PhD position in sea ice remote sensing
Jobbnorge ID: 187710
About the position
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) is today an internationally leading operational forecast and research institution with expertise in operational meteorology, oceanography and climatology. The primary area of interest coincides with the national focus area, the northern Europe, North Atlantic and the Arctic. Remote sensing and Earth Observation satellites are at the core of many of our services. The division for Remote Sensing and Data Management conducts world class research and operates 24/7 services for the monitoring of the polar regions in a changing climate, using a wide range of satellite technologies. Projects includes the EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF, osisaf.met.no) and ESA Climate Change Initiative (cci.esa.int/seaice).
PhD position in sea ice remote sensing
We are announcing a vacant position for a 3-year PhD fellow in the field of remote sensing of sea ice. The position is available for commencement from 1 september 2020.
The PhD position is part of an effort to upgrade the present state of satellite monitoring of sea ice in the polar regions, with a focus on the Svalbard/Barents Sea region. The position is part of the newly started project SIRANO (Sea Ice Retrieval and data Assimilation in NOrway, cryo.met.no/sirano), funded by the Research Council of Norway.
The SIRANO project will build close ties with the Centre for Integrated Remote Sensing and Forecasting for Arctic Operations (CIRFA), see cirfa.uit.no for further information.
The successful applicant will be employed by MET Norway, at the Division for Remote Sensing and Data Management, at the Oslo office. She or he will in addition be enrolled for the PhD programme at the Department of Physics and Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, at UiT - the Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). More details on the requirements for enrolling in the PhD programme are listed later in the text.
The candidate must plan for some travelling and longer research stays in Tromsø (e.g. to take some of the courses).
The position's field of research
SIRANO is a four-years project funded by the Research Council of Norway starting 2020. It targets the effective use of satellite remote sensing for the 24/7 monitoring and forecasting of sea ice, with a focus on the detection of sea ice and quantification of sea-ice concentration.
The candidate will further develop algorithms for detecting and quantifying sea ice (particularly sea-ice concentration) from several types of satellite sensors. The focus will be on microwave radiometers (examples are AMSR2, and CIMR), and synthetic aperture radars (SAR, e.g. the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites). The candidate will also work on data fusion, and thus develop inverse methods to efficiently combine sea-ice information from the two types of instruments, with the goal of preserving simultaneously the high spatial resolution of the SAR images, and the accuracy of microwave radiometer signal. The work will include design, implementation and mathematical inversion of satellite simulators, that are computer models of how satellites image the Earth. The work will benefit from good software programming skills, and involve processing large amount of satellite data.
Qualifications and expected skills
- A M.Sc. in oceanography, meteorology, physics or applied mathematics, preferably combined with knowledge of satellite remote sensing is required. The M.Sc. degree must be obtained before the candidate can be hired.
- Scientific programming skills is required. Prior experience in Python is a plus.
- Prior experience with remote sensing, sea-ice, ocean or atmosphere forecast models, bayesian statistics, or data assimilation are a plus.
- Fluency in English, as well as good command of Norwegian (or willingness to learn Norwegian).
Independence and self-motivation as well as excellent work ethic and commitment to the job are expected. An overseas research stay is planned as part of the PhD project.
Important note on the enrollment in the PhD programme.
The position requires admission to the PhD programme of the Faculty of Science and Technology, at UiT - the Arctic University of Norway (Tromsø). Admission requires that the applicant has at least 5 years of higher education, equivalent to 300 ECTS. The applicant must have a Master's thesis evaluated equivalent to 30 ECTS or more, or 20 ECTS for an integrated Master's degree. The applicant must have an average grade of C or better. Further information about requirements is available here: Regulations PhD Faculty of Sciences and Technology
Applicants from non-ECTS education systems will be evaluated for admission to the Faculty's PhD programme, and might have to document additional higher education in order to fulfill the requirements.
We offer
- PhD Candidates at MET Norway are remunerated according to salary code 1017 on the Norwegian government salary scale; minimum salary step 54 (presently NOK 479,600).
- flexible working conditions.
- membership in Statens pensjonskasse (SPK), the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (2% deducted from gross salary), one of the best pension funds in Norway.
- insurances and mortgage through SPK.
- a pleasant working environment.
- the first six months is a mutual trial period.
Additional information
We emphasize diversity and therefore encourage everyone qualified to apply for a job regardless of age, gender, disability, national or ethnic background. MET participates in the state's effort to get more people with holes in the CV or impaired ability to work. Information on gaps in CV or impaired ability can be used for reporting purposes.
If any case an applicant does not wish to be registered on the public application list, the applicant will need to give a reasonable argued justification. Information about the applicant can still be published. If the wish to not be registered on the public application list is denied, the applicant will be informed prior to the disclosure.
Please attach CV, scanned copies of the original certificates/diplomas, transcripts of grades, and the names of two references.
More information about the PhD position can be obtained by contacting senior scientist Thomas Lavergne (+47 2296 3364, thomas.lavergne@met.no), Associate Professor Anthony Doulgeris (+47 7764 5177, anthony.p.doulgeris@uit.no) or Division Head Øystein Godøy (+47 9802 4433, steingod@met.no).
The place of work will be at the Oslo office.
Se annonsen og søk på stillingen www.jobbnorge.no
Om bedriften
Modern meteorology and oceanography requires management and analysis of enormous amounts of data, and offers great and exciting professional challenges.
Since the institute was established in 1866, Norwegian meteorologists and scientists have played a key role in this development.