- Funding: Competition funded View fees and funding (Students worldwide)
- Type of degree: Doctor of Philosophy
- Entry requirements: 2:1 honours degree View full entry requirements
- Faculty graduate school: Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Southampton
- Closing date: 3 Jan 2024
About the Project
Project overview:
Ocean robots (sensors and vehicles) can offer the spatial and temporal coverage required to observe ocean acidification and the rapidly changing carbon cycle. Using the latest in autonomous technologies, this project will develop, demonstrate and prove the impact of high-resolution carbon observations through a series of trials around the globe.
Project description:
The ocean carbon cycle is changing at an unprecedented rate with acidification threatening ocean ecosystems and blue economies. Understanding spatial and temporal variability in carbonate chemistry is essential to identify ocean acidification hotspots and better understand and predict impacts on marine life. Autonomous technology has the potential for large-scale high-resolution real-time observing (e.g. the Argo programme) and could accelerate our understanding of how the ocean carbon cycle is changing. The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a world leader in ocean observing technology development (sensors, samplers and vehicles) and its use for generating new knowledge. Working with engineers and scientists from the Ocean Technology and Engineering group, the successful PhD candidate will lead the optimization of novel autonomous sensor and sampler technologies (e.g. through laboratory tests and field trials, integrated on autonomous platforms such as the Autosub Long Range and gliders and profiling floats. The successful candidate will evaluate these technologies and develop new autonomous observing strategies during planned and funded sea trials to the North and mid-latitude Atlantic Ocean, Southern Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The candidate will collaborate with the wider European ocean carbon observing community and observing technology developers through project GEORGE and TRICUSO (starting January 2025) collecting data which will improve our understanding of ocean acidification and carbon dynamics. The primary objective of this project will be to test the hypothesis that novel observing technologies can generate data of the quality required for ocean carbon sink estimates and air-sea CO2 fluxes, considering measurement uncertainty and contrasting against traditional ship-based observations.
Training:
Our programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the National Oceanography Centre. Specific training will include: the science and metrology of carbon dioxide and the dissolved carbonate system, autonomous systems and their application to carbon observing, instrumentation development, analytical chemistry and sensor engineering. The student will benefit from training events planned through project GEORGE including workshops on autonomy, data processing and QA/QC and carbon observing best practices.
Entry requirements:
A UK bachelor’s degree with upper second-class honours or higher in a relevant subject. See international equivalent qualifications on our website. English language: IELTS 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in all components. We accept other English language tests.
How to apply:
Apply online here. Please enter the project title and lead supervisor’s name in Section 2 to state which project you would like to apply for.
It is essential for overseas applicants to contact the lead supervisor to discuss the project before applying.
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Find a PhD, 28 October 2024. More information.
