PhD Uncertainties in the source and environment description: influence on noise impact assessment (M/F)

27 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

CNRS

Department

Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique

Research Field

Engineering » Materials engineering
Physics » Acoustics

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

16 Apr 2024 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Oct 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The successful candidate will be hosted by the Laboratory of Mechanics and Acoustics (LMA) which is a joint research laboratory (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Univ./Centrale Marseille). The laboratory hosts about 130 people. LMA develops research activities related to solid mechanics and acoustics, and is structured into 3 research teams: Materials & Structures, Sounds, Waves & Imaging. The successful candidate will be hosted by the Waves & Imaging team, and will work in close collaboration with the “Marine acoustics & Seismic Imaging” group which has a renowned expertise in underwater acoustics and seismo-acoustics, numerical modeling of wave propagation, and seismic imaging. The successful candidate will also collaborate with other PhD students within the SEASOUNDS network. The “Marine acoustics & Seismic Imaging” group has an easy access to modern and powerful facilities (large-scale parallel computers) for high-performance simulations: a local supercomputer (~3,750 cores) hosted by Aix-Marseille Univ. and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as well as national super-computing centers (~ 300,000 cores - GPUs) for more demanding jobs. This group is also involved in European projects and has many international collaborations.
In accordance with MSCA regulations for Doctoral Candidates, the successful candidate will receive a monthly gross salary which includes living and mobility allowances. If applicable, additional allowances may be granted. Family allowance will be implemented if the candidate has or acquires family obligations during the project (i.e. marriage or relationship with recognized equivalent status to a marriage, dependent children who are actually being maintained by the candidate). For candidates with disabilities certified by a competent national authority, the salary may also comprise a special needs allowance, if not already funded from another source (e.g. social security or health insurance). The special needs allowance contributes to the additional costs for the acquisition of special needs items and services.

The PhD position is part of the MSCA Doctoral Network SEASOUNDS (Innovative marine soundscape characterization to effectively mitigate ocean and sea noise pollution, no. 101119769) which is coordinated by CNRS, and more specifically by the Laboratory of Mechanics and Acoustics.
Description of the MSCA DN SEASOUNDS project :
SEASOUNDS aims to better characterize and predict marine soundscapes, in order to provide recommendations for appropriate and proportionate underwater noise mitigation solutions, for improved know-how, decision-making and standards setting for a sustainable Blue Growth limiting the impact on marine wildlife. The project addresses important knowledge gaps related to understanding, characterization and modeling of the entire noise transfer chain, from the noise source (e.g. offshore foundation installation, UXO disposal, shipping) to the receiver (whether a technological tool or an animal). SEASOUNDS' methodological approach incorporates concepts, models, and tools from a variety of disciplines including underwater acoustics, seismology, mechanics, bioacoustics, and marine biology. Thus, SEASOUNDS will train 10 PhD students with high multidisciplinary, inter-sectoral, and transverse skills, who will comprehend noise pollution issues in a holistic way. The Network gathers 15 partners from France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Monaco and USA (see https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101119769 ) and will run for 4 years from January 2024.
Description of the PhD topic :
Reliable assessments of potential noise exposure are essential for effective upstream regulation of polluting activities in the oceans. The reliability of the noise predictions strongly depends on the use of the optimal numerical propagation schemes that can model the required wave physics in the environment under consideration, and on the quality of the input data related to the noise source and the environment, particularly at low frequencies (LF) as recommended in the EU MSFD. In practice, noise propagation modeling is often carried out using approximate models with limited and/or biased environmental data. This results in at best high uncertainties in the noise assessments, at worst unreliable results making regulatory decision complex. While another PhD student from SEASOUNDS network will investigate the influence of the selected numerical method on the noise predictions, the candidate will focus on the input data (e.g. bathymetry, sound speed profile in water, seabed properties, sea surface…) and their spatial and temporal variability. In contrast to previous works, their impact will be investigated both in a qualitative and quantitative way for typical marine environments by mainly relying on HPC simulations of the full wave propagation, adjoint-based sensitivity analysis, and comparison with field observations. The main objective here is to identify what needs to be known (and at which accuracy degree) to reliable noise assessment.
Skills required
The candidate should:
• hold a M.Sc. diploma in Applied Mathematics and/or Acoustics and/or Geosciences and/or Applied Sciences and/or Physics, preferably in some relation to acoustic and/or elastic waves, and/or partial differential equations;
• have an excellent knowledge of the English language;
• be familiar with numerical computing languages;
• be eager to expand his knowledge in numerical modeling and ocean acoustics.

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Physics

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Research Field

Engineering » Materials engineering

Years of Research Experience

None

Research Field

Physics » Acoustics

Years of Research Experience

None

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR7031-SANGUE-043/Default.aspx

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique

Country

France

City

MARSEILLE 13

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Candidat/Offre/UMR7031-SANGUE-043/Candidater.aspx

Contact

City

MARSEILLE 13

Website

http://www.lma.cnrs-mrs.fr/

STATUS: EXPIRED