Master research project in physical oceanography at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NIOZ (Texel) (start September/October 2013)

The East Greenland Current carries cold and fresh polar water and sea ice from the Arctic into the North Atlantic Ocean where it has the potential to modify density contrasts. A portion of this freshwater, however, is mixed into the Nordic Seas as it flows southward and only a currently unknown fraction continues into the Atlantic. The program described here is meant to determine the latter net freshwater flux at approximately 68ºN, just north of Denmark Strait. For this purpose a mooring array equipped with recording current meters, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), and conductivity and temperature (CT) sensors had been deployed in the East Greenland Current (EGC) from August 2011 until July 2012.

The current meter and CT data shall be used to quantify and qualify the freshwater flux carried by the EGC, both the deep current and on the shelf, and to investigate the apparent different branches and recirculation within the Denmark Strait (as observed in hydrography) and it's effect on the net transport. Ultimately, a comparison will be made with other, earlier estimates of observed freshwater fluxes further north in Fram Strait to quantify the lateral exchange with the Nordic Seas.

Methods
Basic processing and analysis of moored instrument data, synthesis ofthese data into volume transport and freshwater flux, time-series analysis. Knowledge of Matlab is highly recommended. The duration of the research project is 9 months, starting in September or October 2013. The master student will work at the physics department of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) on Texel. Student housing on Texel will be supported by NIOZ.

For more information contact:
Laura de Steur
NIOZ, department of Physical Oceanography
@ Laura.de.Steur(at)nioz.nl
T +31-(0)222-369 411