Geomatics Research Group, School of Civil
Engineering and Geosciences,
University of Newcastle upon Tyne

A 3 year NERC funded PhD studentship is available from September 2005, to carry outresearch within the Geomatics Research Group under the supervision of Dr Peter Clarke andDr Nigel Penna. Applications are invited immediately for the studentship, which will remainopen until filled (but not later than August 2006).

This studentship will focus on the determination of the Earth’s anelasticity at a range oftimescales. It will research whether current assumptions of the anelastic behaviour of thesolid Earth are valid at tidal periods and to what extent must they be modified in the light ofnew, denser global geodetic observations provided by receivers of the Global PositioningSystem (GPS) of navigation satellites. The GPS observations will be used to measure theperiodic tidal displacement of the solid Earth which arises from the gravitational attractions ofthe Moon and Sun, but is also dependent on the Earth’s elastic and anelastic properties. Theproject will be largely computer (Unix) based using NASA’s GIPSY GPS processingsoftware, and will provide the candidate with a strong research training in geodesy, Earthscience and the management of large datasets. The student will be part of a Newcastle-basedteam collaborating with the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory and the Universidade doPorto.

Candidates should possess (or about to obtain) at least an upper second class honours degreein a relevant numerate discipline (geomatics/surveying, Earth/environmental science,mathematics/physics, civil engineering, physical geography). Training will be provided in thenecessary geodesy / geophysics / computing concepts, depending on the candidate’sbackground. Formal applications should be made through the standard University applicationprocedure on http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/

For candidates satisfying UK residential requirements, the studentship covers full universitytuition fees and provides a maintenance grant at standard NERC rates - currently £12,000 peryear. Applicants from other EU countries may be eligible for a fees-only award.Further details about the Geomatics Research Group and the School of Civil Engineering andGeosciences may be obtained on http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/research/resgeomatics.htm andhttp://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk respectively.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made as soon as possible toDr Nigel Penna (nigel.penna@ncl.ac.uk, tel: +44 (0) 191 222 8747).

Reference:
http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/vacancies/info/phd_nerc_ad_tides.pdf