Monthly Archives: July 2017

We are now accepting ANZIC applications from scientists in our member institutions for scientific participation in two JOIDES Resolution expedition in early 2019. Opportunities exist for researchers (including graduate students) in all shipboard specialties – including but not limited to sedimentologists, micropaleontologists, paleomagnetists, inorganic/organic
geochemists, petrologists, petrophysicists, microbiologists, and borehole geophysicists.

Expedition 379: Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet History. 18 January– 20 March 2019

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is largely marine-based, highly sensitive to climatic and oceanographic changes, has had a dynamic history over the last several million years, and if completely melted, could result in a global sea-level rise of 3.3-4.3 m. Expedition 379 will obtain records from the continental shelf and rise of the Amundsen Sea to document WAIS dynamics in an area unaffected by other ice sheets as well as in an area that currently experiences the largest ice loss in Antarctica. The primary objectives include (a) reconstructing the Paleogene to Holocene glacial history of West Antarctica, (b) correlating the Amundsen Sea WAIS proximal records with global records of ice volume changes and
air/seawater temperature proxy records, (c) constraining the relationship between incursions of warm water masses onto the continental shelf and the stability of marine-based ice sheet margins, and (d) reconstructing major WAIS advances onto the middle and outer shelf, including the first ice sheet expansion onto the continental shelf of the Amundsen Sea Embayment and its possible control by the uplift of Marie Byrd Land.

Expedition 382: Iceberg Alley Paleoceanography and South Falkland Slope Drift . 20 March – May 2019

Expedition 382 aims to recover 600 m long Late Neogene sequences to reconstruct past variability in Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) mass loss, oceanic and atmospheric circulation and to provide the first spatially integrated record of variability in icebergs flux from Iceberg Alley, where a substantial number of Antarctic icebergs exit into the warmer Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This will (a) constrain iceberg flux during key times of AIS evolution since the Middle Miocene glacial intensification of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, (b) provide material to determine regional sources of AIS mass loss, address inter-hemispheric phasing of ice-sheet and climate events, and the relation of AIS variability to sea level, (c) provide information on Drake Passage throughflow, meridional overturning in the Southern Ocean, water-mass changes, CO2 transfer via wind induced upwelling, sea-ice variability, bottom water outflow from the Weddell Sea, Antarctic weathering inputs, and changes in oceanic and atmospheric fronts in the vicinity of the ACC, and (d) provide dust proxy records to reconstruct of changes in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies to evaluate climate-dust couplings since the Pliocene, its potential role in iron fertilization and atmospheric CO2 drawdown during glacials. Expedition 382 will also core a sediment drift to obtain subantarctic multi-proxy intermediate water depth records of millennial to orbital scale variability in the ocean, atmosphere, nutrients, productivity and ice sheet dynamics in the SW Atlantic through at least the last 1 Ma.

For more information about the expedition science objectives and the JOIDES Resolution Expedition Schedule see https://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/expeditions – this includes links to the expedition web pages that provide the original IODP proposals and expedition planning information.

For shipboard scientist responsibilities see http://iodp.tamu.edu/participants/scientist_jobs.html.

ANZIC applications

Australians should visit www.iodp.org.au for a link to the application form, a completed version of which should be sent to Neville Exon (Neville.Exon@anu.edu.au) and Rob McKay (robert.mckay@vuw.ac.nz), with all parts in one document. New Zealanders should contact Chris Hollis (NZODP@gns.cri.nz).

Applicants should bear in mind that their applications will be firstly reviewed and ranked by the ANZIC Science Committee and, if they pass that hurdle, by the expedition co-chief scientists.  Clearly, they need to convince both groups that they would be excellent in the role.

The ANZIC Science Committee makes allowance for the relative opportunities of the applicants, so that early career researchers, including graduate students, have a good chance of selection. Note that non-tenured applicants must have a position at an Australian or New Zealand member institution for at least one year post-expedition and ideally more to enable them to carry out the necessary post cruise research.

As well as the form, applicants should provide:

1. Participation Plan and Budget (maximum of four pages): This should set out why they are interested in the expedition, how their skills suit the position applied for, what they would bring to the expedition, and the nature of their initial post-cruise research plans (including publication plans), and a brief outline of what budget they might need beyond that covered by their institution.

To maximise the return to ANZIC from the involvement of our scientists on expeditions, we ask that applicants endeavour to assemble a team, including ANZIC scientists, of potential land-based science party members in various fields, set out who has agreed to join that team if you are successful, and what they would aim to do post-cruise. The potential existence of such a team, which would provide additional analytical and scientific skills, would strengthen the applications. If all went to plan, the team members could become part of the land-based science party, and thus get early access to material from the vessel. Of course, final research plans will depend on the material actually recovered by the vessel, and negotiations aboard ship as to who does what.

2. Curriculum Vitae including selected publications (maximum of two pages)

3. Letter of support for non-tenured applicants by their supervisor: This should cover general support from the institution for the application, include an outline of the proffered post-cruise support, and indicate when the present position, or a new position, will end (at least one year post-cruise is required).

4. Financial support: For ANZIC scientists all travel costs, including those to some post-cruise meetings, would be covered by ANZIC. In addition the ANZIC IODP Office may provide up to $A40,000 for post-cruise activities (mainly analytical costs) for Australian and New Zealand university and research institution scientists and post-graduate students, if funding cannot be obtained in any other way. Applications for such funding can only be made after expeditions are completed and samples are in hand.

5. Application deadline: The deadline for scientists to submit applications to ANZIC for the two expeditions is Monday, 16 October 2017. This is an excellent opportunity for scientists, doctoral students or post docs to collaborate with an international team of scientists. We know that students will have trouble with the long lead times but if things are possible and they’re interested, they should apply. Neville Exon and Rob McKay will be happy to provide advice for the applications, and help where possible with timing problems.

Yours sincerely

Neville

Neville Exon
ANZIC Program Scientist
02 6125 5131