[iris-bulk] PhD opportunities in Space Geodesy/Seismology in Miami

[Falk Amelung]

PhD opportunities in Space Geodesy/Seismology

The Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics(MGG) and the Center of  
Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS) at the  
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) at the  
University of Miami, Florida, invites applications for 4 PhD positions.

#### Geodynamics of the Basin and Range Province ####
About 25% of the relative plate motion between the North-American and  
the Pacific plates ocurrs in the Western Basin and Range, yet the  
driving forces of this deformation are only poorly understood. The  
appointee will use multi-satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture  
Radar data (InSAR) of the GeoEarthscope project and continuous GPS  
data of the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) to precisely  
characterize the present-day crustal deformation, and to develop 3-D  
numerical models to explain the observations. This project is funded  
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

#### Active volcanic processes in the Galapagos Islands ####
The western Galapagos volcanoes are among the most active and dynamic  
volcanoes in the world and a natural laboratory for magmatic plumbing  
systems. The appointee will participate in the installation of a  
seismic network at Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul volcanoes. He/she will  
use multi-satellite InSAR and continuous GPS data to characterize the  
time-dependent surface deformation, and to develop numerical models  
to reconcile the geodetic models with information derived from the  
seismic observations such as the earthquake locations and crustal  
structure.  This is a collaborative project with the Universities of  
Rochester and Idaho and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

#### Flank Instabilities of basaltic volcanoes ####
The flanks of active basaltic volcanoes are unstable and some are  
slowly moving driven by gravity or magmatic intrusions into the  
volcanic edifice.  The appointee will assemble comprehensive geodetic  
and seismic data (InSAR, GPS, earthquake relocations of Mt Etna,  
Kilauea, and other basaltic volcanoes and use 3-D numerical modeling  
methods for a comparative study of the mechanics of flank  
instabilities. This project is supported by data of the Supersite  
Initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA).

#### Space-based wetland hydrology ####
Wetland InSAR is a unique application of the InSAR technology  
providing high spatial resolution hydrological observations of  
wetland that cannot be obtained by any terrestrial-based method. The  
appointee will use SAR and InSAR data acquired over the Everglades  
(south Florida) and Sian Ka'an (Yucatan, Mexico) wetlands to monitor  
the hydrology of both wetland systems as part of a large hydro- 
ecology study. This project is funded by the National Aeronautics and  
Space Administration (NASA).

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For more information on RSMAS and our research activities, please  
visit http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/ and http://www.geodesy.miami.edu.  
Starting date is fall 2009 or earlier.  For the formal application  
procedure please visit the RSMAS Graduate Studies website.  
International applicants are encouraged to take the GRE and TOEFL  
tests at their earliest convenience. Applications from students with  
a MSc. and  research interests in both, geodesy and seismology are  
particularly welcome. Review of applications will start in March 2009  
and continue until the positions are filled. For more information  
please contact Profs. Falk Amelung (famelung at rsmas.miami.edu), Shimon  
Wdowinski (shimon at rsmas.miami.edu) or Tim Dixon  
(tdixon at rsmas.miami.edu).


___________________________________________
Falk Amelung	
Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics - RSMAS
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149
USA
Tel: 305 421 4949
Fax: 305 421 4632
CSTARS: 305 421 4957/4970
E-mail: famelung at rsmas.miami.edu
http://mgg.rsmas.miami.edu/faculty/famelung/


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