PhD position: Greenland fjords as gateways between the ice sheet and the ocean

This vacancy is the result of the collaborative research call between Utrecht University (UU) and the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to investigate the interaction between the Greenland Ice Sheet and the fjords.

The Project
The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is losing mass at an accelerated rate, notably so at its marine terminating glaciers, where the ice sheet meets the ocean. The project aims to study the interaction between Greenland’s marine-terminating glaciers and the fjord. Heat transport from the ocean to these glaciers has been identified as one of the critical processes for understanding future mass loss. Yet, despite the presence of warm water at the continental shelf, this heat does not necessarily easily reach the glacier fronts as fjords play a crucial role as gateway between the ocean and the ice sheet. In addition, the fjords modulate the exchange of freshwater emanating from the GrIS with the ocean.  Understanding the transformation of freshwater in the fjord is crucial in projecting the impact of the shrinking GrIS on the ocean and vice versa. In this project, a consortium of oceanographers and glaciologists aims to advance our understanding of the exchange of heat and freshwater in Greenland fjords.
The successful candidate will investigate the freshwater flux to the fjord and to what extent this freshwater is modified in the fjord. Additionally, the relative importance of the different heat sources in melting of the glaciers will be studied. The goal is to parametrize the exchange of heat and freshwater between the glacier and the fjord. The study will exploit an existing dataset of Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord in SW Greenland), a large glacier-fjord system in southwest Greenland that has experienced significant glacier retreat in the last decade. The dataset consists of seasonal multiannual oceanographic data (conductivity, temperature, depth profiles and data from moored instruments) and glaciological data (glacier surface mass balance, runoff and remote sensing data). In addition, the candidate will participate in field campaigns in different regions in Greenland to collect new oceanographic data.
Applications should include a cover letter indicating your motivation and relevant research experience, a detailed curriculum vitae, academic transcripts, and the contact information of at least two references.