Physical Oceanographer – Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale
We seek a physical oceanographer to join the Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale in Brest (France). The goal of the project is to investigate the variability of deep convection in the Greenland gyre. The work will be based on in situ observations from a mooring array near Jan Mayen mainly collected in 2015-2016, hydrological data (from previous campaigns or Argo floats) available for this region, satellite observations (of ocean and sea ice), and potentially numerical model outputs in order to provide a wider spatio- temporal context to the in situ observations.
Location : Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, Ifremer – Brest, France. Contract: 24months (Initial one-year contract, with an additional year contingent on mutual satisfaction.)
Starting date: As soon as possible and no later than December 2022
Who can apply:
A PhD in physical oceanography, meteorology, climate science, or geophysical fluid dynamics is required, with skills in observational data analysis. Knowledge in statistics, experience in programming with Matlab, Python… Experience in Polar research would be an asset. Motivated candidate, good capacity to work in a team. Ability to communicate and write in English.
Additionally, the candidate must fulfill the following criteria:
- The candidate must be within 5 years after their PhD defense.
- The candidate must have spent at least 18 months abroad from France since May 2019.
Details on the project
Understanding the variability of the deep convection in the Greenland gyre
The Greenland Sea is the site of key processes for the global ocean circulation and the equilibriumof our climate, since a large part of the dense waters constituting the deep branch of the MOC are formed by deep convection there. However, this region remains poorly observed and the ocean dynamics are poorly understood.
The main objective of this postdoc project is to identify the drivers of deep convection in the Greenland Sea and to document the mechanisms responsible for their recent and past variability.
Specific questions addressed include:
- What are the main drivers of deep convection in the Greenland Sea today?
- Can we identify a regime shift in these processes related to recent changes in sea ice conditions? How sensitive are these ocean ventilation mechanisms, which are so important to global heat content, to interannual variability?
- How can changes in deep convection in the Greenland Sea influence the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation?
The study presented here will focus on understanding the ocean circulation at the scale of the Greenland basin first, and then we will place the results in a broader context at the Atlantic basin scale. To achieve these objectives, we will analyze several sources of in-situ observations will be analyzed to maximize the number of vertical profiles, such as Argo floats, tagged marine mammals and oceanographic ship data (CTD). Finally, satellite observations (providing sea level height, sea surface temperature and salinity, sea ice concentration and drift), atmospheric reanalyses as well as model outputs will be examined in order to put the local in situ observations from the mooring into a large spatial and temporal context.
Context:
This postdoc project is the continuation of the project funded by SHOM (service hydrographiqueet océanographique de la Marine) over 2019-2022, and a contribution to the Service National d’Observation “Argo France”, which both involves several scientists and engineers at LOPS. More particularly, the postdoc will work closely with Camille Lique, Nicolas Kolodziejczyk (nicolas.kolodziejczyk@univ-brest.fr) and Anne Marie Tréguier (anne-marie.treguier@univ-brest.fr)
The postdoc will be part of the group ‘Ocean and Climate’ at LOPS and will beneficiate from the strong expertise at LOPS regarding in situ observations and their processingThe postdoc will also be involved in the current initiative at LOPS to develop a new synergy amongst researchersinvolved in different polar research activities (remote sensing of sea ice, wave observations and modeling), through the implementation of “axe transverse – recherches polaires
Learn more and apply: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR6523-CATMOC-002/Default.aspx
Informal inquiries should be sent to Camille Lique (camille.lique@ifremer.fr)
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