[ES_JOBS_NET] Postdoc Physical Oceanography - Univ. Rhode Island - seek US citizen or green card holder

[D Randolph Watts]

*Forecasting the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current System*



We seek a postdoc to work collaboratively with oceanographers at the
University of Rhode Island (URI) and at the US Naval Research Laboratory-
Stennis Spaceflight Center (NRL-SSC) to improve numerical forecasting of
the Gulf of Mexico and its Loop Current System.



*Opportunity / background.*  Processes in the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current
and Loop Current Eddies, interacting with sea floor topography, drive
essentially all strong subtidal current variability from sea surface to sea
floor in the deep Gulf of Mexico.  Close dynamical analogies exist to
atmospheric jet stream meanders and storm systems, interacting with Earth's
topography, and our forecasting developments build upon these similarities.



A key gap exists in forecasting of ocean currents and thermal structure:
Almost all input data for model assimilation are from near-surface
measurements. This arises because until recently in the ocean only surface
data have been available in near real time. In contrast in the atmosphere,
barometric pressure and observational profiles of temperature, density, and
wind vectors are available through the full air column on a suitable grid
of sites to forecast the weather.



Cost-effective ways now exist to report subsurface ocean observations in
near real time, and the methods are particularly applicable in marginal
seas such as the Gulf of Mexico. Subsurface ocean observations assimilated
into predictive numerical models offer fundamental advancements in
forecasting skill for ocean currents and thermal structure.



*Objective:* Develop methods to use deep current and bottom pressure
observations to extend forecasts of the strongly varying deep current
systems in the Gulf.



*Science collaborators:*  Prof. Randolph Watts and Prof. Kathleen Donohue
at URI; Dr. Clark Rowley and Dr. Prasad Thoppil at NRL-SSC.



*Requirements and Preferences:* Candidates should have a PhD, and a broad
range of experience will be considered, such as physics, mathematics,
engineering, meteorology, physical oceanography.  Some preference will be
given for a background in mesoscale/synoptic scale processes in the
ocean/atmosphere, and for data assimilation in ocean/atmosphere modeling.
There is a strong preference for candidates who are US citizens or
permanent resident (green card holders), to have access to NRL computer
systems.



*Application Instructions: * send to randywatts at uri.edu, using “Post Doc
Position” as subject line:

·       Cover Letter & Research Interests (2 pages max)

·       CV

·       Contact information for two professional references

Evaluation of applications will begin on *March 19th**, 2024*. The
position's anticipated start date is June 1, 2024, and will remain open
until filled. The position is initially for a one‐year appointment, and is
renewable with 2 years funding in hand. Funded by the National Academy of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under the Understanding Gulf Ocean
Systems program.

-- 
D. Randolph Watts                    randywatts at uri.edu
Professor of Oceanography - 215 South Ferry Road
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett, RI 02882  USA   tel: +1 401.874.6507
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