Stilling:
Two PhD Fellowships in Integrated Remote Sensing for Earth Observation Applications at CIRFA
Deadline: September 10, 2018
The Department of Physics and Technology announces two vacant PhD Candidate positions in the area of Arctic Remote Sensing. The research themes are: “Multi-Sensor, Multi-Scale Integrated Remote Sensing for Arctic Sea Ice monitoring” and “Remote Sensing of Extreme Ocean Events (Polar Lows)”.
The positions are affiliated to the Department of Physics and Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, and the research will be conducted in the Centre for Integrated Remote Sensing and Forecasting for Arctic Operations (CIRFA), a Centre for Research-based Innovation hosted by UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
The positions are available for commencement from 1st of August 2018 and the appointments are for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD program is three years. The fourth year is used for teaching or other duties for the department. The duties are normally distributed evenly over the four years.
The Department of Physics and Technology consists of five research groups: (1) Earth Observation, (2) Energy and Climate, (3) Machine Learning, (4) Space Physics, and (5) Ultrasound, Microwaves and Optics. The department provides education on the Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels, and comprises 21 permanent scientific positions and a technical/administrative staff of 12 persons.
The successful candidates will work at CIRFA. CIRFA does research on integrated remote sensing for Arctic operations by developing data analysis methods and technologies for reliably characterizing and monitoring the physical environment of the Arctic. The Centre also explores methods to efficiently assimilate the derived information into models to perform improved predictions of sea ice state, meteorological and oceanographic conditions. See more at http://cirfa.uit.no/.
Further information about both positions, UiT and CIRFA is available by contacting:
- Professor Torbjørn Eltoft by email torbjorn.eltoft@uit.no or telephone +47 776 45184.
PhD Fellowship 1 – position number 3309
PhD Candidate in “Multi-Sensor, Multi-Scale Integrated Remote Sensing for Arctic Sea Ice monitoring”
The research will be conducted at CIRFA, in collaboration with the Ice Service at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Further information about the position is available by contacting:
- Associate Professor Andrea Marinoni by email andrea.marinoni@uit.no,
- Professor Wolfgang Dierking by email wolfgang.dierking@awi.de, or
- Associate Professor Anthony Doulgeris by email anthony.p.doulgeris@uit.no.
The position’s field of research
The recent changes to the sea ice cover have resulted in increased interests of shipping, fisheries, and petroleum industry in the Arctic regions. These activities put forward demands for new advanced monitoring and forecasting technologies to improve sea ice characterization and to exploit the vast amount of remote sensing data which is available over this environmentally vulnerable area. Current and upcoming satellite missions are and will be providing large amounts of multi-sensor data over these regions at different spatial, spectral, angular and temporal resolutions. Research is needed to design and develop advanced strategies to reliably integrate sources with different characteristics and resolutions and to reliably transform these data streams into information of relevance to the scientific community and industrial actors.
Roles and responsibilities of the research fellow
The research fellow will be associated with the CIRFA work package allocated to “Sea Ice Remote Sensing” (WP2). The candidate will participate in research on:
- SAR and optical data fusion: developing methods for sea ice monitoring combining diverse sources, particularly with Sentinel 1 & 2
- Multi-scale/multi-resolution data fusion: developing strategies to integrate data with very different resolutions
- Multi-scale probabilistic fusion: exploring approaches to integrate contextual information at different smoothing scales
- Multi-temporal data fusion: exploring approaches to combine and utilise all available scenes
Specific qualification requirements
This position requires a Master’s degree in physics, mathematics or machine learning. We are looking for a candidate with:
- A solid background in image processing, statistical signal processing, and multivariate analysis
- General familiarity with SAR and optical remote sensing
- Principles of information theory and machine learning can be considered assets
- Previous experience with sea ice would also be advantageous
PhD Fellowship 2 – position number 3319
PhD Candidate in “Remote Sensing of Extreme Ocean Events (Polar Lows)”
The research will be conducted at CIRFA, in tight collaboration with the WP1 and WP5 teams, which are doing research in “Ocean Remote Sensing” and “Drift Modeling and Prediction”.
Further information about the position is available by contacting:
- Professor Harald Johnsen by email harald.johnsen@norut.no, or
- Professor Rune Graversen by email rune.graversen@uit.no.
