PhD Student Position Available
Snow, Landscape and People: Modeling Snow Distribution in the Landscape
and its Implications for Human Activities
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Application Deadline: Monday, 21 July 2008
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Dugmore
Email: Andrew.Dugmore [at] ed.ac.uk
The School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh invites
applications for a PhD studentship to investigate the influences of snow
distributions on human activities. The studentship is linked to a major
research program funded by the Leverhulme Trust: "Footsteps on the Edge
of Thule: Norse-Indigenous interactions in Greenland and Arctic
Scandinavia," and will involve collaborative research with co-workers at
the Universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Aberdeen. The aim is to
develop an effective model of snow distribution, test it, and apply it
to questions of human-environment interaction and culture contact in the
Arctic.
Snow is important because its distribution affects physical, biological
and human processes operating in different parts of the landscape. The
annual accumulation and ablation of snow across the landscape is key to
understanding a diverse range of arctic processes, from glaciation and
hydrology to hunting, reindeer herding, and the impacts of domesticated
livestock grazing. Landscape change may be intensified in areas where
snow conditions allow winter grazing; the moisture availability from
melting snow may significantly affect vegetation growth in spring and
summer. Both the viability of Norse settlement in Greenland and Thule
Inuit migration are likely to have been influenced by climate change,
but what was the role of changing snow? Using simple meteorological data
and ground truthing, a four-dimensional model of snow cover and
distribution will be developed for selected arctic landscapes.
The PhD student will gain knowledge on and work to adapt existing models of
snow distribution. Where necessary, original model development will take
place. The student will have opportunities to test model applications
through fieldwork in Arctic Sweden, which will take place in
collaboration with colleagues involved in snow modeling.
The department seeks a candidate with a degree and a background in
physical geography (or related discipline), who is interested in the
application of snow models, and who is keen to acquire or refine
existing modeling skills. The candidate should be comfortably numerate.
The application form is available online at:
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/PhD/Applications/PhD_Project_appn…
Applications should be submitted, no later than Monday, 21 July 2008,
to:
Helena Sim
Email: Helena.Sim [at] ed.ac.uk
Potgraduate Secretary
School of GeoSciences
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh EH9 3JW
Further information can be obtained by contacting:
Andrew Dugmore
Email: Andrew.Dugmore [at] ed.ac.uk