Portuguese university puts oceanography postdoc up for grabs

The University of Algarve has made available a postdoctoral research grant in the field of coastal oceanography that will also offer the chance of working with tidal energy developers in France and UK.

Illustration (Photo: MORE/University of Algarve)

The applicants must be graduated (BSc or MSc) on Marine Sciences, Oceanography, and Coastal Engineering, and have a PhD in Coastal Oceanography or Coastal Engineering, according to the University.

The research grant has been launched as part of the project MONITOR (Multi-model investigation of tidal energy converter reliability) co-funded by Interreg Atlantic Area.

The activities to be undertaken by the post include deploying and process oceanographic data from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) site surveys, and met-ocean datasets.

Also, the scope of work entails collaborating with tidal developers on planning and installing tidal energy prototypes at two high energetic sites, including the Fall of Warness tidal energy site in Orkney Islands, Scotland, and Fromveur Strait in France.

The responsibilities for the post include providing performance data analysis from tidal turbines, and combining physical and numerical models with real data from deployment to optimize energy production.

The work, to be conducted at CIMA – Centre on Marine and Environmental Research from the University of Algarve, will be done jointly with the researcher André Pacheco, principal investigator of the MONITOR project and coordinator at the University of Algarve.

Beginning in August 2018, the first contract as part of the grant will have a duration of 6 months, after which the contract may be renewed until the end of the project, the University said.

The call for applications will be opened from May 28, until June 28, 2018.