The position’s field of research
Polar lows are mesoscale to sub-mesoscale cyclones that occurs at cold air outbreaks over relatively warmer sea water. Polar lows provide a characteristic spatial pattern and life cycle, and are accompanied with severe weather, with heavy local snow precipitation and strong surface winds. Polar orbiting weather satellites are regularly used to detect and monitor polar lows by imaging the spatial structure of the associated cloud patterns. However, very little research has been done on utilizing the polar orbiting radar satellites to monitor and characterize polar lows. The radar satellites have the capabilities to measure the strength and spatial structure of ocean surface wind fields with spatial resolution less than 1x1 km2. Research is needed to develop methodologies to detect, track and characterize polar low from polar orbiting radar satellites. Additionally, the combination of data from optical and radar satellites is expected to provide a better characterization of polar lows, enabling improved model prediction.
Roles and responsibilities of the research fellow
The Research Fellow will be associated with the CIRFA work packages allocated to “Ocean Remote Sensing” (WP1) and “Numerical Modelling” (WP5). The candidate will collaborate closely with researchers at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and contribute to the development of the Arctic weather prediction model. The research will include:
- Polar Low Detection and Location: Developing automatic segmentation techniques for detection and characterization of polar lows in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical satellite scenes.
- Tracking: Developing an algorithm for tracking the eye of a polar low to follow its life cycle.
- Polar Low Ocean Wind Vector retrieval: Establishing a geophysical model function for both co- and cross-polarization SAR data, and developing a wind retrieval algorithm for measuring polar low wind field from radar images in different polarizations.
- Polar Low Ocean Wind Field Structure: Characterizing the structure of the polar low wind field during the life cycle by exploiting archived radar and optical satellite data, guided by reanalysed model data from the Arctic region.
Specific qualification requirements
This position requires a Master’s degree in physics, mathematics or meteorology. We are looking for a candidate with some background on several of the following disciplines:
- Good background in physics and mathematics
- Good knowledge in physical and numerical modelling
- Experience in image processing and SAR and optical remote sensing
- Some knowledge in (Arctic) meteorology would be an asset
- Some knowledge and experience with numerical modelling would also be an asset
General qualification requirements and assessment
We are looking for interested, active and highly motivated candidates, who likes to explore new technologies and enjoys working in a collaboration with others. Good communication skills in English are therefore necessary and documented fluency in English is required.
To gain admission to the PhD programme, you must have a grade average of C or better. Further information about requirements for admission to PhD studies is available here: https://uit.no/nt/phd
The assessment will emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. You must be willing to engage in the ongoing development of your discipline and the university as a whole.
During this assessment process, emphasis will be put on your potential for research as shown by the Master’s thesis and any other academic works. In addition, we may consider work experience or other activities of significance for the PhD studies.
Application
Your application must include:
- CV and application letter
- Diplomas and transcripts (diploma supplement)
- Documentation of English language proficiency
- References
- Master’s thesis and any other academic works
Qualification with a Master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. If you are near completion of your Master’s degree, you may still apply and submit a draft version of the thesis and a statement from your supervisor or institution indicating when the degree will be obtained. You must document completion of your degree before commencement in the position.
All documentation has to be in English or a Scandinavian language. Submit the application electronically through Jobbnorge.
We offer
- An interesting research project
- A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
- Good career opportunities
- A large degree of independence in work
- Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
- Pension scheme through the state pension fund
The UiT campus is located near the centre of Tromsø, a vibrant city located in Northern Norway with approximately 75 000 inhabitants. The location also offers ample opportunities for e.g., sighting aurora, hiking and skiing.
Terms of employment
Remuneration of PhD Candidate positions are in salary code 1017, and normally starts at salary grade 50 on the pay scale for Norwegian state employees corresponding to approx. 36 400 NOK/month in 2018. There is a 2 % deduction for contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. In addition, UiT pays 12 % directly to the Pension Fund on top of the salary.
You have to be qualified for and participate in our PhD study program. As many as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training; thus, if you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.
More information about moving to Norway: http://uit.no/mobility
General
We make the appointment in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
UiT The Arctic University of Norway has HR policy objectives that emphasize diversity, and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their age, gender, functional ability and national or ethnic background. The university is an IW (Inclusive Workplace) enterprise, and we will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act. You may request to not be registered on the public list of applicants, but the University may decide that your name will be made public. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication.
We look forward to receiving your application!