Dr. Sarah Fawcett of the Department of Oceanography at University of Cape Town is part of the Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land (WS-DML) Working Group (WG). A great opportunity for an early career scientist has become available within this group to become the APECS representative.
The group facilitates coordinated and standardized observational studies of major physical, chemical and biological variables including their drivers and interactions. This refers to a regional but also a circum-Antarctic approach. The WS-DML WG will contribute to an increase in quality of the science output and strengthen the awareness of the relevance of research in the WS-DML sector of the Southern Ocean through international projects contributing to the SOOS. The Working Group is open for involvement to anyone working in the Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land region. (Report of 2019)
The WS-DML-WG is looking for an early career scientist to join the SOOS Southern Ocean Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land Sector Regional Working Group and become our APECS representative. The successful applicant will have working knowledge of observational research of the Southern Ocean with a particular interest in the Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land. The APECS representative will attend RWG meetings, and be responsible for assisting with data collection, curation, and reportage, and will be an important link in liaising between APECS and SOOS. We are interested in receiving applications from any countries, including those not yet represented by the WG Leadership Group. For specific questions on this position, please contact Alyce Hancock (alyce.hancock@utas.edu.au).
The position will be for 2 years and non-salaried, but there will be travel reimbursement for attending one meeting if the working group holds a meeting during your term, and potential for co-authorship of publications.
To apply, you need to meet the following criteria:
– Early career researcher (up to 5 years past PhD)
– Have a research background that fits the focus of the group
To apply send the following information to info@apecs.is by 15 Dec 2020
– your CV
– Statement of Interest (max one page), including your research background,
– your motivation in joining the working group,
– your thoughts on how you can contribute to the group
– how this would benefit your career
The SOOS WS-DML WG aims to fulfill the following terms of reference:
Develop and enable regional-scale observing using SOOS best practice for observing systems, including areas from which data sets already exist, to detect long-term changes.
Identify physical, geochemical and biological key processes and their coupling in areas of the WS-DML region under climate change as well as in presently stable areas expected to experience warming and melting of sea-ice in the future.
Identify and assemble key legacy data sets and sampling techniques.
Provide best practice sampling protocols to enable the standardization of measurements.
Based on the experience in the region, identify data gaps and bottlenecks in the observation systems that hinder a comprehensive understanding of the physical, geochemical and biological systems.
Facilitate coordinated and, where possible, multi-disciplinary observations.
Make plans of operations available on the SOOS website to increase collaboration amongst the international community.
Facilitate procedures to achieve data availability across the science community according to SOOS data policy, which includes the publication of data and meta-data.
Convene focussed sessions at international meetings, including SCAR, SCOR and their scientific initiatives, and facilitate synthesis products, to increase the awareness of the science community to the importance of the Weddell Sea – Dronning Maud Land region. Also joint events with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) on polar comparative observations and analysis as well as should be supported.
Provide support to the International Program Office (IPO) by providing short reports to be available at the SOOS SSC annual meeting, as well as providing content for the IPO website/newsletters on the activities and outcome.
Contribute to international initiatives assessing the state of the SO, especially with reference to climate change, pollution and the exploitation of natural resources.
Support stakeholders with scientific information, especially the initiative to develop an MPA; support the MPA management plan after its endorsement.
Credit Cover Image: Weddell Sea gallery
