The position is affiliated with the national research program Arctic Ocean 2050 . In the Arctic Ocean (AO), exchanges of heat, salt, nutrients and organisms across ridges and between shelves and deep basins, are driven by mesoscale eddies that link the warm Atlantic layer with colder shelf waters and shape the deep basins and Arctic halocline. However, mechanisms governing the eddy-driven cross-slope exchange remain poorly quantified. This PhD project will investigate the dynamical processes governing shelf–slope–basin coupling focusing on eddies and their role in cross-slope transport to better characterize lateral fluxes of physical and biological properties. Mechanisms controlling water mass transformation and dense-water formation on the Arctic shelves will also be addressed since the renewal of the halocline water or deep water in the AO depends on water mass transformation on the shelves.

The continental slope areas north of Svalbard will be used as a laboratory through both fieldwork campaigns and numerical model development. The candidate will identify hotspots of eddy generation driven by instabilities and their control on cross-slope transport. The PhD study aims to compile and analyze eddy-resolving model data, repeated AO CTD/LADCP sections together with observations from A-TWAIN, Yermak Plateau, Nansen Legacy, and Fram Strait moorings to examine short-time variability and eddy vertical structure in hydrography and currents. Using historical and new data, we will identify Topographic Rossby Wave modes, detect instability events and associated eddy structures, and link these to bathymetric variations and local forcing mechanisms (atmosphere, tides, and dense water downslope flow) to better characterize lateral fluxes.

The PhD project is connected to Task 2.1.8 in RT2 (The Changing Arctic Ocean) described in the project implementation plan but also links to other tasks in RT2 and other research topics. Activities in the project will include international cooperation, cruises with the ice-going research vessel Kronprins Haakon or other vessels, and the supervisor team will consist of researchers from Norwegian universities and institutes together with the main supervisors from UNIS, reflecting the joint Norwegian effort and teamwork.

The four-year contract includes a year of required duties. Alternatively, the candidate may choose a three-year position which excludes these duties.

Duty work will include:

Teaching and fieldwork instructor in bachelor courses at the Arctic Geophysics department.
Maintaining the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) around Svalbard (500-meter resolution).
Take part in FAIR publication of new and historic datasets.
Required duties for the successful candidate will be specified upon employment. Other duties may be assigned by the head of department as required.