A PhD position is now open at La Rochelle Université (France) to validate SWOT “ocean” and “hydrology” data in the coastal zone for New Caledonia and Pertuis region (France).
A PhD position is now open at La Rochelle Université to validate SWOT data under the direction of Laurent Testut and Valérie Ballu.
The work of the PhD student will be to use and develop existing tools in the laboratory to adapt them to SWOT data sets, mainly for the high resolution (250m) “ocean” products, but also for the “hydrology” products.
In a first phase of the thesis, the PhD student will get familiar with the tools developed by the team, in particular the high resolution hydrodynamic model implemented in the Pertuis to be able to launch simulations during the satellite passage.
The PhD student will first work with the 1-day fast-sampling dataset over the Noumea lagoon in New Caledonia. This data set will be available to a small part of the community to evaluate the quality of these new data on different aspects. During this 1-day phase, campaign measurements using GNSS and GNSS buoys will be made (SWOTALIS campaign) and will be used by the PhD student to evaluate the quality of the data. At the switch to the “science” phase with a 21 days orbit, the data will be available for all and on the whole globe and on the Pertuis (see Figure 1).
The PhD student will conduct an exhaustive study of the quality of the data and of the different products (open ocean, coastal zone, rivers and lakes) in the Pertuis Charentais area and on some rivers of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Based on the knowledge acquired during the “fast-sampling” phase, the PhD student will make a complete and detailed analysis of the added value of SWOT data in coastal regions. The student will base their work on all data (tide gauges, in-situ campaigns, in-situ data, conventional altimetry, …) acquired in the region and on the studies in the region and on the studies produced on the region for the understanding of coastal processes (tide, waves, geoid, currents, …). The PhD student will have in situ data in New Caledonia (data from the SWOTALIS campaign) and in the Pertuis (coastal tide gauges, GNSS and buoy anchored in the Pertuis under a satellite track).
The PhD student will also have to set up extraction and analysis tools so that the use of the data is available on the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region for the LIENSs (in connection with the LIENSs geomatics cell) and eventually for a wider for a larger community.
For more information see here.