Ocean Modeller

Ocean modellers aim to both develop innovative, state-of-the-art models and to use these tools to better understand and predict how oceans work, and so address fundamental societal challenges. These include investigating how the ocean influences the weather and climate, the impact of climate change on the ocean, fisheries and food security, the spread of pollutants and many more. 

Generally, the job involves lots of computer programming to run models and undertake data analysis of the model output (e.g. temperature, currents, nutrients, sea ice), regular meetings with colleagues at the NOC to discuss scientific findings, occasional meetings with national or international colleagues that are part of larger projects, travel to conferences to present research, writing up research to publish in scientific journals.

To get a job as an ocean modeller you would need:

• Qualifications in maths and physics (geography, computing and other sciences are also useful)
• Motivation and willingness to undertake lots of studying and training 
• An aptitude for computer programming to run models and do data analysis
• A passion for the ocean and the enthusiasm to address societal challenges
• The ability to work both individually and as part of a team
• Good communication skills to share and present the research

Information about the employer

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC), existing in its various forms for over six decades, is one of the largest charities in the UK with an annual turnover of over £60 million and employs over 600 staff. It is one of the few research organisations globally that has the equipment and expertise to operate at full ocean depth.

The NOC is in a unique position of having world-leading multi-disciplinary scientific and technical expertise which can help unlock the economic and societal potential of the ocean across a range of industry sectors.

www.noc.ac.uk