PhD students 3rd cohort

Brian joins us from Fort Collins, Colorado, United States with a meteorology and climate science background. His master's work was conducted at Colorado State University, where he investigated the large-scale periodicity in the amplitude and propagation of atmospheric wave packets. After a subsequent stint as a consulting meteorologist in Colorado, Brian decided to return to the world of climate science by pursuing his PhD through ArcTrain at the University of Bremen in order to better understand the climate system, how humanity is changing it, and what the consequences of these changes will be in the future.

Hello, I´m Johanna and I studied Geosciences and in my master´s program Marine Geosciences at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel. During my studies I focused on paleoceanography, isotope geochemistry and climate reconstructions. Moreover, I had the opportunity to take part in an expedition to Western Australia and to collect there marine sediment cores for my master´s thesis. After finishing my studies, I was enthusiastic to work again in such an international and interdisciplinary environment. Now I´m very happy to be part of ArcTrain and to continue my climate research in the fascinating and complex environment of the Arctic. During my PhD I will analyse the radiogenic isotope composition of marine sediments from the Baffin Bay to reconstruct their provenance as well as associated delivery mechanism and ice sheet dynamics.

I am Yuqing Liu and I finished MSc. program Marine Geosciences at University Bremen. I made one semester exchange study at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and finished my master thesis here. The thesis work applies transfer function to study the thermal air-sea interaction with the satellite data and numerical simulations in the Arabian Sea. I feel deeply honored to be part of the ArcTrain. I will do Arctic land-fast ice numerical modelling in next three years. The Ph.D. project is aimed to improve the land-fast ice representation in numerical models for a better understanding of future land-fast ice distribution and breakup. The numerical model MITgcm will be applied and tuned in this project. The satellite observations and in-situ data will advance the evaluation of coupled sea-ice-ocean simulations. The results of the study will help provide parameterizations, potentially a new rheology, and high resolution to enhance simulations of the fast-ice process.

Hey! I studied Physical Geography with a focus on climatology and climate modeling at the Uni Bremen. Already quite early during my Bachelor's studies, I realized my fascination for the complexity of planetary systems. Although my main interest was always to study Earth's climate, other components of it's natural system, as e.g. the bio- or cryosphere, and its interactions with the climate intrigued me. In my Master's thesis I then worked on optimizing a global glacier mass balance model in the context of an ESA project on contemporary sea-level rise. Continental ice melt and sea-level rise are closely connected and will clearly influence the humans' future. Accordingly, in my PhD project I will study the interactions between glaciers in the Canadian Arctic, where many marine terminating glaciers are present, and the regional ocean circulation. For that I will work on coupling a glacier model to an ocean model, so that we can understand the processes involved in those interactions as well. I am glad to be part of ArcTrain, since it enhances the PhD students' opportunities to exchange interdisciplinarily and thereby get valuable input from other angles of view that can help the research projects advance.

Hello! I am Emmanuel and I’m from Nigeria. I studied Marine Geosciences at the University of Bremen which significantly improved my knowledge and understanding of Ocean and Earth sciences and research, from a multidisciplinary perspective, an interest already engrained since my high school days. For my master thesis, I obtained sediment cores during an expedition to the Atacama Trench on which I carried out biogeochemical investigations, using mainly sediment’s pore water and solid phase concentrations, to identify signatures of microbially mediated geochemical processes. In my PhD project, I will apply a series of sedimentological, geochemical and micropaleontological methods to investigate the im­pacts of the chan­ging Baf­fin Bay pa­leo­cea­no­gra­phy and freshwa­ter-ice in­flux through the con­nec­tivi­ty to the Arc­tic Oce­an and the re­trea­ting sur­roun­ding ice sheets on the Ho­lo­ce­ne se­di­men­ta­ti­on in the northwes­tern Baf­fin Bay. The ArcTrain PhD program is an exciting opportunity I'm really delighted to be a member, providing me a pleasant international and interdisciplinary research atmosphere to work in and to learn new things.

Hello! My name is Joel. I studied oceanography at the University of Colima, during my Bachelor's studies I attended the summer school “Arctic Change” in Norway where I was delighted with the polar oceanography talks. Then, I obtained a master degree in Earth Sciences (Atmospheric Sciences) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, during this period I studied the detachment process of eddies from the Loop Current (Gulf of Mexico) and the effect of the ocean-atmosphere interaction on this process. Now In my PhD, I will investigate the response of the internal wave field to changes in ice coverage using data from the MOSAiC campaign as well as numerical modelling. I am very proud to be a member of the ArcTrain program, this is a unique opportunity to study the Arctic Ocean with international researchers and an interdisciplinary team!

Hi there, I'm Franziska. I studied physical Geography at the University of Bremen, setting my focus on climate reconstruction and modelling during the master program Environmental History. In my last year of studies, my main focus was figuring out possibilities for paleoclimatic reconstructions in a Swedish lake using samples of biogenic carbonates and measurements of stable isotopes. Right now, I am very happy to be part of the ArcTrain project since I see it as a great chance to broaden my horizon both on a scientific and a personal basis. During my research project, I will work on the carbonate production in the Arctic ocean of a certain species of planktonic foraminifera to be able to project future changes. I am hugely interested in the Arctic region, which is strongly affected by climate change, and want to contribute to understanding which changes are to come. On top of that, I really look forward to get in touch with scientists from all over the world, and work together with a motivated group of young scientists. I am sure that this will be a very important experience and am eager to see the outcome of all this important and exciting work.

Hi, I am Linda. I studied Meteorology at the University of Hamburg.
During my master program, I had the fantastic possibility to study one semester abroad at UNIS, the University Centre in Svalbard. This experience fascinated me of the Arctic with its beautiful nature.
I decided to do further research on this topic to contribute to the better understanding of the changing conditions in a warming climate. I am really happy to be a part of ArcTrain. I am looking forward to work in an international team of interdisciplinary fields. In my PhD project, I will analyze data of the MOSAiC expedition. This is a great opportunity to get observational data of the high Arctic region over a whole year. Since sea ice is getting thinner, changing processes have to be investigated. My aim is a better understanding of the seasonal cycle of energy fluxes. I will use the knowledge to improve the remote sensing observations, which can be applied Arctic-wide.

Hey, my name is Jennifer and I studied Environmental Modeling at the University of Oldenburg. During my master program I had the  opportunity to gain experiences in ocean modeling. Several internships and smaller research projects awakened the fascination to the field of ocean and climate. In my master thesis I already focused on the correlation of climate change and the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. I used a very simple model but nevertheless I realized that I want to continue doing research in this field. So I am happy to get the opportunity to be part of ArcTrain and to focus on the drift and melting of icebergs as well as the impact of their melting on the open-ocean convection.

Hi, my name is Simon Wett. Before coming to Bremen to be an ArcTrain PhD student I studied Physical Oceanography in Hamburg. My interest in the Subpolar North Atlantic was awakened by different research cruises during which I got to experience the scientific workflow on a research vessel and learned a lot about the fascinating physical processes in the Subpolar North Atlantic. In my Master’s Thesis I studied the stratospheric influence on the oceanic Mixed Layer Depth in the Subpolar North Atlantic. I learned that the ocean-atmosphere system comprises complex mechanisms that can act across large distances. On a globally warming planet, the oceans, taking up most of the heat, are a very relevant factor in the climate system. Today the Arctic is warming faster than any other region in the world and thus also adjacent ocean basins interact differently with the Arctic Ocean. In my PhD project I want to study the ocean-atmosphere interaction via water mass ventilation in the Subpolar North Atlantic and its influences on the climate relevant Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). During my studies I have experienced that interdisciplinarity and internationality always fuel science. I am sure this will continue as I meet new colleagues and friends from different fields of expertise as an ArcTrain PhD student.

Hey! My name is Kevin and I studied Physical Oceanography at the Universität Hamburg. My interest in the Earth‘s climate system and the ocean in particular was already awakened in my childhood, walking through rain and storm at the North Sea coast. During my studies I was able to join several research cruises to the North Atlantic, the Denmark Strait and recently to the Antarctic Weddell Sea. Impressed by the forces of nature and the vulnerability of the Earth’s climate and ecosystems, I am very happy to be a member of ArcTrain. The Arctic is the region were changes related to the present climate crisis will have the biggest impact. The consequences will affect us all. In my PhD Thesis, I will therefore investigate the exchange processes between the Greenlandic shelf and the surrounding open ocean regions, the Labrador and Irminger Seas. Personally, I am looking forward to working in an interdisciplinary field of research together with an international field of researchers.