PhD Position High Resolution Ocean Modelling of Greenland Fjords

Are you interested in the interaction between Greenland's glaciers and the surrounding ocean? Come join our team!

Job description

Greenland's fjords are where the ice sheet and the ocean meet: Glaciers slowly flow into the fjords, icebergs calve from the glaciers, and the relatively warm ocean water melts the ice. This two-way interaction takes ice from the ice sheet and puts it in the ocean, causing sea level rise. The fresh water from the melting ice furthermore impacts the regional and global ocean circulation, with potentially large consequences for climate in Europe. Fjords are thus a vital link in the coupled ocean-ice system, but the interaction between the ocean, glaciers, icebergs, and sea ice, and the link with the larger-scale ocean circulation, are poorly understood. In this project, you will set up high resolution, realistic numerical simulations of Greenland fjords, and study the ocean dynamics and the interaction with ice. This project is a collaboration between TU Delft, Utrecht University, and the Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany), and you will have the opportunity for research visits to AWI during this project.

This vacancy is positioned within the Environmental Fluid Mechanics section in the globally recognized Department of Hydraulic Engineering (HE), known for its excellence in education, research, and career development, addressing key challenges like climate change, energy transition, and biodiversity loss. The department boasts cutting-edge facilities, a collaborative culture, and a diverse team, including 68 permanent staff, and over 100 PhD students and postdocs driving innovative research.

Job requirements

• An MSc degree in Physical Oceanography, Environmental Fluid Mechanics, (Climate) Physics, Meteorology, Civil Engineering, or another relevant discipline involving Fluid Dynamics.
• Demonstrable affinity with studying the physics of the ocean and preferably with polar oceanography.
• Experience with numerical modelling.
• Excellent ability to communicate in both written and spoken English.
• Good organisational skills and ability to work independently and in a team.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months is followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years, assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3059 - €3881 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. R. (Renske) Gelderloos (r.gelderloos@tudelft.nl).

English proficiency

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis.

Knowledge security

As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. This is done, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest.