Masters Studentship (Earth Systems Science: Ocean and Climate) at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the Job:

The CSIR annually offers a Studentship opportunities through the Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), an inter-disciplinary programme hosted by Smart Places. These opportunities are in a range of disciplines that address the research needs of earth systems science with a focus on the oceans, which includes research in oceanography, physics, marine biology, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, computer science, and engineering. Interns need to perform and qualify for the Masters studentship programme, apply for an NRF bursary and gain admission to a university.  These opportunities will be based in Cape Town.

Focus area:

Ocean Physics-Carbon: Surface Ocean physical dynamics of the Southern Ocean that influence CO2 and the biological carbon, links between fine scale dynamics and large-scale carbon-climate sensitivities. Ocean Biogeochemistry: Phytoplankton primary production in relation to Fe and light availability. Computational Oceanography/Numerical Modelling: Evaluating Southern Ocean model simulations using high performance computing, computer skills in model performance, dataset analysis and visualisation.

Key responsibilities:

• Preparing a research proposal to be approved by both the CSIR and the university;
• Preparing a written literature overview of the current state-of-the-art relevant to the research topic;
• Performing original research to solve the open research problem that the student identified in his/her proposal;
• Producing sufficient quantity and quality of peer-reviewed publications based on this research topic;
• Compiling the masters thesis and defending the work (if applicable) successfully;
• Contribute to extra activities that may be outside the scope of the master’s research as per the needs of the research group. The amount of such work shall be limited to 20% of the total time.

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• An Honours degree in biological sciences, computer science, statistics, oceanography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, or engineering;
• Basic computer science and coding experience (e.g. Matlab / Python) will be advantageous;
• An understanding of basic statistics for the processing of large datasets will be advantageous;
• Knowledge/familiarity with performing data processing, analysis and visualisation on Matlab or Python beneficial;
• Effective communication skills (oral, written and presentation);
• Be independent and able to work under pressure.

Applicants must attach the following documents:

• Copies of academic results (including the latest academic results or transcript);
• Copies of tertiary qualifications and ID;
• CV (highlighting relevant skills and experience) and cover letter

Closing date: 29 March 2024