A position of Senior Research Assistant/Research Fellow in Numerical Modelling of Landslides is open at University of Southampton – Infrastructure Research Group.
Description of the position:
You will work as part of a team investigating the conditions under which
large-scale submarine landslides may develop. You will undertake research into
the stability of continental slopes by developing and using appropriate
numerical models implemented on a commercial finite element code as well as
bespoke software developed at Southampton.
The research will be carried out as part of a NERC-sponsored consortium grant
that investigates the risk that tsunamis induced by submarine landslides
occurring in the Arctic may pose, and the economic cost such an event may have
to the UK. Submarine landslides can be far larger than terrestrial ones and
may generate destructive tsunamis; rapid climatic change in the Arctic could
increase the risk of such landslides occurring. One of the work blocks, led by
Dr Antonis Zervos and Prof. Chris Clayton from the Faculty of Engineering and
the Environment at the University of Southampton, will investigate the
influence of a number of factors, such as sedimentation rate, dissociation of
gas hydrates and seismic shaking on the stability of continental slopes.
The research will use numerical modelling, informed by an extensive set of
data as well as an experimental testing programme on the strength of gas
hydrate bearing sediments carried out under the same grant. The numerical
models will be initially implemented on commercial software, following
methodologies developed at Southampton during a recently-completed project.
Extension of these methodologies will require the further development of
algorithms and bespoke interfacing code, as well as the use of in-house finite
element software.
You should have, or be about to obtain, a PhD in Geomechanics, Geotechnical
Engineering or a closely related discipline. You should have the ability to
perform high-quality numerical analysis with commercial and/or bespoke
software, and the ability to programme bespoke numerical analysis tools where
necessary. A strong theoretical background is also desirable.
The Infrastructure Group has a reputation for world leading geotechnical
research. This includes laboratory characterisation of soils to
internationally leading standards, field instrumentation and monitoring, and
numerical modelling using finite element, finite difference and discrete element
methods.
Details and application procedure:
https://jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=299913AT-RR
The closing date for this post is 25 April 2014.