The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) invites proposals for post-doctoral research to use an integrated remote sensing approach using active and passive systems to retrieve melt pond characteristics and dynamics in the Arctic to aid with the inclusion of observational melt pond information in sea ice modeling.

Proposals are expected to involve the use of any or a combination of airborne and spaceborne optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and lidar systems to retrieve melt pond parameters. Given that melt dynamics occur at very fine spatial and temporal scales, a synergistic approach that takes advantage of the unique advantages of various remote sensing systems in an integrated manner is encouraged.

Selected applicant is expected to possess expertise in processing and analyzing (any of) optical, SAR, or lidar data, with knowledge and skill in several of the following areas: radiative transfer, data fusion, feature extraction, spectral analysis, spectral manipulation of data, polarimetry, and advanced image processing techniques, including statistical methods and machine learning approaches, for processing high-resolution multispectral and hyperspectral imagery.

NRL has several ongoing research projects in the Arctic, focused on developing techniques and tools to understand and monitor environmental changes in the Arctic – including the coastal terrain, the nearshore environment, and sea ice. The selected applicant will have opportunities to participate in these projects, including field campaigns, as part of their post-doctoral research.

NRL provides access to a number of commercial and custom-built sensing and imaging systems (hyperspectral, multispectral, thermal and polarimetric systems), calibration facilities, and computer resources to perform the work.