Title: Past and present interactions between the ocean, sediments and ice in Antarctica.

Contacts: Michele Rebesco (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

PhD Programme: Polar Science of the University of Venice, Italy: https://www.unive.it/web/en/182/home

Curriculum: Earth Sciences.

Where the work will be carried out: Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia and OGS (Italy) + at least six months abroad

More info:
The main goal of the project is to investigate past and present ice-ocean-sediment interactions in the area of the Hillary Canyon (Eastern Ross Sea) to shed light on the sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to projected climatic changes for the next centuries. For this scope the research will encompass a full range of time scales, from instantaneous/seasonal using a variety of oceanographic measurements (CTD, lowered ADCP, floats, moorings), to recent (multi-corer, multibeam and sub-bottom) and geologic past (seismics tied to IODP boreholes). This integrated investigation aims at understanding the relationship between seabed morphology, bottom currents, sedimentation and benthic environmental conditions using data from PNRA projects ODYSSEA and IOPPIERS (yet to be acquired on board the first expedition of the icebreaker Laura Bassi in 2024-25) and from IODP expedition 374.

The activity of the Ph.D. candidate will include the analysis of geophysical data (seismic, acoustic and morphobathymetric) and the integration of these with geological data (from cores and IODP wells) and with information from oceanographic data (ADCP, CTD, mooring …).