World-Leading Doctoral Scholarship in Earth and Environmental Sciences

Project

The westerly winds that blow over the Southern Ocean are some of the most energetic on Earth. Colloquially known as “the roaring forties” (warning seafarers of their fierce nature and the latitude band in which to expect them), the winds are strong enough to drive the global ocean circulation – bringing cold, dense, carbon-rich water from the ocean’s dark abyss all the way to its surface – with far-reaching implications for global climate. Changes in the strength and location of these winds, and associated impacts on the ocean circulation and carbon cycle, have together been hypothesized as a major driver of past climate transitions, such as the ice ages, as well as a crucial uncertainty in projections of future climate change. Nevertheless, the fundamental dynamics of these westerly winds, their interaction with the ocean, and their relationship to past and future climate changes, remain highly uncertain.

This ambitious PhD will focus on understanding the underlying dynamics of atmosphere-ocean interactions in the Southern Ocean. Specifically, the project will address three crucial unanswered questions:

1. What governs the strength of the westerly winds, and the empirical relationship between wind strength and latitude? How does this relationship vary across ocean conditions, and in response to global warming?
2. What determines the position of the major ocean currents in the Southern Ocean, and how does this change in response to changes in westerly wind strength and location?
3. How does the coupled atmosphere-ocean system in southern mid-latitudes change in response to global warming, and how do these changes accelerate or decelerate climate change via their impact on the carbon cycle?

Success in addressing these questions will advance fundamental understanding of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system and will provide new insights into the pace of global warming, the extent of sea level rise, and changes in marine ecosystems. Specifically, the models used in climate change projections that inform the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be validated against this newly developed dynamical understanding, allowing their veracity to be scrutinized.

The student will address these questions using a host of tools, including theoretical frameworks and conceptual models, gridded observational datasets, idealized numerical simulations, and complex climate models. They will have freedom to explore the above questions in an order guided by their curiosity, but a timeline could look something like the following:

Year 1. Develop a conceptual model of the relationship between westerly wind strength and ocean surface temperatures, based on the atmospheric momentum budget. Simultaneously, using an idealized numerical model configuration of the atmosphere overlying a prescribed ocean state, vary the ocean conditions and examine the induced changes in the atmosphere to test and refine the conceptual model.

Year 2. Explore and progress existing conceptual models of the ocean currents’ position and strength, and their sensitivity to the overlying winds, the ocean temperature profile, and the ocean bathymetry. Test this conceptual model using an idealized, regional ocean model configuration with prescribed overlying atmospheric conditions. Vary the atmospheric conditions to explore the ocean response in a vorticity framework.

Year 3. Run global warming scenarios with a complex climate model, resolving the interacting dynamics between changing ocean and atmosphere conditions. Use this model to interrogate the previously derived conceptual models and develop further theory on how a dynamic relationship between the atmosphere and ocean alters the expected behaviour. Assess Southern Ocean atmosphere-ocean interactions in IPCC-grade climate model simulations.

Year 4. Write up and submit thesis.

Throughout the PhD, the student will write up and publish their results in academic journals as well as attend conferences to present their work, integrating them within the research community and alerting the community to their work. Additionally, they will attend summer schools on two or three occasions to continually enhance and broaden their learning and to develop relationships with their peers. 

Value of award (per year)

Full-fees award and stipend. The stipend will be paid at the current UK Research Council rate (£19,237 in 2024-2025). The stipend will be paid pro-rata to part-time students.

The scholarships do not cover any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees, Visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, IELTS fees, costs for travel to and from the UK or research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years (full-time) or 7.0 years (part-time). Scholarship holders will be expected to have submitted their thesis for examination by the end of that period. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

Please apply for the scholarship after you have submitted your application for a place at St Andrews.  You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship.

Additional criteria

You must have applied for a PhD programme at St Andrews.

Applicants must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews or another institution.

As part of the scholarship application you will be required to upload a personal statement. This should serve as a cover letter for the research project application as a whole, and should include:

• An outline of your suitability for the project (project criteria can be found in the "Eligibility" and "Project Description" sections above).
• Why the project interests you.
• What you would bring to the project in terms of previous skills and expertise.
• Any ideas that you may have for the realisation of the project.

How to apply

1. Apply for admission as a doctoral student beginning in the academic year 2025-26. Please see the advice on Research programmes. After submitting your PhD application, you must allow at least three working days for processing and issue of your log-in details before you can apply for the scholarship. Once you have received an email confirming your access to the My application portal: 
2. Apply for the scholarship, which is available through the World-Leading Scholarship 3: Westerly winds overturning oceans application form. You can access this application through the Scholarships and funding catalogue in the Scholarships and Funding section of My application. 
   • Enter the catalogue by following the instructions in the email, then choosing Scholarships and funding (under 'Useful links') and then clicking View the scholarships and funding catalogue.
   • Select 2025/6 as the Academic Year and click ‘Refresh list’.
   • Find the World-Leading St Andrews Doctoral Scholarship that you wish to apply for in the list of scholarships (using the filter box if necessary), click Apply and complete the application form.
   • You can also use the catalogue to search and apply for other scholarships for which you are eligible. 

Scholarship application form guidance

If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access Scholarships and Funding through MySaint. However, you should wait until after you have applied for your intended postgraduate programme before doing so, to ensure that the scholarship application is linked to that course.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab) 

If you apply to this scholarship, details from your course application may be passed to the selection panel solely for the purpose of merit-based assessment. 

When will I know the outcome?

The outcome of your scholarship application will be available on View or continue my funding applications in the Scholarships and Funding section of My Application within two months of the application deadline.