Title: Variability of Indonesian Throughflow watermass properties and velocity structure

This PhD project is funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project “Unraveling ocean mixing and air-sea forcing along the Indo-Pacific exchange”. Our project is a collaboration with investigators from the University of Tasmania, CSIRO Environment and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The project will collect new, unique observations using novel profiling floats, moored ocean time-series, shipboard and satellite observations. The project will also develop high resolution model simulations to examine changes in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) north of Australia. This project is a significant Australian contribution to a major international field experiment, Measurements and Modelling of the Indonesian Throughflow (MINTIE), which is a collaboration between USA, Indonesia, China and Australia.

The main goal of the project is to quantify the ocean mixing processes and ocean-atmospheric interactions that accomplish the cooling and freshening observed, developing new knowledge of ocean-atmosphere interactions, along the pathway of the ITF from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. These interactions are the powerhouse that drives changes in winds and rainfall around Australia and over the entire Indian and Pacific region.

The PhD student will focus on fundamental descriptions of watermass properties, including the seasonal cycle of water properties, not previously possible due to lack of observations and appropriate high-resolutions models. The student will work in an integrated team of researchers and will have opportunities to interact with the international partners throughout the course of their PhD program. The combined observational and modelling expertise of the team is recognised internationally and presents an extraordinary opportunity for this student.

Supervision Team:

A/Prof Helen Phillips, A/Prof Max Nikurashin, Dr Beatriz Peña-Molino, Dr Bernadette Sloyan

Funding:

The successful applicant will receive a scholarship which provides:

  • a living allowance stipend of $31,500 per annum (2023 rate, indexed annually) for 3.5 years
  • top-up stipend of $5,000 per annum for 3.5 years funded by the Quantitative Marine Science (QMS) Program.
  • a relocation allowance of up to $2,000
  • a tuition fees offset covering the cost of tuition fees for up to four years
  • international applicants will also receive single Overseas Health Cover (OSHC) funded by the QMS Program.

For more information, please see

https://www.utas.edu.au/research/degrees/available-projects/projects/marine-and-antarctic/indonesian-throughflow-variability

Application is open until a suitable candidate is selected. Assessment of applications will begin on 16th October 2023.