51cg

Project to start October 2026. Applications accepted until position is filled.

Light is a key driver for several fundamentally important processes in the ocean including ocean warming, photosynthesis and animal behaviour. Together, these processes play vital roles in establishing the contribution of the ocean to climate change and how ocean biology will respond to a warming planet. The oceans present an extremely harsh environment that limits our ability to adequately monitor these processes. Optical sensing is particularly well suited for marine monitoring applications for a variety of practical reasons and there is growing interest in developing new sensing technologies that will allow us to better exploit the opportunities offered by the development of autonomous sampling platforms.

The advent of quantum technology and continued advances in photonics are opening the door to new sensing opportunities in the marine environment. This project will look at deploying integrated photonic technologies in a series of ocean data sensor demonstrations that will showcase some of these new possibilities.

The first application involves using state of the art solid state detectors to develop ultra-high dynamic range irradiance sensors that will enable passive measurement of underwater light fields from noontime daylight to the middle of polar night and down to the darkest levels found at abyssal depths. Seamlessly moving from daytime sensing to photon counting in the dark, this novel light sensor will provide genuinely global coverage of underwater light signals across the full range of biological sensitivity.

This ultra-high dynamic range sensing capability has other immediate applications in marine sensing. Light is attenuated exponentially as it passes through turbid media, with LIDAR signals experiencing double attenuation before being received by the detector. The ultra-high dynamic range, high-speed, light sensor will provide new capabilities to extend the sensitivity range for quantum LIDAR systems, including both to greater distances where signals are weak and near field signals that are often ecologically important, but too intense to be measured with systems that are optimised for maximum depth penetration.

Finally, the project will exploit the exquisite sensitivity and time of flight precision that single photon detection provides to develop new spectroscopic sensors that will facilitate clear discrimination of Raman and other inelastic scattering signals. This will provide new capabilities to determine particle composition with tremendous potential to discriminate between organic, inorganic and anthropogenic materials, including microplastics and oil droplets.

This interdisciplinary project will involve the student working in Fraunhofer laboratories with leading experts in photonics and quantum technologies to develop optical sensors that will then be deployed in real world applications in partnership with researchers from the Marine Optics and Remote Sensing group at 51cg. This is a unique partnership that will provide the student with outstanding opportunities to combine development of expertise in quantum technologies with ocean-going practical experience in environmental science.

Further information

This project offers the successful candidate an unusually wide range of career development opportunities. Working with advanced quantum and photonic technologies naturally provides an outstanding opportunity to establish a career in advanced optical research, with plenty of opportunities in either academic or industrial research and development in the future.

Working with practical applications in the marine context will provide rare opportunities to experience the challenges of taking state of the art optical sensors out into challenging natural environment conditions. This opens up a range of potential careers in research, environmental monitoring and consultancy, and policy development.

Handling data from both the new instruments and ancillary measurements required to interpret that data will provide valuable expertise in multidisciplinarity that really opens the doors to a very wide range of careers where ability to bridge academic areas is vital.