Job offer Lagrangian 3D modeling of micro-plastic in mesoscale structures at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) , France.
In the framework of both the Interreg Marittimo project SPLASH! and the « expédition septième continent » South-Atlantic mission, we are looking for an engineer or a post-doc for a short but exciting task regarding Lagrangian numerical modeling of the micro-plastic in the ocean.
The SPLASH program aims at enhancing the understanding of plastic fragmentation dynamics as well as improving the knowledge on the physical mechanisms driving long range or local micro- plastic transport.
The Expédition Septième Continent (www.septiemecontinent.com) is a French Non Governmental Organization targeting a better top to bottom awareness of the plastic threat in the ocean environment. This NGO is labeled by the French Research Center CNRS. One of its annual goal is sampling micro and nano-plastics in different ocean gyres. Next mission will take place in the South Atlantic gyre and will target plastic sampling on the water column in two mesoscale eddies (one cyclonic and one anti-cyclonic).
In this framework, we are looking for a highly motivated young engineer or researcher to produce a set of Lagrangian scenario regarding micro-plastic transport in the water column in mesoscales eddies. The selected ocean sites will be : the North-Western Mediterranean region and the south Atlantic basin. Both regions feature mesoscale eddies but with very different size, dynamics, depth, and therefore with different impact on plastic transport. In this sense, the goal is two fold: preparing the mission for the south Atlantic and preparing a set of comparison of micro-plastic behavior in the water column for these two regions.
On the methodological / technical point of view, the candidate will have to use and eventually modify the CMS open software for the Lagrangian simulations (https://github.com/beatrixparis/connectivity-modeling-system) that will be fed by ocean models mostly NEMO configurations from the copernicus marine service data portal or locally produced ocean simulations.
The researcher or scientist will join the OPLC team (Physical Oceanography Team) of the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO, ~ 250 people), and will be hosted at the University of Toulon. The MIO laboratory is split between the University of Toulon Campus and the Marseille university campus.
Following contract on close research themes could possibly be available within the team at the end of the present contract as several projects regarding the contaminant in the ocean and / or ocean modeling are actually conducted or will start in the near future.
Supervisor : Yann Ourmieres (yann.ourmieres@univ-tln.fr) / http://lseet.univ-tln.fr/~ourmieres Expected skills: knowledge on ocean dynamics, pollutant transport. Computing ability for Lagrangian modeling and eventually ocean modeling.
Expected degree: Master or PhD in marine sciences with a significant component on ocean dynamics (physics).
Job duration : Engineer level : 8 months / post-doc level : 6 months
Job location : Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) , Université de Toulon, France, main campus of La Garde. (http://www.univ-tln.fr/-University-of-Toulon-.html)
Starting date : April or May 2019 Modélisation 3D lagrangienne de microplastiques dans des structures à méso-échelle à l'Institut océanographique de la Méditerranée (MIO), France.