Hello Cryolisters
The Centre for Earth Observation Science (http://www.umanitoba.ca/ceos ), Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, The University of Manitoba, Canada is seeking qualified candidates to fill an ESA-funded position at the Postdoctoral or Research Associate level, working on sea ice remote sensing, addressing key scientific questions related to Arctic sea ice stability and dynamics, towards implementation of ESA's HARMONY SAR mission, the 10th Earth Explorer Mission set to launch in 2029 (https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/ESA_selects_Harmony_as_tenth_Earth_Explorer_mission). This position will become part of a collaborative team working with Dr. Julienne Stroeve, senior Canada-150 research chair in climate forcing of sea ice at the University of Manitoba (http://www.canada150.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx).
Candidates are expected to have a Ph.D or equivalent experience and M.Sc, in the field of Arctic System Science and in particular, strong working knowledge in the field of sea ice remote sensing with strong expertise in SAR polarimetry/interferometry techniques, statistical analysis, and scientific programming (Python, R, IDL, Matlab).
This full-time position is available immediately or soon as mutually agreeable. The initial appointment is for one year with possible extension depending on satisfactory performance and funding.
Position Description: Arctic sea ice has been declining over the past decades, amplified by winter storms and winter warming events, facilitating frequent sea ice break out and break up events. This has affected Canadian Arctic communities, who depend on stable sea ice for their subsistence and livelihood. Satellite SAR remote sensing is the only dependable tool to detect and quantify sea ice stability, due to its all-weather, day/night imaging capability. However, less is known about how satellite SAR can be used to quantify sea ice stability via detection of sea ice deformation processes, eventually leading to sea ice loss.
The C-band HARMONY SAR mission is ESA's 10th Earth Explorer Mission planned to be launched in 2029. This exciting new mission will consist of two identical satellites orbiting Earth alongside ESA's Sentinel-1 mission. Each HARMONY satellite will carry a receive-only C-band SAR and a multi-angle thermal-infrared (TIR) sensor. Together with Sentinel-1 observations, HARMONY will deliver a wide range of novel high-resolution measurements of sea ice motion vectors and deformation mechanisms that can be exploited to detect and quantify sea ice break up and break out events, thereby enhance our understanding of air/sea ice/ocean interactions affecting our climate.
Focused on HARMONY's key science objectives on sea ice, this ESA-funded post-doctoral project will conduct feasibility studies using ESA's Sentinel-1 and Canada's RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) C-band SAR time series datasets to detect, simulate and quantify sea ice deformation processes and break events in the Canadian Arctic communities. Particular focus will be to investigate the combined effect of SAR backscatter from Sentinel-1 and RCM and TIR-derived sea ice surface roughness from MISR instrument on board NASA's TERRA platform to derive sea ice thickness and summer melt pond distribution, both are essential climate variables.
The successful candidate will be expected to engage in collaborative science programs with the HARMONY science team, and other scientists/collaborators/students involved in the C-150 program, manage graduate students, staff and field resources pertinent to the program and to conduct lead authored peer-reviewed research into the field of sea ice remote sensing.
Candidates should send a CV and letter of intent via email to Prof. Julienne Stroeve
(Julienne.Stroeve@umanitoba.ca) and Dr. Vishnu Nandan (Vishnu.Nandan@umanitoba.ca). Pay and benefits are competitive internationally and commensurate with qualifications. Reviews will begin 15 October, 2022 and continue until the position is filled.
The University of Manitoba is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from women, racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. Application materials, including letters of reference, will be handled in accordance with the protection of privacy provision of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (Manitoba).
Please note that curriculum vitae may be provided to participating members of the search process.
