The successful applicant will join a team of researchers from UAF and collaborators from Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) in Grenoble, France to study the relationship between fabric and climate for the ice near the European Programme for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) Dome C ice core site, East Antarctica.

Observations from ice cores have shown that the fabric and grain size are correlated with glacial/interglacial surface conditions. Because ice deformation is sensitive to the orientation of crystals, ice flow patterns are sensitive to fabric and this creates positive feedbacks within the ice that results in strong spatial gradients in fabric and grain size with depth in an ice sheet. The goal of this project is to understand the processes that control the climate-fabric relationship and explore possibilities of extracting past climate information directly from fabric data.

The primary activities of this position will be to:

- Collect field and laboratory measurements of ice fabric and related physical properties using measurements of sonic velocity in the borehole and on ice;
- Work with team members to use models of ice flow and the evolution of fabric to capture the key processes that lead to observed fabrics at depth in the ice; and
- Use the model and observations together using inverse techniques to extract past climate information from fabric data.

The position is for two years and will be located within the glaciology research group at UAF, which consists of approximately 15 researchers, post-docs, and graduate students conducting a broad spectrum of ongoing glaciology research and provides a great opportunity for the successful candidate to broaden his or her knowledge of glaciology, related research fields, and research techniques. Fieldwork at Dome C, East Antarctica will take place in December 2010 and January 2011. The starting date is negotiable, but ideally around 1 September 2010.

Applicants must have a PhD in Geophysics or related field by the start date. The ideal applicant will be highly motivated and able to work independently and learn new techniques. The applicant must be willing to conduct field and laboratory work and also have some experience or knowledge of ice flow modeling.

Review of applications will begin Thursday, 15 April 2010.
Position is open until filled.

Further information is available at the following websites:

- http://ice.gi.alaska.edu/postdoc
- www.uakjobs.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=69938

Or by contacting:
Erin Pettit
Email: pettit@gi.alaska.edu