PhD Studentship: Using Data-Driven Methods to Model Planetary Atmospheres and Oceans

Award summary 

100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate).  

Overview 

Juno observations of the upper atmosphere Jupiter reveal complicated small-scale features consisting of eddies, jets, and filaments. Similar features are expected to be present in the atmospheres and oceans of other celestial bodies. Modeling these dynamical processes is difficult given the wide range of scales that must be resolved to fully capture the motion. As such, these small-scale features are typically unresolved in numerical simulations due to resolution constraints. Instead, a physical understanding of these unrepresented processes must be incorporated directly into the model via a technique known as ‘parametrisation’.  

The goal of this project is to create data-driven parametrisations that represent unresolved small-scales in ocean and atmosphere models. The student will develop, train, and test a convolutional neural network to predict small-scale properties (such as energy transport, dissipation and velocities) from the large-scale features of the flow. 

The student will learn how to incorporate physical constraints into machine learning models and create datasets by running ocean models on high performance computing clusters. They will also undertake mathematical modelling, numerical analysis, and scientific writing; giving them a broad skill set and training across disciplines. 

Number of awards 

1 

Start date  

1st October 2025 

Award duration 

3.5 Years 

Application closing date 

31st January 2025 

Sponsor 

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) DTP 

Name of supervisor/s 

Dr Matthew Crowe 

Eligibility Criteria 

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (Physics or Applied Mathematics). Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are essential requirements.  

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.  

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.  

How to apply  

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal  

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.   

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:   

• search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8080F 
• Research Area: Applied Mathematics 
• select ‘PhD Mathematics (full time) as the programme of study  

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:   

• a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) – upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form   
• the studentship code MSP089 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field   
• when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.    

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application. 

Contact Details 

For further details, please contact: 

Dr Matthew Crowe, [email protected]