Student projects and opportunities
There are a number of opportunities within the Atmospheric Chemistry and Composition group for university students (or equivalent) to engage with CSIRO science. Current projects are listed below. If you are interested in a particular project, please email the relevant project leader(s) and include your CV.
This list is updated a few times per year and projects may already be filled at the time of enquiry.
Current list valid June 2018.
| Project Title | Project Description | Project Leader | Recruitment details |
| Source of size-resolved aerosols in Melbourne | Samples of size resolved aerosols have been collected at Aspendale over a 12 month period and analysed for their soluble ion composition. In this project, these data will be used with meteorological and other atmospheric composition data to investigate the sources of the aerosols as a function of particle size and season. | Melita Keywood | Duration: 4-8 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Organic aerosol at Cape Grim | Samples collected at Cape Grim and other locations will be analysed for organic carbon, elemental carbon and brown carbon by thermal desorption at Aspendale. These data will be analysed to determine contribution of the organic carbon fractions to the aerosol. | Melita Keywood | Duration: 4-8 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Scattering of light by aerosols using nephelometer data | Aerosol scattering data collected have recently been collected using a polar nephelometer from several locations around Australia. In this project the peformance characteristics of the polar nephelometer will be assessed and the aerosol scattering from a number of locations will be compared. | Melita Keywood | Duration: 4-8 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Understanding spatial patterns of aerosol size distributions over Southern Hemisphere oceans | Measurements of aerosol size distributions have been made on the RV Investigator since 2015. In that time, the Investigator has traversed thousands of km of ocean, from the Antarctic ice edge, to the equator. Size distribution data will be processed and analysed to gain insights into the spatial and temporal variability of some of the most under-sampled locations on earth. | Ruhi Humphries | Duration: 4-8 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Uncertainty analysis of aerosol size distribution measurements by 5 SMPS’s | Measurements of aerosol size distrubution at CSIRO O&A are made with up to 5 individual SMPS instruments. In this project, the SMPS’s will be firstly fully commissioned for measurement, then co-located at a suitable location alongside CPC’s (possibly Cape Grim) and data collected. The data will be processed to qantify performance characteristics and determine the uncertainty of each SMPS measurement. This project will have a significant hands-on component to give students technical experience with aerosol instrumentation. | Jason Ward | Duration: 4-8 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Statistical analysis of two different Cape Grim CCN data sets | Long term CCN measurements at Cape Grim have been performed by both an automated static CCN (ASCCN) counter, and an automated continuous flow thermal gradient CCN (DMT CCN) counter. However there were no concurrent measurements, due to premature failure of the ASCCN instrument. This project will involve statistical analysis of the CCN data sets and other aerosol data from Cape Grim in order to provide continuity in the data record. | Melita Keywood | Duration: 2-4 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |
| Identifying methane hot spots in southeast Melbourne from in situ data. | To use the Aspendale in situ CO2 and CH4 records in conjunction with local meteorological data and produce wind and concentration roses to help identify local emissions sources. | Zoe Loh | Duration: 2-4 weeks full time (or equivalent) as either an internship, honours project or vacation scholarship. Stipend and/or travel assistance as required. |