Jobs:Job-00279

From CSDMS
PhD in Meltwater Channels Over Ice
University of Hull, , United Kingdom
Apply before: 5 January 2021


We have a PhD opportunity in Meltwater Channels Over Ice: Tipping Points for Planform Morphology and Evolution through the NERC Panorama DTP. This is a fully-funded, 3.5 years position at the University of Hull.


The NERC Panorama DTP is led by the University of Leeds with academic partners York and Hull Universities.


The University of Hull is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all, giving every individual the chance to achieve their potential, free from prejudice and discrimination. Be confident in this and apply to join us! We will help you reach your full potential.


Project Overview:
Compared with the cases of alluvial and bedrock channels, the study of meltwater channels on ice has received little attention, and experimental work reported to date has focused on small-scale meandering channels only. Meltwater channels over ice show many features also observed in alluvial and bedrock rivers, such as terraces/bars, overhangs, knickpoints (waterfalls), features analogous to scroll bars due to channel bend migration, and bend cut-offs.


These morphologies and overall planform characteristics are dependent on temperature gradients and flow characteristics (e.g. depth, velocity), among other variables. This PhD project will focus on identifying the tipping points responsible for them.


In spite of the advances in numerical models and remote sensing capabilities new laboratory experiments are key to motivate and validate processes understanding of supraglacial meltwater channel hydrodynamics and morphodynamics.


The aim of this PhD project is to characterize the formation and evolution of meltwater channels over ice and identify tipping points responsible for different planform morphologies. The PhD research will focus on the following objectives:

  1. Develop novel experiments of surface meltwater channel formation as a function of different slopes, water-ice temperature gradients and flow velocities.
  2. Conduct remote monitoring of polar and extra-terrestrial surface meltwater channels to quantify real-world planform geometries, using data from ESA Sentinel, Nasa Landsat and higher resolution satellite data.
  3. Develop empirical and theoretical models of meltwater flux from channel planform geometry and slope, quantifying both water-ice temperature gradients and meltwater contribution to sea-level rise.


The post is available from October 2021 as a full-time position.


For questions about the project please email me directly. For questions about NERC Panorama DTP please email nercdtp@leeds.ac.uk.


Thanks,

Roberto Fernández (he/him/él)

  1. RepresentationMatters

Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow
Energy and Environment Institute (https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/research/institutes/energy-and-environment-institute)
University of Hull, UK

Twitter @IceMeanders

Of interest for:
  • Terrestrial Working Group
  • Hydrology Focus Research Group