The role
We are pleased to announce the exciting opportunity of an 18-month Postdoctoral Research Assistant position (Senior Research Associate) at the University of Bristol, UK, in collaboration with the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, as part of the NSFGEO-NERC funded project "How well can we constrain past changes in ocean heat and freshwater content?".
The successful candidate will join a US-UK team funded by NSF and NERC, led by the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA (Dr Donata Giglio). The work at the University of Bristol is led by Prof Matt Palmer who also holds the position of Science Fellow at the Met Office Hadley Centre.
The research will focus on in situ observations of ocean temperature and the development of ensemble datasets that fully account the uncertainty associated with inter-platform biases. This work will build on research performed at the Met Office Hadley Centre and involve regular contact with scientists working in the Climate Monitoring & Attribution team.
The new ensemble datasets will be combined with novel mapping approaches developed by US colleagues at the University of Colorado to provide 3D time-evolving estimates of historical heat and freshwater content. The job holder will also work with scientists at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the Met Office Hadley Centre to develop and analyse new surface temperature and sea-level rise projections as part of the project.
There will be opportunities to visit the US Team in Colorado and attend international conferences and/or working group meetings to present results as part of the project.
More details of the project are available from Matt Palmer on request (m.d.palmer@bristol.ac.uk).
What will you be doing?
The successful candidate will be responsible for developing a new ensemble ocean temperature profile dataset that fully characterises the uncertainty associated with historical inter-platform biases (i.e. differences in apparent ocean temperature that arise through sensor/device characteristics). They will work alongside the US-led team to develop these into ensemble estimates of ocean heat uptake. This improved knowledge of ocean heat uptake and its uncertainty will be used to develop a new set of surface temperature and sea-level rise projections in collaboration with scientists at the Met Office Hadley Centre (UK) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Austria).
In addition to the functional aspects of the work, there will be opportunities for research collaboration across many aspects of the project, including mechanistic analysis of ocean heat and freshwater content change and the impact of the new observational constraints on projections of global climate change. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to visit the US-based team at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
You should apply if
You will have a PhD or equivalent professional experience in a relevant science discipline.
You should also have:
- Proficiency in the Python programming language
- Strong quantitative and data analysis skills
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively
And ideally:
- Experience of modern software development practices, including version control and use of online repositories, such as GitHub
- Experience in the analysis of geophysical datasets
Additional information
Contract type: Open-ended with fixed funding from 01/02/2027 – 31/07/2028
Work pattern: 1 FTE/35 hours per week
Grade: I/J
Salary: Grade I £33,906 – £44,746 per annum OR Grade J £44,746 - £50,253 per annum
School/Unit: Earth Sciences
Shift pattern: Monday - Friday
This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on 16th November 2026
For informal queries please contact: Matt Palmer, m.d.palmer@bristol.ac.uk
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Available documents
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Research Associate/Senior Research Associate in Climate Science employer: University of Bristol
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