PhD project in oceanic heat uptake and transport

Ocean heat uptake is a key process in the current heating of the Earth System. 92% of the heat added to the Earth system is stored in the world ocean. The resulting thermal expansion of the ocean is one of the two major contributors to global sea level rise.

Understanding how and where the world ocean transports and stores this heat is essential for reliable projections of global temperature rise. Detailed analyses of ocean heat uptake and transport processes in coupled climate models make a substantial contribution to this understanding.

This project will aim to revisit current views on ocean heat uptake by implementing and further developing a new framework concept for understanding the interaction of the different types of ocean heat transport (e.g. large-scale and small-scale processes) independent of model resolution. It will involve detailed analysis of ocean heat uptake processes in current, state of the art climate and Earth system models that form the basis for IPCC assessment reports. Other possible applications of the framework concept include possible improvements of simple impact models of ocean heat uptake and sea level rise, which could also be investigated as part of the project.

If you’d like to discuss this PhD opportunity informally, please contact Dr Till Kuhlbrodt ([email protected])