.....with apologies for cross posting

Studentship

Title – Is glacial isostatic adjustment continuing in Scotland?: Insights from InSAR and GPS observations

Duration – 3 years

Funding – This project is fully funded (full fees for a home (UK) or EU student + stipend at the current Research Council rate) by a joint scholarship: 50% from Scottish Natural Heritage, 50% from the College of Science and Engineering and the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences. Non-EU international applicants will also be considered for a University of Glasgow College of Science and Engineering International studentship to cover the difference in tuition fees for international students. Non-EU international students may themselves fund the difference between the UK/EU tuition fees that are covered by the studentship and the full international tuition fees.

Project Details:
Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is the response of the solid Earth to the large-scale changes in surface mass load brought about by the glaciation and deglaciation of the planetary surface.  Analysis of GIA provides insight into (1) the viscosity structure of the mantle, (2) the space-time geometry of Late Pleistocene glaciation, (3) global or regional seal level trends, and (4) regional seismic hazards. 
Global Positioning System (GPS) has been shown to be a powerful space geodesy technique to map first-order features of regional GIA deformation, but it is usually limited by the spatial coverage and density of existing regional GPS networks.  Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data can also be used to map changes in the Earth’s surface from space, utilizing the phase differences in complex (magnitude and phase) SAR images acquired in similar geometric conditions, but at two different epochs, to measure changes in the radar line of sight (LOS) to the satellite. This can be done with sub-centimetre precision in the LOS and metres horizontal spatial resolution over large regions (e.g. 100 km × 100 km). With its global coverage and all-weather imaging capability, InSAR is revolutionizing our ability to image the Earth’s surface and its evolution over time.
As a space geodetic technique, conventional InSAR is limited by two major factors: (a) decorrelation and (b) atmospheric effects. There have been two broad categories of InSAR time series techniques to address these two limitations: (a) Small baseline subset InSAR (SBAS) and (b) Persistent Scatterers InSAR (PS InSAR). In the University of Glasgow, a SBAS-based InSAR Time Series with Atmospheric Estimation Model technique (InSAR TS + AEM) has been developed with two notable features: (1) partially coherent pixels are explored in time series analyses, together with fully coherent pixels over time; (2) no deformation model is required to separate deformation signals from atmospheric effects, as the latter are estimated based on their turbulence and (partly) topography-dependent features. 
The principal aims of this project are: 
(1) to use advanced InSAR time series techniques to map GIA in Scotland;
(2) to investigate 3D displacements of all of the long-term (>5 years) Continuous GPS stations in Scotland;
(3) to correct tide gauge records by comparing with InSAR/GPS solutions so as to determine present-day sea-level trends in the study regions.

Requirements
Applicants should possess a good honours degree (1st Class or 2:1 minimum) in any appropriate scientific or technological discipline (e.g. Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Geodesy, Geophysics, Seismology, Electronic/Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science).

Further information on:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qychxoug2ookmnk/Li_Bishop_GIA_SNH_Y2013.pdf

Closing date: Friday, 16 August 2013.