PhD position Marine Heatwaves

European Geosciences Union (EGU); Wellington; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A public research organization in Wellington, New Zealand, seeks a PhD candidate to investigate marine heatwaves and improve their predictability. You will collaborate with international researchers, employing advanced data science techniques in your research. Candidates should have a strong background in physical oceanography or related fields and excellent Python skills. This fully funded position offers a supportive research environment.

Benefits

Fully funded PhD (tuition + stipend) for 3 years

Access to national supercomputing resources

Collaboration with industry and international partners

Qualifications

• MSc/First-class Honours (or equivalent) required.
• Experience with seasonal prediction datasets is desirable.
• Skills in HPC/Linux workflows are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Compile and analyse observations and simulations.
• Detect and characterise marine heatwaves.
• Evaluate existing and newly developed forecasts.

Skills

Strong skills in Python

Quantitative analysis

Interest in climate/ocean dynamics

Education

MSc/First-class Honours in physical oceanography, climate science, or atmospheric science

Tools

Python (xarray, numpy, pandas, scipy)

Matlab

Job description

Overview

PhD position: Marine Heatwaves

Employer: Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ)

Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ) is a public research organisation formed in July 2025 through the merger of NIWA and GNS Science, bringing together around 1,200 staff with expertise spanning the atmosphere, oceans, freshwater, climate, geology, geophysics, and natural hazards. Its mission is to harness Earth, water, and climate science to support Aotearoa’s resilience, sustainability, and prosperity by improving understanding of hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and extreme weather; monitoring and managing marine and freshwater ecosystems; advancing renewable energy and low-carbon solutions; and providing evidence-based science to guide policy, infrastructure, and community decision-making.

Location: Wellington, New Zealand • Sector: Academic

Relevant divisions: Atmospheric Sciences (AS); Climate: Past, Present & Future (CL); Ocean Sciences (OS)

Type: Full time • Level: Student / Graduate / Internship • Salary: Open

Preferred Education: Master

Application deadline: 12 October 2025 • Posted: 19 September 2025

PhD Opportunity

PhD Opportunity: Characteristics, Drivers, and Mechanisms of Recent Marine Heatwaves to Improve Predictability

Step into the growing field of climate extremes and their predictability to increase climate resilience of ecosystems and marine businesses.

The project

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have intensified and become more frequent worldwide over recent decades, impacting fisheries, aquaculture, biodiversity, and coastal communities. One way to reduce this growing risk is through improved predictability and the establishment of early warning systems. A 3-year project has been initiated to improve the predictability of these extremes over the southwest Pacific using advanced data science techniques. The project brings together researchers from Australia, New Caledonia, USA, and New Zealand.

This PhD Will Contribute To This International Project By

• Characterising recent MHWs and diagnosing their drivers and mechanisms
• Improving our ability to predict these events on subseasonal to seasonal timescales
• Utilising and evaluating MHW forecasting products

The successful applicant will work at the interface of climate dynamics, oceanography, and data science—linking process understanding with practical prediction tools for stakeholders (fisheries, aquaculture, conservation).

What You Will Do

• Compile and analyse in-situ observations and high-resolution hindcast simulations.
• Detect and characterise MHWs; attribute events using circulation patterns, heat-budget, and teleconnection diagnostics.
• Improve our understanding of mechanisms, dependencies, and timeframes to advance predictability.
• Evaluate existing and newly developed MHW forecasts.
• Contribute to early-warning products with end-users; publish in leading journals and present at conferences.

Essential

About you

• MSc/First-class Honours (or equivalent) in physical oceanography, climate science, or atmospheric science.
• Strong skills in Python (xarray, numpy, pandas, scipy; netCDF; version control) or Matlab and quantitative analysis.
• Demonstrated interest in climate/ocean dynamics and predictability.

Desirable

• Experience with seasonal prediction datasets, reanalysis, or climate model output.
• Background in time-series verification, extreme-value analysis, or machine learning (PyTorch/TensorFlow, scikit-learn).
• HPC/Linux workflow skills; stakeholder engagement.

Supervision & environment

You will be based at Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ) in Wellington, New Zealand, and enrolled through the University of Auckland’s PhD programme in the Physics Department. Supervisors of your project are Prof. Craig Stevens (Univ. Auckland and ESNZ), Professor Neil Holbrook (University of Tasmania), and Dr. Erik Behrens (ESNZ).

You’ll join a collaborative team of ocean and climate scientists working across observation, modelling, and AI over a range of scales. The project offers access to national supercomputing resources, rich forecast archives, and strong links to government, industry, and international partners. In addition, you will become part of the University of Auckland/ESNZ Joint Graduate School in Coastal and Marine Science.

Funding & start

• Fully funded PhD (tuition + stipend) for 3 years. The project will match University of Auckland Scholarship conditions.
• Start date: asap/early 2026
• ESNZ was formed in July 2025 through the merger of NIWA and GNS – two leading science agencies.

References

de Boisséson, E., & Balmaseda, M. A. (2024). Predictability of marine heatwaves: assessment based on the ECMWF seasonal forecast system. Ocean Science, 20(1), 265–278. Hartog, J. R., Spillman, C. M., Smith, G., & Hobday, A. J. (2023). Forecasts of marine heatwaves for marine industries: Reducing risk, building resilience and enhancing management responses. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 209, 105276. Holbrook, N. J., et al. (2020). Keeping pace with marine heatwaves. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(9), 482–493. Jacox, M. G., et al. (2022). Global seasonal forecasts of marine heatwaves. Nature, 604, 486–490. Spillman, C. M., et al. (2025). What makes a marine heatwave forecast usable? Progress In Oceanography, 234, 103464. Sun, W., et al. (2023). Artificial intelligence forecasting of marine heatwaves in the South China Sea using a combined U-Net and ConvLSTM system. Remote Sensing, 15(16), 4068.

How to apply

Email one PDF to [e-mail] containing:

• Cover letter (max 2 pages): motivation, fit, ideas around your experience and interests which could inform the project.
• CV (incl. publications, talks, software).
• Academic transcripts.
• Contact details for two referees.

Subject line: PhD Application – Marine Heatwaves

Application deadline: 12 October (New Zealand)

Contact: Erik Behrens ([e-mail]) for any questions in relation to this position.

Equity, diversity & inclusion

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive research environment.