Position title: PhD Candidate

Department: Computational Geoscience

Location: Fornebu, Norway (10 minutes from Oslo)

Applicants: Open to International and Domestic Applicants

Application Reference #: CompGeo 1206

Contractual Period: 3 years

Starting date: 2012

Applications close: 15 June, 2012

Project Summary

 

The Computational Geoscience Department is seeking a clever and motivated PhD candidate to work on a collaborative project with the University of California, San Diego. The project will concentrate on solving fundamental problems of continental rifting in the presence o a mantle plume using the Afar as a case study. The project will involve strong collaboration with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and join an active group of researchers in the Computational Geoscience Department in geology, geophysics, plate tectonics, geodynamics and high performance computing. 

 

Project Description

 

Modelling continental rifting is a challenging research topic because continental lithosphere is extremely heterogenous in composition. The material properties of the lithosphere are dependent on this composition as well as pre-existing weaknesses in the material. Complicating the matter further, the rifted part of the continental is usually underneath signicant amounts of water and sediment, perhaps several kilometers. In only two places in the world can these rift flanks be seen on the surface of the planet: Iceland and the East African rift. In the case of Iceland however, the rift occurs through uplifted oceanic crust, while in the African rift system the rift occurs through the African continent. In earlier times, such as the breakup of Pangea, these rifts would have appeared all through the supercontinent seperating it into the continents we know today. Thus, studying the rift allows us to see back in time and look at the early formation of basins along the rift, analogues to the rich oil-bearing basins around the Atlantic for example. The aim is to model rift formation, particularly in the early period, replicating features observed in basins along the East African Rift.

 

Project Aims

 

The project aims at solving some of the fundamental questions regarding the formation of rifting using the Afar as a laboratory:

1. Is rifting in the Afar plume-driven or caused by far-field effects such as boundary forces?

2. Why did rifting initiate in the Red-Sea-Afar-Gulf of Aden triple junction?

3. What is the picture of the mantle flow around East Africa? Why is the volcanism concentrated on the Arabian plate?

4. Is the East Africa rift a failed arm of the triple junction? If so, why?

5. What is the role of pre-exiting lithospheric heterogeneities in inuencing the development of the rift?

 

What's Expected

The successful candidate engage in high quality research as directed by the project manager and supervisors as well as interact and communicate with other scientist in the department, at UCSD and at international conferences. The candidate must be able to travel and spend time at UCSD for significant periods of time during the 3 year project.

Simula offers

• Excellent opportunities for doing high quality research, as part of a highly competent and motivated team of international researchers
• Is an equal opportunity employer
  
• Generous support for travel and equipment
• Good office facilities located close to the Oslo fjord and 10 minutes drive from the centre of Oslo, the capital of Norway.
• Competitive Salary: for a PhD student the starting salary is NOK 395,000 (about EUR49,000 or USD67,000 at current exchange rates)

 

Selection Criteria

 

Essential

1. A Masters degree in geoscience or computational science or equivalent
   

2. Interest in Earth simulations and computational geoscience

3. Interest in publishing and presenting scientific results
4. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
   
5. Strong capacity for team work and for interacting with industry contacts
6. Strong analytical skills
7. Discipline to communicate and document work as it occurs and an ability to work independently and to complete tasks within given deadlines
   

 

Desirable

1. Programming skills
2. International publication record

Application Requirements

Interested and qualified applicants should provide the following information by the deadline of June 15, 2012, via email to jobs@simula.no:

1. Cover letter
2. Statement addressing the selection criteria
3. Curriculum Vitae or Resume including a publication list and two references 

The subject field of your email must include "JOBS 1206 Computational Geodynamics". Applications not meeting these requirements may not be considered. We are interested in how you first came to learn about this position—please let us know in your emai.