Background/Overview

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral researcher to join our Ice Dynamics and  Palaeoclimate Team. Under the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), UK and US scientists are investigating one of the most unstable glaciers in  Antarctica. Within this large collaborative framework, the GHOST project will investigate the sediment, hydrology, and bedrock beneath  Thwaites Glacier, and assess the impact of these boundary conditions on the glacier’s dynamics.

Guided by focused modeling studies, the team will conduct seismic, radar, magnetotelluric, ApRES, GPS, and  gravity surveys in transects along and across the interior of the glacier, and over GHOST Ridge, which models  suggest is a likely stabilizing point for Thwaites following retreat from its current position. Geophysical data  collected in the field will then constrain outlet-glacier simulations that will be closely allied with data-interpretation efforts, leading to improved process understanding under a range of bed scenarios. The GHOST  team comprises geophysicists and modelers.

Purpose

The purpose of this role is to acquire, process, analyse and publish results from active source seismic data from  Thwaites Glacier. Within the GHOST project, these results will be integrated into models to determine  controlling interactions between glacier and bed, thereby improving projections of Thwaites’ evolution and its  potential contribution to global sea level rise.

Duties

• Building on existing expertise, develop processing methodologies for the analysis of active source seismic data  from ice streams.
• Participate in fieldwork on Thwaites Glacier as part of the GHOST Project Team.
• Determine bed conditions beneath Thwaites Glacier and investigate variability in bed conditions.
• Validate the observations and integrate with other available observations.
• Interpret the implications of the results for fast-flowing ice streams in West Antarctica.
• Attend project meetings to report on progress and share results and develop and maintain active  collaborations across the GHOST project.
• Maintain a high-scientific profile in the international research community and within UKRI-NERC/BAS/IDP