Postdoc: Numerical simulations of ice–ocean interactions and melting near glacier grounding lines

The Climate Physics group at ENS de Lyon in France invites applications for a 2-year postdoctoral research position on ice-ocean interactions. Funding is provided by the ERC project IceAblation “Novel subglacial ocean models to accurately predict Ice-shelf Ablation rates at high resolution and low computational cost” led by Louis-A. Couston. The preferred start date is in Fall 2026.

Context and objectives

The future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is uncertain because the rate at which it loses mass depends on ice-ocean interactions that are difficult to investigate and represent in climate models. Observations over the last few decades have shown that warming ocean currents are driving the retreat of ice shelves (the floating tongues buttressing upstream grounded ice), triggering higher contributions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to sea level rise. Yet, major gaps remain in our understanding of how ice-shelf basal melt responds to variations in ocean conditions. The project will leverage state-of-the-art simulation tools (such as the open-source code Oceananigans) to investigate ice-ocean interactions and melting in the grounding zone of glaciers. The ocean dynamics in grounding zones is critical to the evolution of ice sheets as high melting rates near grounding lines have a much stronger impact on ice-sheet dynamics than farther away. Our group has run preliminary simulations of the meltwater plume that is generated near ice boundaries using the open-source code Nek5000. The plume flows upslope because it is buoyant and entrains warm ambient water through turbulence. The successful applicant will build on this preliminary work to directly address the question: How does the spatial distribution of ice- shelf ablation rates near grounding lines depend on the far-field (i.e., a few kilometres seaward) ocean state?