provide a better understanding of causes and
patterns of the observed changes.

Eligible candidates must hold a MSc degree or equivalent in meteorology,
oceanography, mathematics, physics, or related fields. Strong skills in
atmospheric-ocean dynamics, knowledge of statistical analysis, and
experience with observational data processing are advantageous, as is
familiarity with high-latitude data analysis and boundary layer
turbulence and modeling. The position is open for candidates from all
countries and will begin as soon as possible.

Applications consisting of an overview of relevant education and
experience (CV); letter explaining the candidate's motivation (maximum
one page); list of publications and/or abstract of MSc thesis; copies of
relevant certificates and diplomas; and names, phone numbers, and e-mail
addresses of three academic references should be submitted by Monday, 1
October 2007 to: admin [at] nersc.no.

For further information, please contact:
Igor Esau
E-mail: igore [at] nersc.no