GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a foundation under public law jointly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany (90%) and the State of Schleswig-Holstein (10%). It is one of the internationally leading institutions in the field of marine research.

Through our research and our commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology, we contribute significantly to the preservation of the function and protection of the ocean for future generations.

The Synergy Project WHIRLS funded by the European Research Council (ERC) researches the role of ocean fine-scale whirls on climate and ecosystems. The focus is on the Agulhas Current System around South Africa as a global hotspot of eddy activity, ocean-atmosphere heat exchange, and marine productivity. Multiple coordinated observing strategies, including research vessels and a large ensemble of autonomous platforms, will collect physical, chemical, and biological datasets across scales. The research group at GEOMAR complements these data and researches the role of fine-scale eddies by using high-resolution models of the ocean and the atmosphere. WHIRLS consists of 4 partners in France, Sweden, South Africa, and Germany.

In the frame of WHIRLS, the research unit Ocean Dynamics of the research division Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics is offering the following position, starting as soon as possible. The position offers the possibility to attain a doctoral degree in natural sciences.
Job Description
We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate (doctoral researcher) to enhance our research group. The candidate will contribute to the numerical modelling, the analysis, and the interpretation of marine biogeochemistry model simulations based on NEMO. The main emphasis is on the role of the (sub)mesoscale dynamics in biogeochemical processes in the Agulhas region in the context of a changing climate. Fine-scale ocean processes alter nutrient and oxygen fluxes and budgets, shape ocean productivity, and modulate the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon, with significant climate implications. The PhD candidate will investigate these processes with a range of global ocean biogeochemistry model configurations with enhanced horizontal resolution in the Agulhas region. The precise scientific and methodological focus of the project will be developed jointly with the PhD candidate, depending on scientific interests and strengths. The candidate will work in a team of scientists and numerical modellers at GEOMAR, also in the framework of international collaborators within WHIRLS.

Required:

Completed master studies in oceanography, marine sciences, climate science, or another related field
Experience in the analysis of data sets using programming languages (e.g. Python)
Very good command of English (oral and written)

Additonal skills and experiences that are advantagous:


Experience in ocean dynamics
Experience in ocean and/or biogeochemical modelling
Experience in programming (e.g. FORTRAN)
Experience in the analysis of large data sets and/or the development of diagnostics
Ability to work in a team, open-mindedness, and scientific creativity
At a workplace, directly on the Kiel Fjord with many leisure and recreational opportunities, we offer you:


Good conditions for work-life balance: We offer, among other things, the possibility of mobile working and individual working time arrangements, vacation courses for the children of our employees, and good support in finding a place in a daycare center at the Kiel site
Support services for professional and personal life situations
An exciting work environment with the opportunity to provide important impetus for the development of sustainable solutions
Exciting topics in an international environment
Work in the field of marine and climate research, a forward-looking area with social significance
30 vacation days + additional time off at Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
Company pension plan and ...