Postdoctoral position 
in analysis of Arctic climate change from observations and modeling

Background

Climate change drives the fundamental reconstruction of the Arctic system making it more dynamic and strongly integrated into the global system. One manifestation of these changes is increasingly strong Borealization of the Arctic Ocean associated with the advection of anomalous sub-Arctic Atlantic- (known as Atlantification) and Pacific-origin (known as Pacification) inflows into the polar basins contributing to regional sea-ice decline. The goal of the project is to quantify and understand the role of Arctic Borealization in forming regional freshwater and heat budgets under the new realities of climate change. For that, a synergistic combination of modeling and observational approaches will be used to document, quantify, and understand the long-term, broad-scale evolution of regional and pan-Arctic climate system. The proposed synthesis of observations and modeling, which unifies efforts of researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), will inform the scientific community and broader public about major changes in the Arctic Ocean and beyond, as well as their potential impacts on the state of the ice cover.

Job Description

The postdoctoral researcher’s major responsibilities are broad and include analysis of observational and modeling data to address the project goal thus providing synergy between the project’s components and between UAF and LANL teams. Responsibilities include:

- Initial processing of newly recovered mooring data with the team's support.

- Statistical analysis of mooring and sea ice data, including data curation and archival work.

- Analyzing climate model data, including validation of model output against observations, disentangling mechanisms of Arctic Borealization and its role in high-latitude climate change, and quantifying the relative role of Atlantification and Pacification to the emerging spatiotemporal patterns of oceanic and sea-ice changes and heat and freshwater budgets of the Arctic Ocean.

- Taking part in synthesis of observations and modeling as a part of the project team.

- Interpreting and publishing in peer reviewed journals.

- Disseminating results at meetings and conferences.

The postdoc will reside at the UAF campus in Fairbanks, Alaska. However, LANL will host the postdoc for visits to LANL which will help with the analysis of modeling data. The postdoc will be given the opportunity to participate in scientific cruises into the high Arctic.

Qualification

Essential:

• PhD in oceanography or similar.
• Experience in working with large data sets.
• A basic understanding of the current climate change.
• Programming with Python, R, Matlab, or similar.
• Expertise in data processing, evaluation of data quality and basic statistics.
• Excellent writing and spoken English.
• Publication and presentation record as per career level.

Desirable:

• Prior experience on oceanographic expeditions and Arctic research.
• Detailed understanding of strategies in analysis of climate model simulations.
• Ability to work independently and with multi-institutional collaborators.
• Be able to demonstrate creative and critical thinking skills, decision making and problem-solving skills, and be a self-motivated and curious scientist.

Position Details:

This position starts in late 2024 - early 2025 (starting date negotiable) and is located on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha' campus in Fairbanks, Alaska. This is a full-time, term-funded faculty position complete with both a competitive salary and full employee benefits package. UA provides a generous compensation package that includes retirement options, faculty time off (FTO), and up to12 paid holidays per year, tuition waivers for employees and family members, and affordable medical, dental and vision care coverage. The funding is available for three years (with potential extension). This position is represented by United Academics (UNAC)  http://www.unitedacademics.net/

Please submit: A cover letter, resume or curriculum vitae, three professional references with contact information (phone number and emails). 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and it will remain open until a successful candidate has been identified. 

For further information regarding the position and research unit please contact Igor Polyakov (ivpolyakov@alaska.edu).