PhD Studentship - Solar Perturbation of Downward Planetary Wave Coupling

During the last few decades, the Antarctic has undergone significant climate change. Understanding and predicting the year-to-year variability in the region requires a quantitative attribution of natural and human-induced variations. Natural forcing includes solar forcing via ultra violet (UV) radiation and the solar wind; these influence the Earth’s upper and middle atmosphere. There is some evidence that perturbations in the middle and upper atmosphere may have a dynamic influence on the near surface climate change the full extent of such processes remains to be understood.

The objective of this project is to quantify and highlight the dynamic processes by which Antarctic weather and climate are modified by changes in solar activity via downward wave propagation. The successful PhD candidate will analyse the climate record to investigate whether changes in the mesosphere or upper stratosphere influence the dynamic feedbacks between planetary waves and mean flow in the lower atmosphere. They will also quantify the extent that solar UV and solar wind variations influence planetary wave breaking, reflection and propagation. Case studies will be conducted using ground-based radar observations from the global archive of radar data from the international SuperDARN network and from the Skiymet system of University of Bath.

This NERC PhD studentship will be based at the British Antarctic Survey, where the successful candidate will be provided with training in atmospheric physics and climate diagnosis. The student will be working within a group of scientists who are using climate data and models to study the vertical coupling of the Earth’s atmosphere and processes that drive variability and change in the polar regions. The student will be registered as an external PhD candidate at the University of Bath.

Applicants should hold (or expect to gain) a first- or upper-second class honours degree in the physical, mathematics, environmental sciences or electrical engineering. As the project involves analysing large data sets, candidates should be highly numerate and must be able to demonstrate evidence of good computing/IT skills. Experience with MATLAB programming (or similar) and knowledge of atmospheric or fluid dynamics will be an advantage. Familiarity with signal processing or handling large data sets is also desirable (but not essential). Please note that only UK citizens are eligible to apply for a NERC PhD award.