Type of course

Admission requirements

Enrolment in a relevant PhD programme.

The course is designed for PhD students studying glaciers, ice sheets and adjacent polar environments, and their interactions with biogeochemical cycles from ice to ocean. This is an interdisciplinary course, and we welcome applications from PhD students with a range of relevant backgrounds, for example glaciology, (bio)geochemistry, oceanography and marine ecology.

Information regarding PhD courses, and how to apply, at the Faculty of Science and Technology is found here:

Søking og opptak | UiT

If there are more applicants than available places in the course, students will be prioritized in the following order:

1. PhD students directly funded by iC3: Centre for ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate

2. PhD students affiliated to iC3: Centre for ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate

3. PhD students supervised by iC3: Centre for ice, Cryosphere, Carbon and Climate collaborators

4. PhD students at the PhD program in Science at UiT The Arctic University of Tromsø

5. PhD students at other universities

All external applicants have to attach a confirmation of their status as a PhD student from their home institution. PhD students from outside Tromsø must cover their own travel costs to/from Tromsø.

Course content

The iC3 Field School offers PhD students the opportunity to study biogeochemical cycling in polar environments across the full ice-to-ocean spectrum. Exploiting unique field locations and infrastructure near Tromsø, the course gives students field-based experience in the sampling, analysis and interpretation of a range of biogeochemical datasets in terrestrial and marine glaciated environments.

The course takes an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the complex, interconnected ice-to-ocean continuum, allowing students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the processes and impacts of meltwater and the associated transfer of chemical elements from changing ice masses to downstream marine systems.

The course builds competencies directly relevant to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG13 Climate Action, SDG14 Life Below Water, SDG15 Life On Land.

Objectives of the course

On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student will be able to

• Identify, describe and analyse the processes through which meltwater and associated nutrients / elements are transferred through glacial systems

• Identify, describe and analyse the potential impact of these glacially sourced nutrients / elements on downstream marine ecosystems

• Apply, describe, and explain a range of physical, biological, and chemical methods used to investigate biogeochemical cycling in glaciated environments and evaluate their suitability and reliability.

Skills

The student will be able to

• Understand available biogeochemical methodologies and how to implement them to answer scientific questions

• Perform a range of biogeochemical sampling methods for water and sediments in terrestrial and marine environments

• Analyse and interpret field and laboratory data, discussing findings and formulating hypotheses in the context of current theories and ideas on biogeochemical cycling in glaciated environments

General competences

The student will be able to

• Communicate and discuss theories and challenges related to biogeochemical cycling in glaciated environments

• Plan and deliver an advanced interdisciplinary research project

• Demonstrate competence in responsible academic leadership and play an active role in fieldwork,

data processing and discussions

• Demonstrate an ability to work both independently and within a team

• Plan and execute safe sampling campaigns at land and sea

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Field course workshops (Tromsø/online): approximately 2-days.

Field course: approximately 6-days (5-nights).Note that teaching and field activities may take place during weekends.

Set in the Lyngen Alps, Northern Norway, the iC3 Field School provides a multidisciplinary introduction to glacial systems and biogeochemical cycles. The course spans the entire ice to ocean spectrum, with terrestrial and marine-based field teaching in glacier forefield, valley and downstream fjord settings.

The first half of the field school are teacher-led field days in terrestrial and marine environments. The terrestrial environments focus on the forelands of glaciers in the Lyngen Alps, Troms, whilst the marine component take place in Storfjorden on the UiT research vessel Beret Paulsdatter.

This will be followed by a day of student group work at the field station for planning of their student-led research project. The second half of the field component then comprises student-led days for group-based sampling and data collection for the research projects.

In addition to the ~6-day field component, there is a 1-day pre-field school workshop at the Department of Geosciences, UiT, and a 1-day workshop after the field school, again at the Department of Geosciences, UiT where all the datasets collected in the field are presented by the field school participants. It may be possible to arrange online participation in the workshops for participants not based in Tromsø.