Phd Position in airborne Remote Sensing of Melt

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and funded by federal and state government. AWI focuses on polar and marine research in a variety of disciplines such as biology, oceanography, geology, geochemistry and geophysics thus allowing multidisciplinary approaches to scientific goals. - PhD position in "Airborne Remote Sensing of Melt Ponds on Sea Ice" (M/F/d) **Background** The Sea Ice Geophysics Section of AWI studies the role of sea ice in the climate and eco system by means of in-situ, airborne, and satellite observations and modeling. Improving the predictive capabilities for the development of Arctic sea ice cover highly depends on a better understanding of the ice-albedo feedback mechanism, which is strongly influenced by meltwater ponds. How strong the impact of ponds is depends particularly on their areal fraction, their 3D-geometry and their albedo. Within the project, these physical characteristics of melt ponds (especially depth) will be retrieved from airborne data gathered by AWI using airplanes and helicopters. Resulting data sets will be used to investigate the spatial variability of pond properties in the Arctic and their dependence on sea ice roughness and sea ice thickness. **Your Tasks** You will - process aerial images, laser scanner and short-wave solar radiation measurements obtained by airplanes and helicopters in past years and during the current project, - derive melt pond characteristics (e.g., areal fraction, size distribution, depth, albedo), - analyse the spatial variability of pond characteristics (especially depth), - analyse the dependency of pond depth on sea ice roughness and sea ice thickness, - present your work at national and international meetings, - publish data sets and write up the results for peer-reviewed scientific journals. **Your Profile** - Master’s degree in Geophysics, Meteorology, Environmental physics, Physics or related field - Good programming skills in at least one high-level programming language (preferably Python) - Good working knowledge of the English language, fluently both spoken and written - Willingness to participate in research expeditions to the Arctic **Preferred Qualifications and Skills** - Knowledge in atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions or sea ice physics would be of advantage. - A background in processing of airborne or satellite imagery and in image classification or in processing airborne data of short-wave solar radiation would be considered advantageous. **Further Information** This position is limited to 3 years. The salary will be paid in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Federation (Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes, TVöD Bund), up to salary level 13 (66%). The place of employment will be **Bremerhaven.** **The AWI is characterized by** - our scientific success - excellent research - collaboration and cooperation - intra-institute, national and international, interdisciplinary - opportunities to develop - on the job and towards other positions - an international environment - everyday contact with people from all over the world - flexible working hours and the possibility of mobile working up to 50% of regular working hours - health promotion and company fitness with Hansefit and Wellhub - support services and a culture of reconciling work and family - occupational pension provision (VBL) Applicants with disabilities will be given preference when equal qualifications are present. AWI fosters work-family compatibility in various ways and has received several awards as a result of this commitment. **And as a new international member of our team, you can be sure that we will help you settle in. Our **Family Office** and **International Office** will be glad to support you**, **even before you start at AWI. Reference number: 24/176/G/Kli-b