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Director of Studies: , British Antarctic Survey

3rd Supervisor: , British Antarctic Survey

4th Supervisor: , British Antarctic Survey

Applications are invited for a 3.5 years PhD studentship. The studentship will start on 1 October 2026

Scientific background
Clouds can have a warming or cooling effect on the Planet depending on their phase. Cloud water droplets and ice crystals form on a subset of aerosol which can act either as a cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) or as an ice nucleating particle (INP). Ice clouds tend to have shorter lifetimes and a lower albedo (reflecting less solar energy back into space) than clouds which contain large numbers of water droplets. It is therefore critically important to understand the sources of CCN and INP, and how these sources might change, to make future climate predictions. Because of its remoteness, sources of cloud nuclei in Antarctica are predominantly of natural origin, including sea spray, sea ice, blowing snow, dusts, biological etc.. However, these natural sources are themselves also subject to climate change. The research question for this project is: What effect will reduced sea ice and expanding (and warmer) open oceans around Antarctica have on the CCN and INP concentrations, and ultimately on clouds?

You will be working at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) embedded in the Atmosphere, Ice and Climate (AIC) team where you will combine aircraft vertical profiles with aerosol measurements from Rothera station to study sea surface aerosol emissions and new particle formation processes; and their ability to affect cloud formation aloft. You will be performing lab-based experiments on physical samples of sea water and ice (collected during previous campaigns) in the aerosol and trace gas lab at BAS and at the biogeochemistry research centre at the ²ÝùÊÓƵ (UoP). There might also be opportunities to carry out polar field work at a research station or on board a research vessel.

We will train you to become an expert in atmospheric measurement techniques and involve you in field work planning and in our team meetings. You will be part of the vibrant BAS PhD cohort and be able to benefit from training opportunities at BAS, the UoP or summer/winter schools.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a background in chemistry, physics, atmospheric/marine sciences or equivalent, and with experience in (or a desire to learn) programming.

Brean, James, Beddows, David C. S., Asmi, Eija, Virkkula, Aki, Quéléver, Lauriane L. J., Sipilä, Mikko, Van Den Heuvel, Floortje, Lachlan-Cope, Thomas , Jones, Anna , Frey, Markus , Lupi, Angelo, Park, Jiyeon, Yoon, Young Jun, Weller, Rolf, Marincovich, Giselle L., Mulena, Gabriela C., Harrison, Roy M., Dall’Osto, Manue. (2025) Multiple eco-regions contribute to the seasonal cycle of Antarctic aerosol size distributions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 25 (). pp. 10.5194/acp-25-1145-2025

Dall’Osto, M., Ovadnevaite, J., Paglione, M., Fitzsimons, M. F. et al. Antarctic sea ice region as a source of biogenic organic nitrogen in aerosols. Sci Rep 7, 6047 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06188-x

Daniel Kenneth Edward Smith, Ian Renfrew, Floortje van den Heuvel, et al. The Impact of Mixed-Phase Cloud Processes on Simulating Southern Ocean Clouds and their Radiative Effect. ESS Open Archive . June 19, 2025.

Ickes, L., Porter, G. C. E., Wagner, R., Adams, M. P., Bierbauer, S., Bertram, A. K., Bilde, M., Christiansen, S., Ekman, A. M. L., Gorokhova, E., Höhler, K., Kiselev, A. A., Leck, C., Möhler, O., Murray, B. J., Schiebel, T., Ullrich, R., and Salter, M. E.: The ice-nucleating activity of Arctic sea surface microlayer samples and marine algal cultures, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11089–11117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11089-2020, 2020.

Park, J., Kang, H., Gim, Y., Jang, E., Park, K.-T., Park, S., Jung, C. H., Ceburnis, D., O'Dowd, C., and Yoon, Y. J.: New particle formation leads to enhanced cloud condensation nuclei concentrations on the Antarctic Peninsula, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13625–13646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13625-2023, 2023.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent.  

Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded ARIES studentship of fees, maintenance stipend, £20,780 p.a. for 2025/26 (2026/27 rate TBC) and research costs. 

A limited number of ARIES studentships are available to International applicants. Please note however that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK.

NB: The studentship is supported for 3.5 years of the four-year registration period. The subsequent 6 months of registration is a self-funded ‘writing-up’ period. 

ARIES is committed to in all areas of its operation. We encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, and transgender status. Projects have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive, and appropriate research and fieldwork environment. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, with equal weighting given to experience and potential. 

For further information, please visit

If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Dr Floortje van den Heuvel, flovan@bas.ac.uk.

Please see our apply for a postgraduate research programme page for a list of supporting documents to upload with your application. 

For more information on the admissions process generally, please visit our apply for a postgraduate research programme page or contact the Doctoral College .

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview after the deadline. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received a response within six weeks of the closing date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.