Each year, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics offers summer vacation projects. These projects are open to students from any University but candidates must have an existing right to work in the UK.
Students will work with a supervisor in the Department, usually a research fellow or a faculty member, on a self-contained research project. Students are encouraged to take part in the Department’s life, joining researchers for coffee breaks, discussions and seminars.
The projects will typically run for 8 weeks, beginning on or around 1 July. The duration may be adjusted to be shorter or longer, or to accommodate summer travel. The projects are usually full-time but hours can be discussed with your supervisor. Students will be paid as employees of the University, receiving a payment of at the Oxford living wage (subject to tax and National Insurance deductions).
For administrative enquiries please contact andrea.simpson@physics.ox.ac.uk
AOPP summer vacation projects for 2025:
Title: What is driving summertime heatwave trends in Europe?
Supervisors: Scott Osprey (NCAS, Oxford) and Kunhui Ye (Oxford)
Predicting trends in future European summer heatwaves is a critically important question. However, longstanding questions about their proximal cause have challenged our ability to predict and plan for their impacts. Only by better understanding their underlying drivers will we improve their prediction and better mitigate their harmful effects. European heatwaves are usually accompanied by persistent atmospheric circulation patterns, for example a stronger North Atlantic wind jet and atmospheric blocking highs. While global warming is widely thought to increase the likelihood of these heatwaves, there are other recognized drivers, such as slow changing atmospheric variability (e.g. the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), polar amplification (e.g. from reduced land and sea-ice), and land surface characteristics (e.g. soil moisture). These factors confound the attribution of heat-extremes and their trends.
In this summer project you will compare five types of external climate forcings: greenhouse gases, aerosols, ozone, soil moisture and volcano eruptions; in driving European summer heatwaves across a suite of climate models. The project aims to improve our understanding of the relative contributions of these external conditions in driving European summer heatwaves. The project will analyse a set of unique multi-model climate simulations and combine innovative statistical approaches, including Self-Organising Maps (SOMs), to better understand and predict European summer heatwaves.
The project will be based at the University of Oxford, but with interaction with researchers from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). There will be the opportunity to engage with researchers in regular group meetings. Funding is available from AOPP for a project duration of 6.5 weeks during the summer vacation, with some flexibility over the exact dates.
Skills Required
This project would suit a student from the physical sciences or mathematics, with an interest in climate science and experience with data processing tools (e.g. matlab, python or CDO etc) and datasets (e.g. netcdf). Enquiries on the project are welcome.
How to Apply
Applicants should email a CV, name and contact details of one academic reference, and a short cover letter explaining their interest in this placement to scott.osprey@physics.ox.ac.uk. Please feel free to contact Scott Osprey with any queries regarding this placement.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, with review of applications commencing on Friday 23th May 2025.
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Title: Revamping the AOPP Space Instruments Shock Test Facility
Supervisors: Fraser Clarke, Tris Warren, Jon Temple
The AOPP Space Instrumentation group builds and tests instruments which need to survive the rigours of space, and of getting there. For this, we have a suite of test facilities which can simulate the space environment and launch stresses instruments will need to withstand. One of these is our shock test facility. A conceptually simple facility (dropping a big mass onto a table!), it allows us to simulate and test shocks of over 1000g. The facility needs a revamp to increase its capability, quality, and usability. This project would involve both physical improvements to the test set-up to allow a more controlled shock to be generated, along with improvements to the control software to make the system more user friendly. Depending on time, running a series of tests to develop a library of shock profiles would an ideal outcome of the project.
Skills Required
This project would suit a hands-on student with some practical experience involving mechanics, electronics, and software, and looking for a project to further develop those skills. Some experience of writing software to integrate with hardware would be beneficial (e.g. Arduino, PI, etc). Experience of MATLAB would be helpful but not absolutely necessary.
How to Apply
Applicants should email a CV, name and contact details of one academic reference, and a short cover letter explaining their interest in this placement to fraser.clarke@physics.ox.ac.uk. Please feel free to contact Fraser Clarke with any queries regarding this placement.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, with review of applications commencing on Friday 23th May 2025.
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Title: Detection of Submarine Volcanic Eruptions Using Satellite Ocean-Colour and Machine Learning
Supervisors: Roy Grainger, Rui Song, Antonin Knizek, Isabelle Taylor
Submarine volcanic eruptions produce more volcanic material than those on land, yet they’re hard to study because they occur in remote parts of the ocean. These eruptions send heat, gases and minerals upward, creating rising plumes that change surface water colour, affect nutrient levels, and can even influence local climate. They can also release greenhouse gases and build new seabed habitats. Learning to spot and track these events is important for improving our knowledge of ocean volcanism. In this project you will use freely available satellite images (MODIS, Sentinel-2) to identify the colour shifts caused by submarine eruptions, then build machine-learning tools to detect them automatically, and to uncover events that have gone unreported. You will:
- Gather and prepare time-series ocean-colour data from multiple sensors
- Develop spectral and texture features sensitive to volcanic plumes
- Train, tune and test classification and prediction models on documented eruption cases
- Evaluate model performance, map regional/global occurrences and propose follow-up studies
You’ll be based in the Department of Physics at Oxford. Funding is available for a project duration of up to 6 weeks during the summer vacation, with some flexibility over the exact dates.
Skills & Qualities Required
- Degree in physical sciences, Earth science, computer science, or a related field
- Experience with programming (Python) and machine-learning libraries (scikit-learn, TensorFlow or PyTorch)
- Some background in satellite remote sensing or a strong willingness to learn
- A curious mind about Earth science and enthusiasm for data-driven methods
- Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to work both independently and in a team
How to Apply
Please email don.grainger@physics.ox.ac.uk:
- CV with contact details for one academic referee
- A one-page cover letter explaining your interest in submarine volcanism, remote sensing and machine learning
- Your availability during the summer vacation
For informal enquiries, feel free to contact Prof. Roy Grainger (don.grainger@physics.ox.ac.uk). We look forward to your application.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled, with review of applications commencing on Friday 23th May 2025.
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Summer Research Experience Placements (REPS) are available via the NERC DTP in Environmental Research. These are mini projects of 6-10 weeks that are undertaken in departments within a research group and with supervision of a senior academic. Further information can be found on the NERC DTP webpages.
Applications for the Summer Research Experience Placements (REPS) will open shortly.
For 2025, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics is offering 2 UNIQ+ Research Internships. UNIQ+ Research Internships are designed to provide students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds who are ordinarily resident in the UK with the opportunity to experience postgraduate study. During the seven-week programme, which will run from Monday 7 July to Friday 21 August 2025, you will undertake a research project, attend training skills and information sessions, and have the opportunity to take part in events. Further information can be found on the UNIQ+ webpages.
Applications for the UNIQ+ Projects for 2025 are now closed.