"Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Himalayan Field Glaciology (5536)"

Faculty/Department Department of Geography and Earth Sciences

Salary Scale £38,205- £44,263 per annum

Contract Type Fixed Term

Duration 31/09/2026

Full-time / Part-time Full-Time

Weekly Hours 36.5 hrs

Employment Visa Non-sponsorable

Posted Date 30/07/2024

Closing Date 15/08/2024

Ref No 5536

Job Description

The Role

We are looking to recruit an independent and ambitious Postdoctoral Research Associate on the NERC-funded project, ‘Losing their Cool’, which aims to investigate the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the glacier surface at high-elevation (>6,000 m a.s.l.) in the Everest region of Nepal. The project seeks to understand the processes that determine ice temperatures at the point of formation, with melting and refreezing in the accumulation area being a possible explanation for the relatively warm ice temperatures recorded at lower elevations. To help test this hypothesis, we are seeking a to appoint a field glaciologist who will be a core member of the field party with co-responsibility for equipment logistics and borehole-based field data collection and analysis. The successful applicant will join Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Glaciology and work with collaborators based at University of Leeds, UK, King’s College London, UK, University of Bergen, Norway, and Uppsala University, Sweden.

The post is for a fixed term of 24 months, starting on, or soon after, 1st October 2024.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to discuss the post informally with Professor Bryn Hubbard (byh@aber.ac.uk), the project’s AU-based Investigator.

Appointments are normally made within 4 - 8 weeks of the closing date.

What you’ll do

Losing their Cool (LtC) project summary

Over half of the ablation area of one of the world’s highest glaciers, Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, comprises ice that is at the melting point. The overarching aim of LtC is to investigate the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the glacier surface at high elevation (>6,000 m a.s.l.), providing insight into the snow and firn processes that prescribe Himalayan ice temperatures. LtC’s working hypothesis is that melting and refreezing within the accumulation area is sufficiently effective to raise firn-layer temperatures by several degrees prior to ice formation. To test this, we will measure firn conditions in Khumbu Glacier’s accumulation area in the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. Here we will drill and instrument ≤20 m-long boreholes to measure englacial firn and ice temperatures over a two-year period. We will also use a 360° camera to image the interior of the boreholes to characterise firn density and quantify the magnitude and frequency of previous re-freezing events. We will also install automatic weather stations and use the data to calibrate and validate a numerical model that can simulate both the energy fluxes driving warming at the surface, and the consequent subsurface meltwater flow and refreezing processes. This will enable us to isolate the impact of meltwater re-freezing on ice temperature. Finally, we will use a glacier model to simulate the whole glacier system and track the evolution of ice temperatures with distance downglacier, allowing the findings to be generalised and included within prognostic models.

Role of PDRA (Himalayan field glaciology)

The PDRA will be a core member of the project’s field team with co-responsibility for equipment logistics and borehole-based field data collection and analysis.

The project will focus primarily on the accumulation area of Nepal’s Khumbu Glacier, in the Western Cwm of Mount Everest, building on the team’s previous experience drilling in the lower part of the glacier, below the icefall. We plan to conduct two or three field expeditions, the first to drill and install borehole instrumentation, the (optional) second to maintain and download loggers, and the third to collect final data sets and to decommission the experiments and recover instruments. Each field season will last 5 – 9 weeks. The appointee will be directly engaged in drilling and instrumenting boreholes up to 20 m deep to measure englacial firn and ice temperatures, and in imaging the interior of those boreholes to characterise firn density and to quantify the magnitude and frequency of previous re-freezing events. Once boreholes have been drilled and logged, thermistor strings will be installed and englacial temperature data will be returned in real time to the UK using a satellite-based telemetry system specified and assembled by the appointee working with Aberystwyth’s laboratory technician. The appointee will analyse the resulting field data and work them up for publication and integration into Losing their Cool’s modelling component.

It is essential that the appointee has experience of working with glaciological equipment in mountainous environments, ideally at high altitude, as well as having skills in electronics, mechanics, and equipment maintenance. The appointee will lead field data processing, so strong analytical skills are also needed. The appointee will be expected to lead several high-quality publications.

The position is physically demanding, and it is therefore essential that the appointee has an appropriate level of health and fitness. Appointment to this position may be subject to a satisfactory fitness assessment.

