Funded PhD Studentship: DTC GEO 27 - Geophysical field exploration of Sorsdal Glacier, Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

Swansea University is a UK top 30 institution for research excellence (Research Excellence Framework 2014), and has been named Welsh University of the Year 2017 by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Swansea Science DTC is a community committed to undertaking world-class research that has a positive impact globally and we have a fully-funded PhD scholarship for 2017/2018 entry.

We are recognised as one of the foremost global centres for teaching and research in human and physical geography. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) Geography at Swansea was ranked joint 9th in the UK for research impact and 11th in the UK for research environment. Our research environment (how the Department supports research staff and students) and the impact of our research (its value to society) were both judged to be 100% world leading or internationally excellent.

Our internationally active research staff and large community of postgraduate researchers create a dynamic and inspirational environment in which to study. You will also benefit from our exceptional facilities, including: a powerful workstation for all Earth Observation postgraduates; ‘Blue Ice 2’ supercomputer, containing 600 cores and 1.2TB memory distributed over 50 nodes with 33TB data storage, used mainly for climate and glaciological modelling; specialist laboratory suites for stable isotope ratio analysis; tree ring analysis; extraction and identification of organic compounds; pollen extraction and analysis; rainfall simulation; tephra analysis; soil and sediment characterisation.

Description of Project:

Compared to ice stream dynamics in West Antarctica, very little is currently known about the impact of meltwater on the flow of major marine-terminating outlet glaciers from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, many of which are grounded well below sea level and thus susceptible to ocean and hydrological forcing. An international team of scientists, funded by the Australian Antarctic Science Program and including BK as a Co-Investigator, is currently combining field observations with satellite remote sensing and numerical ice flow modelling to understand the dynamic response of the Sorsdal Glacier – ideally located close to Davis station in the Australian sector of Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica – to hydrological and ocean forcing. An exciting opportunity has now arisen for an exceptional PhD candidate to join the project and conduct seismic, radar and/or geoelectric geophysical surveys on Sorsdal Glacier in the austral summer of 2017/18 (or/ and 2018/19), collaborating with scientists from Australia, Canada and the USA in elucidating the susceptibility of the glacier to climate forcing.