Research Associate in Seismology at University of Bristol

Closing Date
30 August 2020

Applications are invited for a Research Associate position in Seismology to work on developing techniques for using Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) on fibre optic cables for the purposes of monitoring Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) sites. This work is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the ACT (Accelerating CCS Technologies) DigiMon project (https://digimon.norceprosjekt.no). DigiMon is an international, interdisciplinary consortium, which aims to develop and demonstrate an affordable, flexible, and intelligent digital monitoring early-warning system for monitoring any CO2 storage reservoir and subsurface barrier system receiving captured CO2.

The post holder will work alongside another RA providing the University of Bristol’s contribution to the project, with advisory support from Professor Michael Kendall at the University of Oxford and our industry partner, Anna Stork at Silixa Ltd. Bristol’s primary role is to develop DAS processing workflows for analysing passive seismic data. This will include developing algorithms for microseismic event detection and characterisation (e.g. event location, magnitude, source parameters etc.), ambient noise interferometry, and the employment of novel processing techniques including machine learning. This work will be done using a combination of synthetic data, pre-existing DAS datasets (e.g., from geothermal or hydraulic fracturing sites), and new data acquired in the field. The applicant will take part in designing and carrying out field experiments in collaboration with project partners with the aim of investigating the DAS transfer function. Later in the project work will be done to integrate the processing workflows with components developed by the other project partners (e.g. conventional seismic, gravity, distributed temperature and chemical sensing etc.) to form the broader CO2 monitoring system.

The applicant should have experience in seismic data processing, a proven publication record, be a good communicator as shown through conferences and research collaborations, have experience doing a range of geophysics fieldwork, and good proven team-working skills.

For further enquiries regarding this position, please contact Professor James Wookey (J.Wookey@bristol.ac.uk), Dr Antony Butcher (antony.butcher@bristol.ac.uk) or Professor Mike Kendall (mike.kendall@stx.ox.ac.uk).

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.

The University of Bristol is committed to equality and we value the diversity of our staff and students.

Apply via this link.

Posted on 31st July 2020 in Job Opportunities in Acoustics