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Ph.D. position in atmospheric rivers

Employer
University of Northern British Columbia
Location
Prince George, British Columbia (CA)
Salary
The student will be paid an annual stipend with funding guaranteed for four years
Closing date
Dec 7, 2019

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Discipline
Atmospheric Sciences, Hydrology
Career Level
Student / Graduate
Education Level
Masters
Job Type
Internship
Relocation Cost
No Relocation
Sector Type
Academia

Job Details

Project Details: Atmospheric rivers (ARs) were first recognized in the mid-1990s as narrow but elongated meridional moisture plumes that transport abundant water vapor inducing extreme precipitation events. They often stretch from (sub-)tropical to temperate latitudes, such as from Hawaii towards the Pacific Coast of North America, where they are known as ‘Pineapple Express’ storms. This project will focus on analyzing the response of terrestrial rivers to landfalling ARs including their associations with flooding in British Columbia’s Nechako Watershed. Attention will be given to the spatio-temporal variations in the hydrological responses of creeks and rivers draining the Coast Mountains due to changes in AR-related precipitation type (i.e. snow versus rain) across the complex terrain of the Nechako Watershed. The Ph.D. student will be responsible for characterizing the synoptic fields, precipitation patterns and types during landfalling ARs, and the associated snowpack and hydrological responses to ARs.

Application Process: Applications are invited for a Ph.D. student having a comprehensive knowledge of atmospheric rivers, synoptic meteorology, and mountain hydrology, and who also possesses excellent computational, data analysis and communication skills. Applicants with prior experience with the use of gridded climate and reanalysis products and analyzing streamflow time series will be given a preference for the position. The candidate may also be involved in field work related to the deployment of meteorological equipment across the Coast Mountains and may participate in a 2-month (in September and October 2021) field campaign to monitor atmospheric rivers in north-central British Columbia, and engage with local communities in the Nechako Watershed during outreach activities. UNBC is committed to equity, diversity, and equal opportunity; we strongly encourage applications from women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, the LGBTQ community, and other disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Interested applicants are highly encouraged to contact Dr. Stephen Déry at sdery@unbc.ca with a cover letter highlighting research interests and experience relevant to this position, an up-to-date curriculum vitae, unofficial transcripts, and the names of at least two potential references. The deadline for submitting these documents is Friday 29 November 2019 (or until the position is filled). When submitting electronically your application documents, please insert in the subject line “Application for PhD Opportunity on Atmospheric Rivers”. The successful candidates will then be required to submit an application for entry to the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) graduate program at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) situated in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada by 15 December 2019. The start date for the Ph.D. position is 1 September 2020. Applicants whose first language is not English may need to submit evidence of English language proficiency prior to admission. The successful candidate will receive four years of financial support starting with the UNBC academic session in September 2020.

Company

The University of Northern British Columbia is a small, research-intensive university situated in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia’s “Northern Capital”, Prince George is a city of 75,000 and a regional transportation and economic hub. It is located close to the geographic center of British Columbia— on the sparsely populated interior plateau between the Coast and Rocky Mountains with excellent access to wilderness, mountains, rivers, lakes and four-season outdoor activities. The city also offers many of the amenities to be expected in much larger centers, including good airline connections, professional theatre, symphony, as well as many other cultural and sports events. UNBC is one of Canada’s newest universities (the main campus opened in 1994) with an atmosphere that is intimate and collegial, facilities that are new and state-of-the-art, and architecture that is stunning. In a recent report (November 2004) evaluating research intensity in Canadian universities published in the National Post newspaper, UNBC ranked second amongst all small universities, narrowly missing out the top position in this category. In the Research InfoSource 2007 ranking of research universities in Canada, UNBC placed third among the small universites and was named one of Canada's Top Research Universities of the Year. UNBC’s small size (there are 3000 students, of whom about 400 are graduate students) facilitates an interdisciplinary research environment in which researchers from many disciplines interact with each other. Atmospheric Science fits very well within the research milieu at UNBC, and is a cornerstone of one of UNBC’s three mandated research themes: Natural Resources and the Environment. The recent hiring of two Canada Research Chairs in the atmospheric sciences greatly enhances our research strength in this area.
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