The appointee will be based in Aberystwyth University’s Centre for Glaciology, working closely with Bryn Hubbard and a dedicated laboratory technician, and with Duncan Quincey and the project’s modelling-focused PDRA at University of Leeds. The appointee will also liaise with Project Partners based at King’s College London, and the universities of Bergen and Uppsala, to ensure the field observations are linked robustly to the numerical modelling experiments. The post includes a generous allocation of funds for attendance at meetings and international conferences.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

• Specify, assemble, test, and operate various items of field equipment relating to borehole coring and logging.
• Work with grant Investigators based at University of Leeds to plan coherent field campaigns.
• Inventory and organise equipment freight to and from Nepal, including delivery to and pickup from UK locations as needed.
• Prepare for and participate in multiple fieldwork campaigns on Khumbu Glacier, beginning in pre-monsoon (likely April) 2025.
• Analyse and interpret the resulting field data.
• Contribute to the dissemination of LtC’s research findings, including through a project website, social media, conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and public engagement activities.
• Process, manage and prepare data in accordance with the NERC’s and Aberystwyth University’s data management policies and protocols.
• Undertake routine administrative tasks, including maintaining appropriate documentation of activities and records of expenditure, and providing information and reports to the project coordinators as requested and in a timely manner.
• Contribute to other activities within the Centre for Glaciology and the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences as desired and appropriate.
• Engage with AU health and safety policies and prepare and undertake health and safety duties appropriate to the post.
• Be committed to the University’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy, together with an understanding of how it operates within the responsibilities of the post.
• Be committed to your own development, for example through engaging with the University’s staff development programmes as desired.
• Undertake any other reasonable duties requested commensurate with the grade of this role.

This job description is subject to review and amendment in light of the changing needs of the University, to provide appropriate development opportunities, and/or the addition of any other reasonable duties.

The responsibilities of this vacancy have been matched to the Academic Role Profile Research 2. Details of the role profile can be found at:

https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/info-staff/employment/agreement/academic-profiles/#research--(grade-)

Who you are – Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge and Skills required

Essential

1. Hold a PhD in glaciology or an equivalent discipline.
2. Have the willingness and ability to trek and carry out physically demanding research at a high-elevation glacier.
3. Have experience in working with glaciological field equipment.
4. Have experience in analysing, archiving, and preparing geophysical data sets for dissemination, including publication in peer-reviewed international journals.
5. Possess strong inter-personal skills, including the capacity to work harmoniously and effectively as part of a team in remote locations and under potentially harsh conditions.
6. Have an ability to understand the bilingual nature of the University and an awareness of the procedures in place to support working bilingually.
7. Hold a valid UK driver’s licence.
8. An ability to understand the bilingual nature of the University and an awareness of the procedures in place to support working bilingually.

Desirable

1. Have experience of operating geophysical field equipment on ice.
2. Have experience of carrying out experiments on glaciers at high elevation.
3. Be able to carry out day-to-day administrative tasks efficiently and in a timely manner.
4. Oral (spoken) and Written Welsh Level A2.

*More information on Welsh Language Levels can be found at:

https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/policy-and-procedure/welsh-standards/

How to apply

To promote a flexible workforce, the University will consider applications from individuals seeking full time, part time, job share, or term time only working arrangements.

Applications for this role must be made through jobs.aber.ac.uk. You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally.

Benefits

• Flexible working policy
• 36.5 – hour week for full-time roles
• Generous leave entitlements – 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays and university closed days
• Commitment to Professional Development
• Enhanced contribution to our workplace pension schemes
• Staff recognition and reward schemes
• Opportunity to learn the Welsh language for free
• Staff relocation bursary
• Maternity, Paternity, Parental and Adoption Leave
• Staff discount for gym facilities, hospitality, and retail on campus. 

Please keep reading

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities and, those that are currently underrepresented in our workforce. This includes but is not limited to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, candidates with disabilities, and female candidates.

We are a Bilingual Institution which complies with the Welsh Language Standards and is committed to Equal Opportunities. You are welcome to apply for any vacancy in Welsh or English and any application submitted will be treated equally.

Employment Visa

Under the UK Government’s points-based system scheme, this role does not meet the criteria to be sponsored by Aberystwyth University (AU) for a Skilled Worker Route (SWR) application.