PhD position Marine Heatwaves

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

Preferred Education : Master

Application deadline : 12 October 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

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

Essential

About you

Desirable

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

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, . 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, . 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 containing :

Subject line : PhD Application – Marine Heatwaves

Application deadline : 12 October (New Zealand)

Contact : Erik Behrens ( ) 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.

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