PhD: Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges Research area: Climate and anthropogenic changes in the Arctic

Department

Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Science

Main research activities/topics/projects

Arctic near-surface temperatures have warmed nearly four times faster than the global average since 1979 and Svalbard is located at a hotspot for this warming. Major examples of implications of this warming are seen in the fjord systems on the west coast of Spitsbergen, including Kongsfjorden. As such, there are a number of research priorities that are critical for understanding and managing this important Arctic region. These priorities will constitute the main topics of research activities for the prospective Brazilian PhD/Post Doc candidates:

- Monitoring the on-going amplification of Atlantification of Svalbard fjords, by investigating the cause of the observed amplified warming in summer and the mechanisms of Atlantic Water intrusions during winter
- Exploring the ecosystem changes related to human and climateinduced impacts on the Arctic region, including the study of the effects of warming seawater, ocean acidification, pollution, less and thinner sea ice, turbid freshwater runoff, retreat of tidewater glaciers, altered spring bloom dynamics, and northward shifts of temperate species, as well as the increasing impact of tourism.
The main research projects relevant for the prospective Brazilian PhD and Post Docs candidates are:
- The Kongsfjorden System Flagship, an integrative, multi-year, multi-partner, interdisciplinary and international collaborative
programme to facilitate structured research activities, increase collaborations in the field, and improving sharing of data
(Kongsfjorden System Flagship member: Roberta Guerra, UNIBO)
- ARICE, Arctic Research Icebreaker Consortium (CNR scientific coordinator L. Langone, HORIZON-2020) - ICEBERG, Innovative community engagement for building effective resilience and arctic ocean pollution-control governance in the context of climate change (CNR scientific coordinator T. Tesi, HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-01) - PAST-HEAT, PermAfroSt Thawing: what Happened to the largest tErrestrial cArbon pool during lasT deglaciation? (P.I., T. Tesi, Programma di Ricerche in Artico – PRA) - CASCADE, Italian contribution to the Circum-Arctic Sediment CArbon DatabasE (P.I., T. Tesi, Programma di Ricerche in Artico – PRA) - ATTRACTION, ATlantificaTion dRiven by polAr-subpolar ConnecTIONs in a changing climate: integrating observational evidence, paleo-oceanography and modelling over the last thousand years at the gateway of the Arctic Ocean (P.I., T. Tesi, PRIN project) Brazilian visiting Phd students and Post Docs will carry out research activities under the above-mentioned research topics, and will be integrated in research teams from DIFA-UNIBO in Ravenna, and from ISP-CNR – Bologna, as well as with international teams active under the Kongsfjorden System Flagship Programme. The Brazilian visiting PhD students and Post Docs are expected to spend the majority of their time at the DIFA-UNIBO in Ravenna and the remaining time with the research partner (CNR-ISP). The CNR research infrastructures and services in the Arctic ('Dirigibile Italia' station in Ny-Alesund with access to boats, marine observing systems, and laboratories of sample pre-treatment) as well as the ISP-CNR laboratories in Bologna (e.g., laboratory of organic geochemistry, Arctic sample Repository) will be made available to Brazilian doctoral students and post-docs to allow research activities to be carried out in this remote environment.

Working language

Excellent written and oral communication skills in English language are required as the candidates will be part of a multi- team and will need to collaborate with other academics, research institutions, and international teams.

Special entry requirements

Prospective visiting PhD students and Post Docs must have obtained a Master degree/PhD in oceanography, earth sciences, or the physical, chemical, or biological sciences or a closely related discipline. Training in applied physics, oceanography, ocean biogeochemistry,
and/or climate science is preferred, along with good quantitative, and/or statistical skills. An ability and interest to work across these disciplines is highly desirable. Training will be offered in the relevant laboratory and field methods to be used, but prior experience in laboratory and marine-based fieldwork or at sea would be advantageous. Field work may sometimes take place in remote locations and may require travel throughout the Arctic. Ability and willingness to travel internationally to learn new techniques/analyse samples/ and field work is also highly desirable.

Duration in months (min-max)

PhD sandwich: 6-12

Post Doc: 6-12