Job opportunities

PhD scholarship, UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, Sydney, Australia

Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship to work on a project investigating the pathways of water in the oceans around Australia, with particular focus on the dynamics of the so-called Tasman leakage.

In the upper ocean, water flows from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean on both the northern and southern sides of Australia. These pathways are part of a global circulation that transports large amounts of heat, carbon and nutrients around the planet and as such plays an important role in global climate. Whereas the flow north of Australia (the Indonesian Throughflow, ITF) is relatively well studied, the flow south of Australia (the Tasman leakage) is currently not well understood. The goal of this project is to reconcile these two pathways south and north of Australia and understand how they relate to each other and to regional and global climate.

In particular, the successful PhD student would be part of a team that works on analyzing the volume, heat, salt and nutrient budgets and fluxes around the South of Australia, using Lagrangian particles in high-resolution ocean models.

For more information, see www.erik.vansebille.com/science/decra2013.html

The PhD scholarship is tenable for a period of 3 years + 6 months extension (if granted), with the successful candidate able to mold the project to match their background, interests and expertise. Applicants should have a strong academic track record including an Honours Class I, or equivalent. Honours graduates with a strong academic track record in physics and/or mathematics are particularly encouraged to apply.

This PhD scholarship is awarded at the APA equivalent rate of $23,728 pa. Successful applicants who obtain or have recently been awarded an APA scholarship in either the current or future rounds may be awarded a $12,000 pa top-up.

International students are also encouraged but must additionally apply for a UNSW International Research Scholarship, starting Semester 2 2013, which open January 2013.

Applicants should send a full academic transcript, a short CV and an expression of interest to Bronwen Smith via bronwen.smith@unsw.edu.au.

For further information, contact Dr Erik van Sebille via vanSebille@unsw.edu.au.

For further details of the CCRC, its research activities and staff, see www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au

PhD scholarship, UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, Sydney, Australia

PhD Scholarship ($24 653 PA, APA equivalent rate) of APA top-up ($12 000 PA). Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship to work on a project investigating the termination of El Niño-Southern Oscillation events.

The last three decades have seen various mechanisms proposed to explain the negative feedback required for the termination of ENSO events. Whilst these theories detail ENSO event termination as it is currently understood, there are several significant observational features that are not incorporated in or reproduced by these theories. The most glaring omission is the southward shift of ENSO related zonal wind anomalies near the end of the calendar year. At this time when El Niño events typically reach their peak amplitude, the associated zonal wind anomalies (which prior to this are quasi-symmetric about the equator) abruptly shift southward so that the maximum anomalous zonal wind is located around 5-7°S.

The aims of this study are to:

Identify whether El Nino-La Nina asymmetries in the prominence of the southward wind shift can account for the fact that La Nina events tend to persist for longer periods than El Nino events.
Identify what role this southward wind shift plays in the synchronisation of ENSO event termination to the seasonal cycle.
Using data from the state-of-the-art climate models part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) multi-model archive, this project will identify (i) whether models produce the observed southward wind shift; (ii) what role it plays in the apparent synchronization of ENSO event termination to the seasonal cycle; and (iii) whether this changes in future projections.

The PhD scholarship is tenable for a period of 3 years + 6 months extension (if granted), with the successful candidate able to mold the project to match their background, interests and expertise. Applicants should have a strong academic track record including an Honours Class I or equivalent. Honours graduates with a strong academic track record in physics and/or mathematics are particularly encouraged to apply.

Successful applicants who obtain or have recently been awarded an APA scholarship in either the current or future rounds may be awarded a 12k top-up with the remaining scholarship funds then available for additional project support.

International students are also encouraged but must additionally apply for a UNSW International Research Scholarship, starting Semester 2 2013, which open January 1st 2013.

Applicants should send a full academic transcript, a short CV and an expression of interest to Bronwen Smith via bronwen.smith@unsw.edu.au.

For further information, contact Shayne McGregor via shayne.mcgregor@unsw.edu.au

Further details of the CCRC, its research activities and staff can be viewed at www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au

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