Job offer - Fixed-term contract for an engineer / Master 2 in ocean modelling
As part of the ANR OMTeDNA (Ocean Megafauna Tracking by passive eDna sampling), we are looking for a candidate to carry out a series of oceanic numerical modelling simulations.
In a nutshell, the ANR OMTeDNA aims to develop environmental DNA sensors that would make it possible to quantify ocean megafauna and, more specifically, to use these sensors to measure any disturbance to marine megafauna as part of the implementation of offshore wind farms in the
French Mediterranean.
As part of Work Package 3 of this project, a very high-resolution ocean model (targeted resolution of around 100m horizontally) is to be set up for a restricted area of the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Initially, once its capabilities have been validated, this model should be able to produce a set of
ocean conditions encountered in the area. This area will represent a future location for an offshore wind farm, which is why it is so important to have a good knowledge of the currents in the area for the rest of the project.
Secondly, the current fields generated for the zone will be used to force a Lagrangian drift model.
This second model will attempt to model the drift of water masses carrying environmental DNA. This Lagrangian modelling work will therefore support the measurements of DNA sensors that have actually been placed in the modelled zone. One of the major challenges of this modelling will be to be able to explain the sensor results, in the light of the area’s currentology, via the Lagrangian drift trajectories of the virtually simulated DNA.
The numerical ocean model used to develop the configuration of the chosen zone will be the CROCO model and the Lagrangian model will be oceanparcels (https://oceanparcels.org/).
Prerequisites:
- The candidate must have a Master 2 or an engineering degree in oceanography or marine sciences.
- A good command of Matlab and Python is essential for the project.
The CROCO pre-processing tools are partly in matlab and python, while oceanparcels is only in python. - Experience with CROCO or another ocean model coded in Fortran (e.g. NEMO) would be desirable.
Start date: ideally March 2025, but subject to availability.
Contract duration: between 12 and 17 months, depending on the candidate’s experience.
Location: University of Toulon, La Garde Campus, MIO, Var, France
Salary: University Engineer public salary scale. (Approximately 1700 to 2100 euros net depending on experience)
Contact: Y. Ourmieres (yann.ourmieres@univ-tln.fr)